All in creativity
Flowers are a big part of my life. Picking them connects me to my matrilineal lineage. There is a story in all my favourite activities. Such creative play like doodling helps unlock the stories buried deep within and form part of a series of powerful exercises I use in my online creativity courses.
Procrastination or productivity, who said we can’t have both. Procrastination can lead to unhappiness, unease and finally to change. We put off what we don’t want to tackle until we roll up our sleeves and begin. And then the magic starts to happen. We become more productive and happier.
Whether it’s poetry, painting or cooking, the arts need to be cultivated and nourished. One hundred years ago, household guru, Mrs Beeton believed that putting structure in the week would build good household habits. I believe the same can be applied to creativity and building a creative habit.
What can you do to reignite your inspiration? Being accountable to yourself will help pull you through those inevitable flat times when you are uninspired. Showing up to your creative practice, no matter what, is the main thing.
What is the secret to having a daily art practice? It is a commitment to something you think is worthwhile, that brings you joy and fulfilment.
Why are we in the midst of dragon energy? I keep painting dragons as this energy seems to be in the air, protecting us and the earth from danger as we have time to reflect on our lives and allow the earth itself time to reset.
My mother would never have termed herself a ‘creative’. Yet our house was filled with generations of creative artefacts, embroideries and tapestries that she and my grandmother and great aunts had made. That creativity runs through me as I today I see my daughter taking up the mantle, my granddaughters as well. Creativity is a spiritual connection that connects us to ourselves and the cosmos.
As we spend more time alone, it starts to build a pattern of going deeper within. I can feel my thoughts drifting, emptying as I spend more time with my innermost being. For the past seven weeks I have been making circles of paper, from reds and orange through blues and greens and now emptying into white, the still centre as I’m learning to trust and let go of control.
How do we imagine the future? I have been making a new world of my own imagination, filled with rich blues and greens. I believe that we are holding the world together while a new one is in creation. We bear witness and hold hope while the world is created anew.
While we can’t travel during social lockdown, we can armchair travel. Use this time to document your experiences during the pandemic, however gruelling it is. For it will never come again, just like I will never travel in a horse and cart again. Join me while we Armchair Travel to transform our experiences and travel into art.
When we are advised to keep our distance, we need to know that human touch is possible, even if only virtually. Create though this crisis. Make a handprint to proclaim: I am here. Take a photograph of it to send to your family and friends. This is how you can connect with them, to show you care and are thinking of them. High 5 with a handprint.
International Women’s Day is a good day to reflect on fear, both as an artist and a woman. What if I fail is such an overriding fear it infiltrates all spheres of life. How do we address this, what do we do to care for ourselves and others?
In the 1980’s there was a global alternative living movement. We believed we could create so we started with whatever materials were to hand. Leaps of faith are bold. They move us forward into creating our dream life. As Goethe says boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
I am preparing my Dare to Create course, gathering inspiration, hunting and gathering from life experience as ideas turn into actions. Being creative is a little like being a weird little beast. You are inspired by seemingly random things which later turn into works of art. Its about follow small intuitive steps steps and trusting the creative process.
Some people say you need a lot of space to create in. That’s great if you have that. I have a lovely studio bench at home, but what I love the best is my portable studio. It’s my constant travel companion.
I believe that all change starts with one person. When we become happier within ourselves, more creative, more grateful for our lives, we are able to share this joy and happiness with others. So the ripples spread and we might touch one person, in turn they touch another and so change spreads, one person at a time.
How do you turn your dreams into reality? Imagination! When you imagine something and then action it, you manifest your dreams. Imagination is the language of the soul, according to Albert Einstein. When I come up with crazy wild ideas, it’s usually because I have read some story in a book which has fired up my imagination. Like my play If There Be Dragons from 1998.
