I’m sure you’ve heard that you should push the boundaries of your comfort zone from a lot of people. Creative experiments are the creative twist on that, and you can have a lot of fun doing it too. It’s good to experiment at any time, but especially if you’re getting bored, or your work has started to feel stale.

It helps you think in new ways, challenges your brain to figure it out, and helps you evolve in your chosen art form. I do them quite often, and just for fun. The picture on the right is a texture experiment I did tonight.  I used relief paste to create some texture and then used some lace, some knotted fabric, a brush and tissue to put the paint on there.

If you’re at that point, try one that fits (or is closest to) you:

Yarn, cord, string: Try out a new stitch, go for a design you haven’t done before.

Fabric, leather: Find a new material, style or pattern.

Paint, pencil, pastels: Try a completely new technique, a new concept or tool, experiment with size and structure.

Wood, stone, metal: Find a new concept, material, tool, a technique to try.

Ceramics, glass, plastic, resin: Add something different to the surface, try a new pattern.

Paper: Try a new composition, a new technique, a looser style.

Think about it. If you don’t go outside what you like, how will you diskover any new:

• colours
• patterns
• structures
• styles
• techniques

…that you really love.

What are you going to try?