Why You can Never lose your Creative Spark
Here’s a little something you might not know about me. I’ve been a preschool teacher for 15 years.
This means, I’ve kinda become a bit of an expert on linking creativity to our childhood freedom; because I learn from the masters each week – 5 years olds.
Here’s what my career as an Artist, combined with years of teaching kids (and them teaching me), has enabled me to know: You can NEVER LOSE your Creative Spark.
Essentially, when we’re little tykes, we do things simply because we like doing them.
When I was a kid, I was always drawing and painting and sewing and cooking – not for any other reason than it felt awesome and I loved it! I wasn’t afraid of failure, I wasn’t afraid to take risks, so the creative process unfolded naturally. Meanwhile, my icing was always too runny, my stitching all skewed, and my artworks were less than refined, but they were full of true, pure beauty, that came from the heart - and I loved every second of it!
Then the years pass, and we go onto school, work, get married, have kids, or do whatever other stuff grown-ups do. Thing get busy, we lost track of that free spontaneous part of ourselves and years on, we long for that part of ourselves we’ve now lost.
Maybe we used to be good at drawing, but we’re just not anymore … we’ve lost it, over time.
Except we haven’t lost it at all!
Why? If you see a kid create, they do it with their whole spirit.
Children have taught me that being creative is something WE ARE, it’s something WITHIN US, it’s something we’re BORN WITH, and something we KNOW in our bones.
I’ve SEEN it, so I KNOW it.
Drawing and painting is not something we acquire, it’s intrinsic to us, so it’s not even possible to lose it. It’s something we love, it’s in our nature to do it! Besides, how can it be lost ‘out there’ somewhere? Where could it go? Where could we go? Nowhere – just inside, shelved away in a place ‘til it’s needed again (along with our dreams).
All that happens, when we grow up, is that we move from our bones and into our heads.
We stop using our creative, free energies, because we’re taught it’s better to shift so our logical mind takes the wheel.
This is the mind that lives in numbers and quantities and proof and prerequisites. It fears anything that can’t be measured – and creativity can’t be – so it tells us it’s safer not to try. So, all that’s stopping us from picking up that brush again, is the half of our mind we use more of, telling us we can’t.
Meanwhile, our beautiful creative muse is always inside us and SHE wait patiently to be ignited once again. There’s no tests to deem us qualified to access her, SHE is a part of us and always will be. She’s the child that knows how to play. Give her a brush and she knows what to do!
Remember the saying ‘Build it and they will come?’ I say ‘Pick up the pencil and SHE will come through it’. Just start and she’ll once again, take the wheel.
I think as we get older, we all think we need to be results-driven, but if we just create art from the pure joy of creating, just because it feels good, that’s when the magic comes about!
That’s why I teach art classes.
Through art, we can meet a part of ourselves we’ve forgotten to use. And the best thing is, once we start accessing our creative mind through making art, we can be more flexible and creative in our whole lives – simply because we’ve ignited a more freeing energy within ourselves.
Fuck this stuff is juicy! It really gets me going!
So, what do you think? Does this sound true? Do you believe me yet? Do you know what you’re capable of? Not even I do – you’re more amazing than even I can imagine!
If you’d like to unlock your inner child muse, I’d love, love, love to help:
My half-day ‘Intro to Mixed Media’ workshop is a wonderful way to learn some delicious, freeing art-making techniques. It’s great to pick up a brush for the first time in years, and be supported in the process. Or even to learn some new tricks. Book here.
If powerful, creative ignition is what you’re really after, my full-day ‘Creating with Feeling’ workshop is SO where it’s at!
‘Creating with Feeling’ goes in at a much deeper level and helps you discover your inner preferences for picking subject matter and feelings that make really meaningful work. It taps into who you already are, and harnesses that energy in art-making, suprising you in the process! It’s about unlocking, exploring, risk-taking, flowing, listening, moving. It’s beautiful!
Both workshops complement each other really well, so it doesn’t matter which you do first. Let your heart guide you and in turn, I’ll guide you wherever you’re at!
Love C x
