Eat Work Art In Residence: Creative Advice from Home | Creativity

Creativity

Introducing Eat Work Art In Residence: Creative Advice from Home with useful practices and advice from London’s leading creatives.

Many of us around the world are getting used to domestic life as we all play our positive part in the fight against the coronavirus. Home has taken on a new meaning, a place to sleep, work and eat, but it can also harvest personal development, creativity and a sense of calm from the outside world.

Creativity is not something you can force, it’s important you leave room in your mind for artistic freedom. There’s a call to be productive at the moment and pressure to make the most of the time you have available. Giving yourself mental breaks is crucial in maintaining mental balance. Practitioners at The Well Garden and creative leaders alike recommend slowing down to keep your creative juices flowing.

It’s ok that amongst all the anxiety and chaos that this time brings, you take a moment away from your laptop and daily news cycle. Go easy on yourself and allow time for breaks and down-time. Mindfulness can help focus your attention and help with distractions, too. Headspace is a great tool to help you practice mindfulness, including these ways you can address your feelings:

• Look: Check-in with yourself, look for the physical changes. How are your energy levels? Do you just need a break?

• Listen: Listen to your mood. Give yourself the space to be open and honest about how you feel mentally.

• Feel: everyone is going to be feeling a range of different emotions. Taking the time to acknowledge how you are truly feeling empowers us to respond with kindness and compassion to what we are experiencing.

• Respond: in times of high stress, it’s easy to let frustrations get in the way of action. Pause and give yourself space to respond to what you really need in a skilful and kind way. Maybe you need some fresh air or a cup of tea before you try to tackle your next goal.”

For those moments of down-time, we spoke to Bryony Lloyd, Owner of Antenne Books about her favourite books to boost creative juices:

1. Forty Stories by Donald Barthlme
2. In Youth Is Pleasure by Denton Welch
3. Elvis Died for Somebody’s Sins But Not Mine by Mick Farren
4. The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles
5. Working On My Novel by Cory Arcangel