How a week of gratitude has shifted my perspective

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How are you feeling today?
What are you grateful for?

It has been just one week since I started my month of daily gratitude practice, surrounding myself with a wonderful group of brilliant, creative, supportive women, each keen to join me in making gratitude a part of the daily routine. Our little community centres around a secret Facebook group. It is a safe haven, a place to share good news… a group to be thankful for.

After one week of gratitude, I am becoming aware of how the daily practice makes me feel, both in general, and in the moment. In general, I feel calmer within myself. There have been days (well, probably only one), when I have sat quietly for a while wondering what I am grateful for. In pondering, many things have come up… little thoughts and bigger ones… I have so many things to be grateful for. I have noticed that if I am feeling down, taking a moment, not to indulge in feeling sorry for myself, but to think about what I am grateful for, instantly shifts how I feel. A few moments spent reading comments on our Facebook page lifts my mood and even if I am feeling happy, just reading everyone’s good news and thankfulness raises that good feeling up a notch. It has been wonderful to see the support such a group can offer. I had no idea how things would unfold when the idea of setting up Gratitude Daily came to me in the shower as a way of connecting and inspiring people online whilst initiating, formulating and pursuing my own gratitude practice, but I can safely say that this has been one occasion when I am glad I acted on impulse and put an idea out there almost as soon as it came to me… what is unfolding in this little group is thrilling to me. I am so delighted to see people asking for help, offering words of encouragement and virtual hands on backs… and what comes across is this general feeling that “we are not alone“.

I have used creative ways of expressing gratitude to connect with my children, to share with my friends and the ideas keep on coming.

I would ask you today, to contemplate…
How would a week of gratitude practice affected your mood, your day, your week?

Today, I want to share with you an incredible video which I first watched a year ago. It moved me then and it inspires me now. I firmly believe that an attitude of gratitude can change, not only your mood, your day or your week, but your life. Nick Vujicic is a living example. In Nick’s words, “You keep on concentrating on the things that you wish you had or the things that you wish you didn’t have, and you sort of forget what you do have… what I have seen in life are just a couple of key principles and the first thing that I’ve seen is to be thankful…” If you do one thing today, watch the video… and if it inspires you, please share it on.

Please share with me below what you think of Nick’s little film and consider how a week of gratitude could make you feel. For those of you who already practicing gratitude on a regular basis, it would be great to get a conversation going here below in the comments and compare notes on how the process is working for you.

I am grateful to you for being a part of this exciting journey… for taking the time to read my musings on life, creativity and everything. If you think you might benefit from taking part in a gratitude group, do get in touch. And for those of you who are currently walking this path with me, let’s see how the coming week unfolds…

With love,
Julia x

p.s. I have mentioned it before, and I will mention it again… this idea came to me as a result of reading Brené Brown’s The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to be and Embrace Who You Are. This is a book I would wholeheartedly recommend.

p.p.s. If you enjoyed this post, please share it on. Thank you! x

Gratitude Daily

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LOVE - Gratitude board

Since my last post here, I have noticed how my gratitude practice has lifted my spirits and made me more aware. I notice (or take the time to truly appreciate) things in a different way. Last night, for example, I lay in bed listening to Classic FM, watching the dust dancing so gracefully in the spotlight of the bedside lamp. The choreography was so naturally perfect and never-ending. I had to grab my notebook so I would not forget.

Today, I am grateful for the beauty that is everywhere, but so often goes unnoticed.

I feel eager to share the good feeling these things bring and I have started a group to share Gratitude Daily throughout the month of February. Seventeen women have already started connecting online and I hope each of them will join me in using gratitude over the coming month to Share JOY through ART. I am already finding little ways to express my gratitude, be it on my Gratitude board or in little works of art.

Last week, I went to a performance at the Purcell Room on London’s South Bank. It was the delightful Letter’s End by Wolfe Boart which he was performing as part of the London Mime Festival. I love mime as an art form and this performance reminded me just how much it is possible to say without words… how much can be conveyed in a look or a sound… or a work of art.

