To tap into that natural creative spirit, recapture your childlike enthusiasm for everything around you. Work with the reckless delight of a child.

Establish an atmosphere that energizes you. Some creative people flourish in confusion; others need to be free from interruption. Many prepare themselves for work by exercising to stimulate circulation; others meditate to quiet the chatter of the outer world.

Whatever direction your life takes, your underlying themes remain. Discover and explore your themes to open the way for rich creative development.

Smash creative blocks. Change the problem or sneak up on it from a different direction. Try something fresh - a new way with an old theme, a different point of view, unusual tool.

Allow some warm-up time each day to stimulate your creative flow. A pianist does keyboard exercises. A gymnast stretches. An artist needs to loosen up, too. It takes a few minutes to shift from the real world into a creative mode.

Don't dwell on your mistakes. Set achievable goals: a confident line, effective use of values, interesting shapes, exciting texture.

Creativity needs to be exercised to grow strong.