Expert and Award-Winning Artist Offers Tips as
Creative Beginnings Month in May
The
creative arts enhance our lives in countless ways. They make us think.
They inspire us. They make us feel a part of something that goes beyond
the same old work-a-day world. But according to Shannon Grissom, too
many people think they aren't the creative types — and she believes they
are wrong.
"Everyone is creative," says Grissom,
award-winning painter and host of the television show, Give Your Walls
Some Soul. "The worst thing is the fear of creating: anxiety about the
empty page. We all have that beginner's mind every time we have to
face the start of another project."
According to Grissom, most people just
need to overcome the mental blocks and unleash the full potential of their
minds. "One of the best ways to bring out your creativity is to do
semi-mindless tasks. They allow your mind to wander, and can result
in creative ideas and thinking."
May is Creative Beginnings Month, and
in honor of the month, Grissom offers the following ways to start getting
the creative juices flowing:
1) Drive or ride in a vehicle
2) Exercise
3) Do routine tasks, such as
house cleaning or gardening
4) Take a shower or bath
5) Take a nap
6) Go for a walk
7) Doodle
Grissom reminds people not to dismiss
any ideas that pop up while you are doing a mundane task. "Knock that
nay-safer right off your shoulder. Don't let go of any idea that you
get, even if it sounds silly at first," she says.
Shannon Grissom is an acclaimed oil
painter who has been nominated for an ARTV 2005 award, the first televised
art awards show in the country. Compelled by a single note of color,
her paintings use vibrant hues to express the relationship between colors,
her subjects, their environment, and the ever-present music she loves.
Grissom's artwork can be seen and purchased at several galleries on the
west coast.
Since August 2003, Grissom has been
the host and producer of the award-winning television show Give Your
Walls Some Soul, where she shares tips and techniques about painting
and creativity.
The
creative arts enhance our lives in countless ways. They make us think.
They inspire us. They make us feel a part of something that goes beyond
the same old work-a-day world. But according to Shannon Grissom, too
many people think they aren't the creative types — and she believes they
are wrong.