The House of Flow ∞ Advice for Artists
Advice for Artists and Creatives looking for help or inspiration…
7 ways to Stay Financially Afloat While Pursuing Your Art Dreams.
7 Ways to Stay Financially Afloat While Pursuing Your Art Dreams. I think this goes without saying: the vast majority of people inclined to pursue their creative passions will inevitably encounter financial challenges. Whether you're a writer, painter, musician, or any other type of artist, you must find ways to stay financially afloat while pursuing your art. I've been there, more times...
How you can Kick Butt by working with an Art Coach
How Can We Really Benefit from Working with An Artist Coach or Creativity Coach? Are you an artist (by this I mean someone who makes art in any form, be it painting, or music-making, or writing, etc.) struggling to navigate the creative process, set goals, and stay motivated? You're not alone! Many artists face similar challenges. But have you considered working with an art coach? An art coach...
Dissolve Negative Emotions with a Creative Practice
Dissolve Negative Emotions using any Creative Practice Using our own creative practice, we can release or dissolve any emotion. In this post we will delve into the Hows and Whys of dissolving negative emotions with a creative practice, and how this can benefit us as artists and as human beings. But first I want to mention that this is a complex subject and one that can be viewed in...
How Meditation Lights Your Creativity On Fire
“Magic lies in the state of mind of the artist. This magic is wakeful magic. The Artist’s mind is able to tune in to a certain balance or wakefulness. We would call it Enlightenment, in fact.” – Chögyam Trungpa How Meditation Lights Your Creativity on Fire For the record, I am not a buddha – just an average human with average intelligence who has been seeking answers to the riddles...
Exploring the Key Health Benefits of Creativity
Another Good Reason to Follow the Creative Urge - The Health Benefits of Creativity In a recent article in Psychology Today, Cathy Malchiody, PhD, states that there is now sufficient scientific evidence to prove that creativity is a well-being practice. It seems the health benefits of creativity are becoming more known to the public. Studies conducted over the last couple decades demonstrate...
Creative Inspiration – A Capricious Cat or a Well-Trained Dog?
Creative inspiration is a complex and beguiling subject. As an Artist for many years, I have attempted to conjure up the timeless muse in innumerable ways, sometimes successfully and sometimes not. For many creative people I know, it seems to come and go when it pleases, and often when you least expect it. It’s like a cat that will stand in a doorway for long periods of time without coming...
Sell Your Art – by NOT Becoming an Online Marketing Guru
To Become, or Not to Become, a Social Media Guru to Sell Your Art I am tired of seeing people spouting on about how you can sell your art by doing this marketing plan or doing that social media strategy, or making videos of yourself creating your art and posting them online, etc. etc. – in other words, by getting really really good with your online art presence. Generally speaking,...
The Artist as Pioneer of Culture – and the Importance of Following Your Creative Dreams
The Artist as Pioneer of Culture Perhaps more than any other profession at this time, the Artist (writer, dancer, painter, sculptor, etc.) helps a culture evolve by defining the cultural paradigm. That is to say, the Artist’s role, among other things, is to direct how a society views itself and its own possibilities for change and evolution. Historically, the job of pioneer of...
Creativity Coaches – Better than Art School?
What is a Creativity Coach or Art Coach? What do Creativity Coaches do? And why do we need them? “Support is often in terribly short supply in a creative person’s life. There is no one to talk to about the work. There is no one to talk to about the struggle. There is no one to talk to about the enormous gap between the dream the person had and the reality the person is living. Indeed,...
Understanding and Directing Emotions with a Creative Practice
Understanding and Directing Emotions using a Creative Practice We are emotional beings – we have hundreds, even thousands of emotions every day, often without knowing it. Many of us are unaware that emotions are driving our decisions most of the time, and often not for the better. We often sabotage ourselves because we want to do something but are being held back by negative emotions and thought...
Making a Living as an Artist
Making a Living as an Artist “As artists, we are often regarded as people who have problems paying the rent, and our belief in this myth only adds to its truth. It may actually be the case for many artists, but this does not have to be you. Money, as it turns out, is merely a form of energy that comes to us because we have created some kind of value for others. So the questions around money and...
Self-Knowledge is the Straightest Road to Creative Success
On Self-Knowledge and Creative Success As human beings, we all have unique talents and abilities that can contribute to the world in meaningful ways. However, it's not always easy to tap into our full potential and realize our creative aspirations. In order to achieve true creative success, we must first cultivate self-knowledge - the understanding of our own minds, emotions, and...
