The Importance of Rituals

I took Lilla Roger’s MATS MBA 2020 class this summer (highly recommend BTW), and one of my favorite takeaways from the class was the importance of having a ritual.

Some days, making art can feel like the hardest thing we do. It’s tough to show up day after day - especially in the early stages of creating, when you don’t yet have confidence in your work.

In the class, Lilla said that having an art ritual is crucial to showing up for your work on a regular basis. The ritual acts as an anchor, or trigger, to keep your art habit alive. I couldn’t agree more! After reading many books on habit formation, I know how important triggers are for behavior. I suddenly started to think about all the behaviors I do leading up to painting, and what an important roll they play in my creative process.

So what do we mean by ritual? It’s anything you do leading up to making your art. A ritual can be simple or complex, but I like the idea of it involving a few steps so you have time to get in the zone and mentally prepare.

My ritual before I paint is this:

1. I fill up my water cup, and lay a paper towel out

2. I get a hot beverage

3. I turn on some music - usually oldies, like Ella Fitzgerald or Sam Cooke

4. I tie my hair up in a silk scarf

5. I turn on my desk lamp

Then, I get to work. I know that if I do these five things, the painting is for sure happening.

A ritual be something you look forward to. It should also fit you and your style of your work. My paintings have a vintage feel, so the old-timey music and silk scarf really get me in the zone to make my kind of art.

Below are some other ritual ideas I thought about. Maybe some of these will resonate with you.

• Light a candle

• Put on podcast

• Eat something tasty

• Put on hand lotion

• Put on glasses

• Put on a smock or apron

• Stretch

• Put on lipstick

• Water your plants

• Put on or take off jewelry

• Open a window