Ten Minute Artist with Adam Ming

Ten Minute Artist with Adam Ming

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Ten Minute Artist with Adam Ming
Ten Minute Artist with Adam Ming
04: Designing Your Creative Environment
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04: Designing Your Creative Environment

"The space in which we live should be for the person we are becoming now, not for the person we were in the past." - Marie Kondo

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Adam Ming
Oct 04, 2024
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Ten Minute Artist with Adam Ming
Ten Minute Artist with Adam Ming
04: Designing Your Creative Environment
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You’re Reading Adam Ming’s Daily Blog, This month I’m writing a series about taking time for your creative practice. Each post, includes an invitation to spend Ten minutes developing your creative practice.

I’m doing this in October to complement any Drawing challenge you might be doing. I will be doing the classic inktober.

in If you want to get this in your inbox, you must first be a subscriber of Ten Minute Artist, then toggle the Daily Blog on.

Or you can just bookmark this page and check in whenever.


Today's 10-Minute Invitation

Spend your 10 minutes today auditing your creative space. Remove one item that doesn't serve your current creative goals. Then, designate a specific area (it could be as small as a shoebox) for contained inspiration. Place something inspiring in this area that relates to your current project.

Day 4: Designing Your Creative Environment

We've talked about taking time, overcoming resistance, and building consistency. Today, let's dive into something that's crucial to my own practice: designing your creative environment.

Why Your Environment Matters

Your environment isn't just a backdrop; it's an active participant in your creative process. The space where you create can either enhance your focus and spark ideas, or it can distract and hinder your progress. When designed thoughtfully, your creative environment becomes a powerful tool in your Ten-Minute Artist toolkit.

The Power of Curation

In my own practice, I've found that the single most important aspect of my studio setup is curation. My studio only contains things that aid in my creative work. I regularly remove items that don't help me focus, and I even rotate books based on the projects I'm working on.

This approach serves several purposes:

  1. It minimizes distractions

  2. It ensures that everything in my space is purposeful and inspiring

  3. It creates an environment that evolves with my work, always staying relevant

Balancing Inspiration and Focus

One of the challenges in designing a creative space is balancing the need for inspiration with the need for a clutter-free, focused environment. Here's how I manage this:

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