Applying ‘The Beginner's Mindset’ to your artwork
If you have lost enthusiasm for creating artwork or you would like a fresh perspective, applying a Beginner’s Mindset may be just what you need. It is an opportunity to let go of any preconceptions and expectations in order to gain renewed energy and creativity. Below I have set out the idea of the Beginner’s Mindset and ways to apply it to your artwork.
Table on Contents
What is ‘The Beginner’s Mindset’?
What are the benefits of applying a beginner’s mindset?
What is ‘The Beginner’s Mindset’?
The beginner’s mind or beginner’s mindset is a way of approaching something, as if for the first time, regardless of how much experience you have.
The term beginner’s mindset is a translation of the word ‘Shoshin’ (初心), which is a concept in Zen Buddhism and means to look at something without preconceived ideas or expectations, even when practicing something at an advanced level. Shoshin is also sometimes referred to as a Zen mindset.
When someone is trying an activity for the first time, they are generally open to all possibilities and full of curiosity and crave experience and knowledge. As they gain experience, they start to have expectations for themselves that can have a negative impact on their experience of the activity or hamper their creativity. Therefore there are many positives to being a beginner, such as curiosity and enthusiasm, that are worth recognising and returning to, even after experience is gained.
What are the benefits of applying a beginner’s mindset?
As a society, we place huge value on knowledge and expertise, therefore seeking a beginner’s mindset can seem counter-intuitive. However, there are a number of benefits to applying a beginner’s mindset:
Renewed enthusiasm - Being an expert in a particular field often means following particular habits and expectations. Something that was once exciting and interesting can become mundane or even boring. Having a beginner’s mindset enables a person to re-capture the initial feelings of excitement and a fresh perspective, bringing back a sense of fun to the creative process.
Gratitude - Trying to recapture the feelings you had as a beginner provides an opportunity to realise how far you’ve come and appreciate the amazing knowledge that you have gained.
Creativity - Letting go of preconceptions and thinking about different processes and techniques enables you to push your creativity in a new and exciting direction.
How can you cultivate a beginner’s mindset?
Let go of expectations - Keep an open mind about where your work is heading and create artwork that doesn’t have to lead to a finished piece.
Bring a sense of fun - Avoid following a familiar routine, bring something new and fun to your processes.
Be curious - If something peaks your interest, follow your intuition and see where it leads you.
Don’t assume - Having experience and knowledge brings with it a set of assumptions. If you return to something you haven’t tried for a while, let go of assumptions about how it will go and you may be surprised.
Keep learning - Viewing yourself as an expert has the potential to close your mind to further learning. A beginner will ask questions, read and absorb information. There is great value in continuing to learn however much experience you gain.
5 exercises to tap into a beginner’s mindset
It can be daunting to try and tap into a beginner’s mindset as it feels like a step backwards, but it has the potential to propel your work in a new, exciting direction and can be worth the initial trepidation. I have listed some ideas below to help cultivate a beginner’s mindset.
1. Teach someone else
When you have to explain something to someone else, you are more inclined to slow down, check finer details and be thorough in your explanation. It provides an opportunity to check which elements of your process are most important or which elements of your process you could remove. There may be elements of your processes that you want to explore in more detail.
2. Attend a class
Attending a class puts you back in the position of a student. It can be an uncomfortable feeling, when you are actually an expert in the subject matter, but if you can put that to one side, it can be really interesting to listen to someone else explain something you are familiar with. Are there elements of their process that you can bring to your own work? Ask questions to hear a fresh perspective.
3. Tackle a problem you’ve been avoiding
If there is something in your workflow that you never quite mastered and ultimately found a great workaround for? now could be the time to revisit and master it, combining a beginner’s mindset with the knowledge you have acquired over time.
4. Slow down
When you follow a familiar routine it is natural to go into ‘auto-pilot’. After a while, auto-pilot can feel mundane. If you slow down your normal routine and notice all the steps you take, you give yourself the opportunity to feel gratitude for the processes you have learnt over time and can make any changes to your routine to make it more enjoyable and create a different outcome.
5. Bring a sense of fun
It can be really refreshing to carry out an art activity with a child as their lack of preconceptions makes the process more fun and the outcome is often unexpected. It can be really useful to bring this mindset to your own work. How can you bring a sense of fun to your processes? Think about what a child might do and try that yourself.
Merging a beginners mindset with experience and knowledge provides an opportunity to create really great work. I hope you have found this blog post helpful and enjoy bringing a beginner’s mindset to your art. If you have other ideas that you think I should add to my list, you can email me at [email protected], I would love to hear your thoughts.