Terrified of Being Seen? 7 Ways to Overcome Fears of Showing Your Art
For many artists, the fear of showing their work can be a significant psychological barrier. It can be intimidating to put yourself and your creations out into the world for others to see. However, as an artist, it is essential to push past these fears and share your work with the world. Here are some of the best ways to overcome the fear of showing your art. 1. Identify and confront your...
How Making Music Melts Away Anxiety and Depression
Music has been an integral part of human civilization for centuries. It has the power to evoke emotions and transform moods. While we all have different music preferences, research has shown that making music can have a positive impact on our mental, physical, and psychological health. In this article, we will explore how making music can melt away anxiety and depression. What is Anxiety...
The New Tech Artists – The Merging of New Technology and Art
As technology advances at an exponential pace, it's not surprising that many artists are exploring new ways to incorporate it into their creative process. From virtual reality to AI-generated art, artists are embracing new technologies to push the boundaries of their craft and create new forms of art that were once unimaginable. In this article, we'll explore some of the ways that artists are...
Creating Art – 7 Ways to Increase Your Creativity While Staying Grounded and Happy
7 In-depth tips for increasing your creative output while staying happy and grounded Creating art is an inherently fulfilling and rewarding activity, but it can also be challenging and mentally draining. As an artist, it's important to find ways to increase your creative output without sacrificing your mental health and well-being. In this article, we'll explore seven strategies to...
Visual Artist Coaching – Empower Your Art
What is Visual Artist Coaching, Exactly? Artists are free-spirited, creative individuals who do not need to conform to any specific rules or guidelines. This is part of being an artist – going outside of established norms and blazing your own path. However, even the most talented artists can struggle to find their footing and achieve success without some guidance and support....
10 Essential Steps to Being a Successful Artist
10 Steps to Becoming a Successful Artist: I won't lie to you – becoming a successful artist requires hard work. It takes perseverance, and a willingness to learn and grow. It is a lot of work, but if you're passionate about your art, and you can think of it as a fun, project, it will be much easier and more fulfilling. The following 10 steps are the nuts and bolts of what it takes to go pro with...
Thoughts on Death and Grieving
Thoughts on Death and Grieving...Upon hearing of the passing of the daughter of some acquaintances, I was moved to write about death and grieving. What came out of it was something like a poem. In the hopes that this will benefit those going through the grieving process or those helping others through it, I post it here.The Horned Beetle (A poem of death and grieving, by Douglas P Smith) When I...
Unraveling Creative Resistance
Our whole civilization is based on the idea that rational knowledge is king. But rational, empirical knowing is only a small part of our human potential. Concepts, by their very nature, are limiting. And so, when we fill our heads with ideas about how things are, we invariably end up boxing ourselves into a corner. So What is Creative Resistance, in Real Terms? Creative resistance is born...
Kill Your Anxiety (with a Creative Practice)
Kill Your Anxiety ...Anxiety’s Many Causes and Manifestations According to the medical model, there are a multitude of known causes of anxiety, as well as numerous different manifestations of it. If you are reading this, you might have experienced problems with a phobia, or a panic disorder, or some kind of separation anxiety disorder. Maybe you've experienced an...
Creativity and The Artist Dilemma, Part 1 – Why is Making Art So Hard?
Having been in the creativity coaching business over the years, I’ve noticed a lot of creative people tend to put their stock in a rational approach to success. They take all these marketing and art business classes and ultimately end up stressed out and unhappy because they have no time or energy left to do their creative work. A lot of people go to art school and learn techniques from...
Creativity and The Artist Dilemma, Part 2 – Cultural Conditioning
Following this topic of the Artist Dilemma from part 1 – in talking about beliefs that are limiting: another culture-born belief that seems to run rampant among creatives is the idea that we must try to obtain as much information as possible and then rationally figure out how to traverse our mountain of creativity obstacles – which usually appear to come from a lack of support from the culture,...
Help with Depression – The Creative Solution
Help with Depression With our current global virus situation and the rise of unrest in many parts of the world, it seems a good time to address our psychological maladies. History has it that human beings started as a hunter-gatherer species, often having confined ourselves within four walls. But since Winter/Spring of 2020 most of us have spent a lot of time in quarantine, and this has...
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