Have you ever been confronted with a blank sheet of paper and you weren’t inspired or had absolutely no idea what to do?

An empty canvas or blank sheet of paper can have too many options of what is possible and also can set off a cycle of negative thinking and worries about whatever it is that will be, will be no good so why even start?

One way to get past all the over-thinking in your head is to set up a few design limitations, make a mark and then see what happens.

Constraints can be good for creative inspiration, especially if you’re stumped for what to do. For example:

Choose to use only a single color or choose to use just a few.
Choose three things to put on the page.
Think of a word that has meaning to you.
Think of an experience you’ve had.
Choose a random shape or two to include.

This is just a start of the possibilities of what to begin with within limits.

Then make a mark, any mark and see what happens next. Often times, the first thing on the page will lead to a second which will influence the third. Limits are good and get the creative juices started. Too many constraints, though, shut down the creativity and fun. There is a happy middle zone for everyone.

The original mark may not be visible by the end of your piece, but it’ll be there and it’s what got you started. The art you made may surprise you but at least you spent some time art making and being creative.

Here’s a start after a few minutes. I started with a dot - the big circle, then added three triangles and then the zig-zag lines. Once those were down, then I wanted to add more and do more. I’ll add more to it later or I’ll leave it. I enjoyed the … — Here’s a start after a few minutes. I started with a dot - the big circle, then added three triangles and then the zig-zag lines. Once those were down, then I wanted to add more and do more. I’ll add more to it later or I’ll leave it. I enjoyed the time of playing.

The sources of inspiration for today’s blog post come from Slow Knitting by Hannah Thiessen, the weekly newsletter of textile artists Linda and Laura Kemshall, a video clip from BBC Ideas, “How Limits Can Boost Your Creativity”, and the children’s book Dot by Peter H. Reynolds (you can see a reading of it on YouTube here).