What Steven Cousley Does

What’s Your Creative Habit?
Want to write a memoir or novel but can’t seem to get
started? Want to create a memorable painting or performance
but you’re too busy to work on it? It can be frustrating
when your creative fire just never seems to get lit.

Fire Up with Creative Habits

To ignite a daily fire in the fireplace requires that you
bring in the wood and place it in the hearth, then strike a
match to set it ablaze. In the same way, to ignite your
creative fire you must have certain habits and rituals that
will fire up your enthusiasm and energy, allowing you to
plunge into the joys and mess of creating an artistic work.

In her book The Creative Habit, the famed choreographer
Twyla Tharp says emphatically that creativity has much less
to do with talent or genius than with hard work. Tharp, who
is in her late sixties, illustrates by saying she gets up
every day at 5:30 a.m. and heads to the gym for a two-hour
workout with her trainer. She says that, because of this
kind of dedicated habit associated with her creative work,
she is able to feel confident when she has just five weeks
to create a new dance for a major performance venue. She
has prepared her body and her mind well, beginning with a
daily ritual.

It’s the ritual of calling the cab that actually gets her
in motion, she says. The well-established routine of making
the call gets her past the resistance that might arise
about being too tired or otherwise reluctant to put herself
through the hard routine at the gym.

Set Up Habits and Rituals That Inspire You

So, what are the daily or frequent habits and rituals that
activate your creative productivity? Here are five examples
of habits you can borrow from successful artists, along
with rituals to set the stage for each habit:

Habit #1: Be observant and make a record of what you
observe.

Ritual: Carry a notebook and pen or pencil with you
everywhere you go to do a quick sketch, jot observations,
or make a note of dialogue you overhear.

Habit #2: Study the work of artists you admire.

Ritual: Keep a set of books by your reading table or
bedside and spend 15 minutes or more reading before going
to bed. Or check out the arts calendar each Sunday and
select a show to attend.

Habit #3: Practice, practice, practice what you want to get
better at.

Ritual: Set a specific time to practice each day or on
certain days. If you begin with a specific activity such as
sitting in a certain place or turning on a certain light,
you set up the habit to take on a life of its own.

Habit #4: Take time for solitude to give your muse a chance
to play and have its say.

Ritual: Have a pen by your bedside and pick it up as soon
as you wake, using it to record your creative ideas before
you engage with other people (even before your coffee).
Your muse will soon get in the habit of showing up for the
appointed time. Or plan a weekend a month when you retreat
to your bedroom or a quiet getaway place, and always start
the weekend with a set activity such as lighting a candle.

Habit #5: Celebrate your successes. You may need
encouraging memories to offset the many disappointing times
you may experience.

Ritual: Create a screensaver of an art piece of yours that
you’re happy with, or display a testimonial quote from an
admirer.

Being creative is most satisfying when it moves from an
idea in the mind into the actual creation of an artistic
work. That happens more easily and more often if you have
habits and rituals that light your creative fire. When
starting or renewing a creative habit, build in a ritual to
start you off each time you do the activity. Be sure to do
the ritual every day for at least 30 days to make it stick.
That ritual, faithfully practiced, will become like a book
of matches you can count on set off that creative spark.

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Learn about free teleseminars by Pat Samples on inspired
living, body wisdom, and creative aging at
http://www.patsamples.com . Her new book, The Secret Wisdom
of a Woman’s Body: Freeing Yourself To Live Passionately
and Age Fearlessly, has been called by AARP’s magazine
“what our generation wants to read.”

Albert Namtjira was the first Australian Aboriginal to be recognised nationally and internationally as an artist. He is best known for his landscape paintings which he painted using watercolours in a western style. He painted the country that he lived in, that he was part of, the land of the Arrernte (Aranda) people in the Western Macdonell Ranges area of the Northern Territory.

Albert lived from 1902-1959. He was born near the site of the Herrmansburg Lutheran Mission near Alice Springs. He was named Elea by his parents but while he was still a young boy his family moved to the mission where he was baptised and given the Christian name Albert. After receiving a western style upbringing on the mission, he returned to the bush at the age of 13 where he was initiated and learnt the traditional ways of his people. This exposure to his culture inspired the love and respect for his country that he would later show to the world through his art. At the age of 18 he married Ilkalita, a girl from a neighbouring tribe. He spent several years supporting his growing family by doing odd jobs and spent some time as a camel driver which allowed him to see more of central Australia. After returning to the mission, his wife was baptised as Rubena.

In 1934 Albert was introduced to western painting by two artists who exhibited at the mission. When one of these artists returned two years later to paint, Albert acted as his guide in return for lessons in watercolour painting. These two months were the only art tuition he was to receive. He excelled and quickly developed his own painting style. His landscape paintings were rich in the colours of the native bush and illustrated the rugged terrain of his home lands.

His first exhibition in Melbourne in 1938 consisted of 41 paintings and was quickly sold out. Subsequent exhibitions in Adelaide and Sydney were equally successful. Albert was soon to become a celebrity, even noting Queen Elizabeth II among his fans. Even though he appeared to enjoy the fame, Albert was not comfortable with big city life, and always enjoyed returning home to his land and family.

Despite his success, Albert preferred the simple life. Sharing what he earned with all of his family in the traditional way. When he wanted to lease a cattle farm for his family, he was prevented by the laws that existed at the time because he was an Aborigine. He tried to build a house in Alice Springs but again he was prevented by the law. It was a ridiculous situation for Albert. He was famous, but because he was an Aborigine he was not recognised as a citizen and was prevented from owning land.

Public outcry over Albert’s situation forced the government to grant him citizenship in 1957. It was 10 years later before the rest of Australia’s Aboriginal population would be granted the same rights.This meant that Albert would now be able to own land, would be able to vote, would be able to enter a hotel and be allowed to buy alcohol.

Unfortunately the restrictions that remained for other Aboriginal people resulted in Albert’s demise. Because of his traditional family values, Albert shared all he had with his family. This resulted in him breaking the white man’s law. He was found guilty of supplying alcohol to Aboriginals. In 1958 he was convicted and served 2 months imprisonment. His conviction and time in jail broke his spirit. He lost his interest in painting and in life. Albert died as a result of heart disease in 1959.