About a month ago, I started taking up reading again.
Let me rephrase that… I am always reading something. It’s just now that I’m generally busy between family stuff, work and everything else that gets in the way, I haven’t been able to read as much as I used to. However, I decided I would get back into it.
Though I’ve always been a physical book kind of gal, I recently purchased an Amazon Kindle Paperwhite.
Best thing I ever did.
Thanks to an Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscription, I have a library of books at my fingertips. Whether it’s art, meditation, fantasy fiction…they’re all there. So any chance I get (waiting at the doctors, late at night before bed) I only have to flip open the cover and choose my next read.
But how does reading help artists expand their creativity?
It seems like several artists I know don’t actually prefer to read. They’re visual people so they tend to stick with hands-on creativity like painting, crafts, pottery, etc. That’s certainly OK, but reading is great for expanding our minds in such a way that it actually helps with our own creativity.
Artists should read because it enriches their creative process and broadens their perspectives. Reading exposes artists to different ideas, cultures, and histories, fueling their imagination with new concepts and stories that can inspire their work. It deepens their understanding of human emotions, societal issues, and philosophical questions, which they can then translate into more meaningful and impactful art.
Additionally, reading helps artists develop their critical thinking skills, allowing them to analyze and interpret the world in unique ways. This intellectual engagement can lead to more nuanced and sophisticated artwork. Furthermore, literature often explores themes of beauty, conflict, and the human condition, which are directly relevant to the themes many artists explore in their work.
In essence, reading nurtures an artist’s mind, providing a wellspring of knowledge and insight that can be transformed into visual, auditory, or tactile expressions.
So next time you’re in a bit of a creative rut (or even if you’re not) grab that book you’ve had sitting on your shelf collecting dust – and open yourself up to a world of creativity.
Until next time…
