How to Unleash Your Creative Self

It's not always easy to find your creative self, and sometimes it can be downright overwhelming! However, if you think you may have something creative to offer, you probably do! You just need the courage to tap into your strengths as an imaginative, and expressive individual, with something new to discover in yourself and share with the world.

As a jewelry designer, I am constantly finding that I am drawn to a broad spectrum of styles which makes it difficult to channel my creative self toward one identifiable style. I love everything from tiny precious stones and delicately glittering beaded metal to bulky, carved bone pendants strung on leather cord. But if I merely copied everything I was drawn to I wouldn't really being expressing myself -- I would just be reflecting back what someone else was able to imagine. The trick is to find your voice, your aesthetic, the most pure vision of everything you desire for yourself, and then create it so it can be realized and shared with others (if you wish to share it). 


There are some things you can do to help focus your creative energy and create something beautiful:


1. Go on a walk and pick up at least 3 things along the way, whether its a twig or a piece of broken glass, these findings can help jog your creativity!


2. Flip through magazines or go online at websites like Pinterest, to find new ideas about how to express a certain mood or feeling


3. When you're ready to start creating, make sure that you aren't just copying something you like. You can use other ideas for inspiration and mimic their 'feel,' but you don't necessarily want to use the same materials and colors


4. Always, always, always edit your aesthetic!! Some things might look just okay, and if that's the case, you do not need to develop them! Focus on developing the most bold or pure version of each brainstorming sesh, so that you end up with many great products that communicate your style clearly.

In conclusion, if you want to be a creative person you need to be able to identify what it is you are drawn to and why. Do you love a sleek or earthy design? Do you like bold colors or neutrals? Do you like something simple or extravagant? Always be conscious of what you are trying to evoke, and be certain it is in line with what you love. If you follow these 4 simple rules you are guaranteed to end up with something you value and to which others are drawn! So envelop yourself in the things you love and begin creating!