I needed a change - some things I've been doing over here

On the weekend we discovered a new forest close to our house. As soon as we parked up and started to walk beneath the massive pines that soared skywards I felt like I was on holiday in a new place. We’ve been stuck at home for what feels like months now, so to find this new trail under a glowing blue sky just ten minutes away was a revelation for the spirits.

While I’m forever glad we have the woods at the end of our road, and the moors just up the hill, I am deeply happy to discover new places that fill up the wanderlust well. I miss travel and going to different places so it felt nourishing - a feast for the eyes and the mind to see new scenery.

That said, and I’m sure it’s something to do with everything that we’ve been through, but I feel a need for change in other ways too. I noticed recently that I’ve been wearing the same few clothes for weeks, as in, the same three or four outfits and my favourite grey jumper. I’m not sure what made me think about this but I remembered that I’d once been a person who wore colour - tunic dresses over turned up jeans with a bright cardigan, and pretty jewellery and beads. Over winter, I’d morphed into a constant jeans and T-shirt wearing bore. What happened? I can’t remember the last time I made an effort to feel NICE and I suddenly craved colourful clothes and my beaded earrings again. I’m now making a Pinterest board of some inspiring outfits I’d like to wear and I’m looking in my wardrobe to start making some new and vibrant choices!

I’d also been feeling like I wanted to learn something new lately. I have heaps of biz books and so on here but felt I wanted a more collective experience, something where I could connect with other people…but, where do you do that in the middle of an epidemic? Well, I signed up for a copywriting and sales course online and I am LOVING it! I love being a student again in a group of like minded people, and I feel happy that I can invest in myself and my business in this way.

The other thing I’m feeling itchy about is my art. Yes, yes here we go again. I’m certain that this is an inbuilt process within creative people, designed to cause angst and hand wringing, and one that I will perpetually circumnavigate around to at intervals. There are telltale warning signs to look out for…I start to feel like I want to expand and stretch myself, try new things or new colour palettes. I feel like I want to push myself to improve and grow, learn new ways of making marks and making art. I want to feel excited again and this can sometimes be remedied by a very simple solution.

As a working artist it’s easy to postpone art dates/play dates for more important stuff like - well, work and everything else that you can possibly procrastinate about. But I thought it would be beneficial to me to make some time to do this. I gave myself an hour and experimented this morning with making some hand painted collage papers. I had some pieces of A5 Khadi paper that I decorated liberally with watercolour and mixed media and then after lunch I thought I’d try using them in a piece of art that wasn’t for any purpose other than to explore and create. It has been a long, long time since I gave myself permission to play like this, I’m usually very focused on my work and getting stuff done but I had the best time.

I made a really abstract background, found myself painting flowers and leaves and made cut out hearts from my collage papers that I stuck down. I’ve not made anything with collaged elements for ages and I quite liked what emerged today. It’s far from finished but I’d like to go back to it soon.

Sometimes, the urge to do something different creatively can be answered with a single play session like this. It might be that you just need an hour or so getting messy and adventurous, or spending time trying a new medium…it could be the beginning of a new adventure. I really like the idea of the handmade papers so it might be something I explore further, maybe painting onto tissue paper instead of the Khadi paper which can be quite bulky in places it being hand made. I like the idea of developing textured layers…I’m so excited to see where this will lead!