Being as the performance was close to my favourite London spot, I took the opportunity to walk over the Hungerford Bridge, took time to appreciate the city in all its glory and to photograph the lights on the river.

London Lights on the South Bank from Hungerford Bridge

In appreciating the beauty of this city in which I live, I felt compelled to express my love of the place and the gratitude I feel for being able to enjoy all of the benefits of city life, whilst living on the edge of it. So, I went back to my little series of portraits of London today.

London portraits

This city in all its glory is a subject I return to again and again. This time postcard size, next time, I think I may go a little bit bigger, so watch this space…

What have you felt grateful for this week and how can you best express it?
I would love to know your thoughts…

 

Gratitude… my window to the world

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I have always thought of my front window as a little window to the world… a window through which I can witness the world outside, the people who pass by, the postman on his way, the neighbours going out to and coming home from work. Also, it is a little window from the outside in… a snapshot of my life for all to see… the boys dancing on a lively morning, me adding a touch of lipstick before I leave the house, the photos on my wall… not clearly visible from the outside in, but there.

I have never been one for shutting myself off from what’s going on around me… I would rather be wide open than hidden behind nets or curtains and so, I have also considered, many a time, what a great little gallery my front window would make. I have hung the boys’ drawings from a little midway line, balanced stained glass and little handmade sculptures on the ledge, both for me to see from inside and others to see from the outside.

I have always felt grateful… lucky to have wonderful friends, family, a home, plenty to eat, work that I love… grateful for so many things, yet it is only recently that I have begun a practice of gratitude. The boys and I share, during journeys in the car, the things we are grateful for on that day. Hearing the things that make them smile and feel happy offers me a little window into their worlds… I see them smile often, but this gives me the chance of finding out what makes them smile on the inside… what we should be doing more of… what matters. And so, with this in mind, I purchased a little heart-shaped chalk board which I am now using daily to share the things that matter to me… the things I am grateful for. By sharing the things I am grateful for, I hope that the boys will continue to do the same. Small boy was keen to join in with the chalks yesterday, drawing a smiling friend on his side of the board. And I have chosen to share my gratitude with the world outside my window… and hope that by doing so others may consider the things that have made them smile as they pass by my home and see the things that have brought happiness into my life on that day.

Today, I am grateful that I have an outlet (BeCreativeDaily) for what’s in my heart and on my mind and I am grateful for those wonderful souls (YOU!) who take the time to read the little snippets of life that I share here. I am grateful that last year I reconnected with my love of art and the renewed sense of curiosity, joy and wonder it has brought to my life. And I am grateful for what, for me, are the simplest of pleasures, such as the grilled tomatoes and avocado on toast that I am about to enjoy for my lunch, but for so many people in the world would be a feast beyond their wildest dreams. How lucky I am.

I would love to know what you feel grateful for today.
Who or what is putting smile on your face and in your heart?
Please take a moment share it here…

With love,
Julia x

p.s. If you like my heart chalkboard and wish to take up the idea of a daily gratitude practice, this is the one I use and would highly recommend…

Share joy through art

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Share joy through artAfter a break from posting of exactly one month, I am back with a clear intention for the year ahead… to SHARE JOY THROUGH ART!

The mind map above was the result of a brain storming session this afternoon, with a focus on what I want to achieve this year. I am sure I will return to the map… add words, thoughts, feelings and more… but for now, just looking at it makes me excited. I am raring to go and I can almost feel how doing all of this wonderful stuff will energise and inspire me (and hopefully others too) over the months ahead.

So, with the idea of sharing joy through art, I would like to invite you to sign up for my monthly newsletter, the first edition of which will be with subscribers by the end of January and will include new creations, inspirations and news of upcoming workshops.

And whilst we are on the subject of sharing… please let me know what your own intention is for this New Year. I would love to hear of your creative projects and if you have created your own map or vision board, please let me know… I would love to share it here!

Here’s to a colourful, creative, inspiring 2013 for everyone!
Happy New Year!
With love,
Julia x

This is what art means to me

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Tuesday morning and I dashed back home from the school run… a feeling of urgency speeding my step… planning my moves for the moment I got in.

