Creativity in Captivity

Ok, so picture this: You’re trapped in your house, and you’re in the house bored.

If you get this reference, then you are definitely trapped in the house, and you’re in the house bored. Being a creative is a challenge, your brain is always looking for new stimulation, something to catch your eye, something to look at and say, “Hmm, it just doesn’t have legs.” Except you’re not looking at a snake, it’s a billboard…

I’m going to say this, and you might hate it or think I’m brilliant, and that’s ok:

Captivity is a BLESSING

Have you ever heard the phrase “the sandbox is too big”? Sometimes I worry that’s the world creatives have been thrust into. There’s TOO MUCH to look at, distract us, steal our attention.

So while socially distancing myself from my friends and family to support our medical community, I’ve been exercising my creative brain by literally narrowing my sandbox. Instead of trying to work on millions of things at once, I’m instead dedicating my focus to just two creative outlets to help my creative brain relax. Like the dough, I have sitting on the counter before baking it into whatever it will turn into. No, I am not cleaning and reorganizing my closet again!

Cook your heart out!

Design and creativity are really just problem-solving. We’re constantly balancing and correcting…and rebalancing things. Trying new things and hoping for that happy accident when it all comes together. And guess what, that’s also what cooking is! Go into that pantry, and pull out a few ingredients and see what you can make with them!

Also, this will sound crazy, but try cooking a meal without music. Just meditate on what you’re doing piece by piece: prepping all of your veggies (use fresh veg first so it doesn’t go bad and is wasted) and portioning out items in advance. I highly recommend a chicken and rice soup with garlicky chile oil, based on a Bon Appetite Basically recipe. #IWDFCFTBATK

Try the Recipe

If you don’t have fresh dill or kale that’s ok, dried and frozen is perfectly fine. This is a great recipe to add a bunch of chopped parsley too if you have some you need to use before it goes bad. In fact, you can swap kale for almost any green veg you have in your fridge: spinach, chard, collard greens, mustard greens, even broccoli. Have some extra mushrooms? Throw them in too!

Garlic-chili oil will change your life. You will put it on eggs, on salad, toast, rice, you will run out of it and you will cry. Make extra and save it, I promise you’ll wish you had more.

It’s time for art therapy, kids.

Bust out anything you can and just make a mess. You can either do this solo or you can use this as a way to connect with friends, family, and strangers by live-streaming it. I’ve started live-streaming painting sessions at 6 pm several nights a week. Most of the time it is me painting in silence like a psychopath. Obviously I am not an actual therapist, but we need to be open with our loved ones. 

We’ve got the time now guys, let’s create stuff together.