Try Something New

Recently, I had the opportunity to become a student again. In a course at Bullseye Glass, I learned how to create stencils with a Cricut, transfer them to a silkscreen, and print images onto sheet glass using powdered glass.

I came away with more than a new technique.

Learning something unfamiliar reminded me how one creative experience can open the door to another. Before the workshop, these processes were outside my experience. By the end, I wasn't simply thinking about what I had learned to do—I was beginning to imagine what else I might do with it.

That's one of the things I love about trying a new material or taking a workshop. We don't necessarily need to master something new. Sometimes we simply need an experience that makes us wonder: What else could I try?

Becoming a Beginner Again

Being a beginner can be uncomfortable. When we already have experience in one area, it's tempting to stay with the materials and processes we know. We know what to expect. We know how to solve problems. And, perhaps most importantly, we know we're capable of making something successful.

Trying something unfamiliar changes that.

Suddenly, we're experimenting again. We're asking questions. We're paying closer attention. Things don't always behave the way we expect them to—and that can be precisely where something interesting begins.

There's a certain freedom in not knowing what you're doing yet.

Instead of asking, Is this good?, we can ask:

What happens if I try this?

That small change in thinking shifts the emphasis from performance to discovery.

One Thing Leads to Another

The most valuable outcome of learning a new creative process may not be the particular object we make.

A new material, tool, or technique becomes another possibility we can draw upon later. We might combine it with something we already know, adapt it in an unexpected way, or simply carry the experience of experimentation into our next project.

That's what I'm noticing in my own studio now. Learning a new approach to working with glass has made me more curious about other possibilities. I feel more willing to experiment, combine processes, and see where an idea leads rather than needing to know exactly where I'm going before I begin.

And that, for me, is where creativity becomes especially interesting.

Give Yourself Permission to Try

You don't need to become a watercolor painter because you take a watercolor workshop. You don't need to become a glass artist because you experiment with glass. You don't even need to make something you particularly like.

The experience itself has value.

Try an unfamiliar material. Take a workshop. Learn from another artist. Choose a color you normally avoid. Use a familiar tool in an unfamiliar way.

Then pay attention to what happens.

You may come away with a new skill or a finished piece you're excited about.

But you may also come away with something more important:

the curiosity and confidence to try whatever comes next.