Small boy is at nursery, exploring the world; big boy at school, discovering, learning.

Here at home, I too have been playing, exploring, learning, discovering and, most surprisingly to me, I have been transported right back to my student days. It was a smell that did it… that most evocative sense… taking me back to the big rooms of my art school days, of tai chi in the mornings and big, light rooms and painted shoes and oh, the fun I had at Bournville! This was the place I got to experiment. It was here that I tasted what it felt like to be an artist… to be free… to play with materials and discover new techniques, to mix with other artists across the disciplines and learn from them, share ideas and excitement and forge friendships grounded in art.

Here at home, I am learning again. I am learning to be brave… to paint freely with colours, a few shapes and ideas in mind, but no fixed outcome… no final destination other than to finish, no clear idea of what I will make, how it will look, just to paint.

Here at home, I let the colours out this morning. I have been just playing with paint on paper, rolling it, spreading it, letting it do its own thing, tell its own story. I don’t quite know what will come next and today, I don’t care. All that matters is that I have started and something will come and as I write these words, waiting for my paint to dry, I feel a sense of anticipation…
of excitement…
of magic and mystery…
wonder and joy.

This is what art means to me.

Everybody needs Creative Space

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Leading my Creative Space art workshop

Leading my Creative Space art workshop, photo: Karen Mercer

On Monday evening, I ran my first Creative Space art workshop at My Coffee Stop, a cosy, jam-packed spot on the station platform at Enfield Chase. The plan was to offer busy women the opportunity to explore art-making in a friendly, supportive environment, with guided activities as well as freestyle creation. It was thanks to the generosity of spirit and community consciousness of Karen Mercer (our wonderful, welcoming hostess… maker of great coffee, baker of delicious cakes) that the workshop came about. I had spent several months with the idea of such a creative art workshop floating in my head, but a suitable venue which enabled me to work with a small group of women at an affordable price had not proved easy to find. So, when someone recommended I go see Karen, and she offered me the use of the space, I jumped at the chance.

Walls decked with art, shelves stacked with Fair Trade goodies, music pumping, this was a space in which I felt comfortably at home. And so, with Karen, two friends and two strangers (who have since become friends) being brave enough to step into the unknown and embark upon an evening of playful creativity with me, the adventure began.

When embarking on something new, I often feel a sense of apprehension, as most of us probably do. Stepping into the unkown, no matter how well-prepared we are, can feel scary at best, but this just felt exciting! There were no butterflies, no last minute nerves, no what if’s… this felt different: natural, right. I had a real sense of adventure. I knew, from the moment these ladies arrived, that this was going to be fun. Their warmth, energy and willingness to open their hearts and explore their creativity put me at ease and I felt that I was doing what comes naturally… I was in flow.

I led the group through a number of playful drawing activities, designed to free the creative spirit through trying new ideas with unexpected outcomes. We explored new ways of working/looking/seeing. We laughed, smiled, sighed. One of my goals with this, and indeed with all of my classes, is to lead people away from any ideas of perfection and towards a free-flowing form of self-expression with engagement and enjoyment in the process of making art, rather than getting hung up on the end result. When the fear and the expectation is removed, the natural outcome, more often that not, is that great art is made, and this was no exception.

I loved that when the ladies were left to their own devices – with canvas, paint, glue, glitter, sequins, etc. on offer to be used in any way they wished – so many different things came out. Each person worked in their own individual style. The pieces that were created were very personal in that each one portrayed something of significance to them and it was a pleasure to hear the stories behind the art… it is this kind of sharing that bonds a group, helps them understand each other a little better, leads to deeper friendships. And there was a real sense of community I felt. A bonding over a shared creative practice… something so rare these days which brings such joy when experienced.

Everybody needs creative space in their lives… we should all take the time to explore our own personal form of self-expression, whatever that may be. This should not be a luxury, it should be a necessity. Perhaps if more people tried it, the benefits would be felt.

