Rules

Rules stimulate.

In creative work, rules don’t limit, they provoke fresh responses.

Rules stop us doing what we always do, and force us to discover new possibilities.

I often paint in red, white and black.

If I decide I’ll only use green and blue in a new work, I have to lay aside my habitual choices, and create something entirely new.

I have to look with fresh eyes.

The rule I set myself stimulates.

It’s not always comfortable, but is always revealing.

When I taught groups to improvise, the hardest thing I could say would be: ‘go out and do something’. The enormity of the possibilities would paralyse people.

If I said: ‘You must only speak in sentences of exactly three words’, or ‘One of you must always have your head touching the ground, but who that is must change every 10 seconds’, extraordinary performances would emerge. People were so busy paying attention to the rule, they stopped worrying about ‘being creative’.

The stricter the rule, the richer the content.

Usually.

When we stop worrying about our creativity, it flows.

Must rules be obeyed?

Yes – for as long as they’re useful.

There comes a point in any creative process where what you’re making talks back to you. The painting tells me where the next brush-stroke must go. Someone within the improvising group smashes the structure.

The result? Either glory or disaster!

That’s the risk.

When is it time to break the rules? Experience tells us when we’re ready to embrace limitlessness.

If we start from limitlessness, we reproduce the habitual.

My new coaching programme, Creative SoulWork, combines practical creative work and coaching.

The first four sessions involve creativity with strong rules. It generates a discipline much more powerful that the feel-good illusion of ‘express yourself’ or ‘do what you feel’.

If your life has lost its sparkle, and you think your creativity will help you get it back, take a look at Creative SoulWork. If what I’m offering excites you, set up a call and we’ll chat.

www.johnbritton.co/creativesoulwork

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Helping your creative transition.

Guiding you to put creativity at the centre of life.

Thrity years an artist & performer – at your service.

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