"Curiosity gets us further than curriculum. Serious art requires serious play - and play, by definition, is anarchic, naughty."

~ Julia Cameron, Walking in This World

Every time I channel this mantra I hear the sing-song voice of my first abstract painting teacher: "Just play", she'd say when I got too stressed out about a particular piece.

What does that mean?

the result of anarchic, messy, play - a piece in progress

In the context of working on a specific project, it means loosening up.

Play is letting the brush dance lightly on the canvas to the chaotic rhythms of Coltrane. It's spending half an hour following the evening sun with your camera, guided only by shadows and light. It's making wild and crazy marks on the page with your palette knife because it feels good.

Play means not thinking, not trying, not striving. It means suspending the censor and not worrying about where the piece is going. There'll be time for that later.

Play means being in your creativity.

Art-making Mantra #3: Just Play.

How could you let yourself play in your art today? Whatever your medium, I dare you to let your brush dance.