I felt deeply energised by the experience that night and woke in the morning feeling optimistic about what’s to come.

I have no idea what is coming next (so many ideas, it can be hard to choose), but I have a feeling it’s going to be great!

If you would like to take part in the next workshop or if you are interested in hosting a workshop in your own home, please do get in touch… I would love to hear from you!

Warmest wishes from a very chilly North London,
Julia x

Breaking through creative blocks to finish what I started

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Birds in flight

Birds in flight

Last week I started playing… painting with my hands, expressing myself freely, seeing what came out. I loved it… the freedom of movement, the new ways in which I was applying paint, with paper, cardboard, sticks, fingers, even the side of my hand. I liked what I created… the textures, the layers of colour, the freedom of allowing myself to create freely without a goal or even an image in mind was liberating and fun.

However, when it came to moving on to the next stage… attempting to assemble it into some kind of finished work, something changed. I no longer liked it. I felt frustrated, incompetent, restrained.

So I stopped.

Then I looked around… and in doing so, I noticed several abandoned projects. I saw the empty frames asking to be filled. I saw the half-finished paintings, waiting for me to go back to them. I saw the little sculptures that I intended to paint. One day.

And something happened. I realised that this is the point at which I always abandon. This is the moment, when the fear and the feeling of not being good enough take over and I stop. I identified my pattern… my stumbling block.

So I made a conscious decision to continue. I decided to keep working and push through the creative block to see what would happen if I just kept on creating. I tore up my textures and began layering them again. I cut out shapes and pieced them together and added more layers and within the space of just ten minutes, I was happy again. I had created something I loved and wanted to stay up all night just to get it finished.

Common sense (and fatigue) got the better of me and I went to sleep work unfinished, but today I went back to the piece again.

I layered more. I painted more. I cut new images, pasted them on… and frustration set in again. Doubts crept in… I felt like walking away. So I did for a while, but instead of walking away from my art, I painted through the frustration, I cut more shapes, tried new techniques and went back to the original piece.

It took a while to arrive at the finished piece, but I made it. With persistence and determination I managed to create something I rather like. I needed patience to reach this place, but it sits in a big square box frame now, grass flapping forward as if bowing in the breeze, birds wings curling as though in flight and I have positioned it, pride of place, in the living room, just to remind me that if I just keep on going I will get there… even if I don’t know exactly where I am headed when I start.

Flock of birds painting framed

Flock of birds painting framed

Connect, create… don’t hibernate

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Autumn… the branches are becoming more naked by the day as leaves fall, spreading their gorgeous golden cloak far and wide.

I love this time of the year.
I love change. I love all that it brings.

Dark nights… to me they mean thick, cosy jumpers and open fires… marshmallows and home made soups. I have twice made garlic croutons this week alone and the slow cooker has come out of the cupboard once again, tempting me to fill it with flavours in the morning; its promise, in return, to fill my home with mouth-watering smells and delicious delights by evening.

Animals hibernate and our instinct may be to do the same… to turn inward, curl up and hide… to remain indoors as much as possible, crank up the central heating and stay safe and warm. Do you feel that way?

My own instinct has always been otherwise. When the nights draw in I feel the need to get out… and whilst the call of the open fire is there, for me, this is also the season of woodland walks and misty morning photo opportunities. It is the time I encourage the kids to go explore… to pile on the layers and go seek out the magic that nature has to offer… the free food of fallen chestnuts being one of the highlights. Picnics do not stop when Summer ends and our most memorable picnics have not been the sunburned spreads on picnic rugs, but the soup in a flask, savoured whilst perched atop little mound of earth half way on a snowy walk.

But it is not only the urge to get outside that overcomes me at this time of year, it is the desire to connect… to reach out… to learn new skills, make new friendships, feed my soul, warm my heart.

