Day 19 – Visit a Museum to Build Your Creative Confidence

In this series on building creative confidence, we have been doing a lot of personal growth work, playing in our  journals, coloring and using writing prompts to help us remember how to be creative.  Today is Saturday, I thought it would be fun to take a field trip. You could do this with your kids, your best friend or on your own!

Are you saying to yourself, “Visit a museum? That’s intimidating, it’s full of REAL ART!” I want you to invite your inner critic to step aside for today, or you can revisit Andy’s post from yesterday on making friends with your inner editor.

Museums are a great place to find inspiration for our writing or any other creative expression. You should go to admire, enjoy, comment, critique and celebrate creativity. It doesn’t matter what type of museum you choose to visit – fine art, historical, political – pick something that interests you!

Here’s your field trip supply list:

• Your journal, preferably one with blank, unlined pages.
• Your favorite pen(s). I like a pen for writing like the ultra fine Sharpie but for doodling/sketching I love the Sakura Micron pens.
• A pencil.
• Colored pencils (optional).

Field trip guide:

1. Once you get to the museum of your choice, take some time to look around. Find a piece of art (painting, sculpture, it doesn’t matter) that you can’t seem to walk away from.
2. Here’s the hard part. I want you to really LOOK at the painting or sculpture. Take your time and allow your eyes to roam the entire surface.
3. One you feel like you have absorbed what the art has to share with you, answer the following questions:

• What do you see?
• What colors do you find most engaging?
• Is the artwork telling a story? If so, describe the story.
• What draws you into the artwork?
• What texture do you notice? Think about brush strokes, layers, thickness or thinness, type of medium used.
• What emotions does the artwork evoke?
• Imagine you have the chance to meet the artist, what would you want to ask him/her?
• If you were a famous art critic, what would you want others to know about this piece of art?

As you answer the questions in your journal, feel free to doodle your version of the painting or sculpture. Or simply add colors to your page that evoke the feelings and texture of the art. You are not trying to recreate the masterpiece, just capture information to help you quickly and visually recall it to mind at a later date. Check out the gift shop, if they have a postcard of the piece you admired, buy it and paste it into your journal. You can also take a picture of the artwork if the museum allows. Usually you can snap an image as long as you are not using a flash, but please ask first!

Your  journal is the playground of infinite possibility!

Your  journal is your place to explore the world around you as well as the world within. If you can’t find the time for a field trip, visit a museum online. Lots of museums have great images of the artwork on display in person. You might miss some of the details like texture but you will still be able to capture the essence of the story.

Looking at great art is inspirational, or should be! Don’t use this as an opportunity to allow your inner critic to mock you and say, “You can’t create anything that good!” Great art is about telling stories; you can do the same in your own creative way. Notice what you love about the masterpiece you chose in the museum and ask yourself, how can I capture those same feelings in my writing or artwork?

Enjoy your  field trip and feel free to share your discoveries and journal pages on our Facebook page here.

If your inner critic seems to be running your life right now, consider joining the HeartWise Sister Circle: a safe, supportive community of women who will help you get in touch with yourself and remember how to be creative in all areas of your life. Come join us! Get support, live coaching and great tools to support your personal journey for only $19.99 a month.