Cecil Vortex, on Conversations About Creativity, interviews artists, writers, and others on their creative process. This month, he has an interview with visual artist Tucker Nichols, creator of Postcards from Vermont and the What a Day web site.

I pulled out some of the things Tucker, a self-supporting artist, does to keep his creative juices flowing:

Routine
Tucker start his day the same way – feeds the cats, eats breakfast, does a new drawing for his What a Day web site, has a morning “status” meeting (see below).

Idleness
Idleness, so undervalued in our do-do-do culture, is critical to creativity. Tucker works in his garden and takes long walks to clear his head and give his mind space to work and play.

Conversation
On the What a Day site, several people have started using his daily drawings to spark their own creative work. This dialog enriches Tucker’s own work.

Experiment with Context
Tucker draws wherever he goes—even at the dentist’s office. He looks at the effect those environments have on him. (He trashed his dentist drawings – they sucked, he felt. So now he knows what it’s like to draw at the dentist!)

Morning “Status” Meetings
Tucker works alone but has his own team meetings each morning. He lets all the staff members in his head report in on what they are doing and what their next steps are.