And so, with this in mind, I took my lovely artist friend Laura out for coffee last week. We went, for the first time, to a cosy little coffee shop which had been recommended to me because of its art exhibitions. I had set up an informal meeting with Karen Mercer, the owner, to discuss the possibility of running an art workshop there and, as the morning progressed, an impromptu gathering of artists occurred. In this cosy little space on a railway platform in Enfield, My Coffee Stop became the meeting place of artists, all squeezed into this tiny space: my friend and I, Karen and her partner Gunter, her brother, his wife, an illustrator and her partner who designed and made mugs… all of us coming for coffee, but making surprising connections and discovering common ground.

There and then, the wheels for the first art workshop were put in motion. A date has been set, bookings are being taken and I am gathering the materials and bursting with ideas for The CREATIVE SPACE Workshop. My desire, for this first evening workshop is to gather together a small group of people, not hung up on creating a perfect piece of art, but open to the idea that art can but fun… that they can find joy in the process, connect with people through simple, creative exercises that put the emphasis not on the outcome, but on the process… to live in the moment, take pleasure in simple mark-making and feel free to experiment with materials without fear of making a mess or a mistake.

It is small steps like these – removing the expectation, going back to a childlike joy in creation, being brave enough to start something – anything – that has freed up my own creativity and it is this sense of creative freedom that I wish to pass on.

Will you join me for an evening of art in a cosy little coffee shop on a railway platform and see where the journey takes you…?

Connect, create… don’t hibernate!

I do hope you can make it!

With love,

Julia x

Getting creative on the daily commute

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My long train journeys from North London to Chichester have become more regular this month as we move closer to the opening of the Outside In Step Up exhibition in the studio at Pallant House Gallery and the launch of the Outside In Step Up trail, both of which conclude the research project I have been running at the gallery for the past three years.

Since starting work on this challenging, yet deeply rewarding project, I have had the pleasure of working with a wonderful group of artists who have delved deep into the collections at Pallant House to discover artists whose works and stories resonate with their own lives and experiences. Through a process of research and development of their own work, a variety of personal responses are almost ready to be shared in the form of workshop packs, written work, poetry, audio descriptions and photography. It has been a big learning curve for me to run a project so very different to anything I have done before, but that offered me the opportunity to use my existing skills and develop new ones whilst supporting others to explore and grow.

I have not yet found the opportunity to do such fulfilling work close to home, so my work at Pallant House Gallery involves a 3 hour commute each way. The journey is less than weekly, but even so, it is a big chunk of the day and I have long been seeking the best way to pass the time. I have tried a number of things: preparation, relaxation, reading, writing, sleeping, talking to strangers, but few felt as satisfying as my journey home yesterday.

Whilst setting up the studio show, I went through lots of photographs of people taking part in workshops and number of original artworks as well. Seeing all of these pictures of people engaged in creative activity and holding the results of these art workshops in my hands, I was desperate to make something on my journey home. I borrowed some lino cutting tools; acquired a piece of soap and spent my journey from Chichester to London Victoria carving a bar of soap into a little sculpture. I am not yet sure if it is finished, but I am certain that this is an activity I will take up again. The pleasure of doing something creative at the end of my working day; the joy of using that often-wasted time to make a work of art made me feel happy and relaxed.

It also made me think of how I used to spend my long commutes from Arnos Grove to Hammersmith some 15 years ago. Some days I would draw; others I would embroider. The journey was an hour, from my home to my place of work and I regularly found a way to inject some creativity into the beginning and end of each working day. Whilst at Uni, I used to draw… big black marker portraits of underground passengers, attempting to create some sort of cartoon-likeness without them noticing that I had one eye on their face, another on my paper. And notice they did from time to time, but nobody minded and I took great pleasure in making art on the move; being creative in what would otherwise have been dead-time. I filled my workspace with them… my fellow passengers. They inspired some of my ceramics and paintings.

So I resolve, once again, to use those windows of time to get creative. I will draw, make, sew, carve, create.

It only takes a moment to give your creativity a BIG boost.

Have you ever used your commute to create? What did you make?

What are the moments in your day that could be spent creating? How will you spend them?

Keep a little sketchbook and pen in your handbag and create a small sketch whilst waiting for friends to arrive at the café.
Half an hour spent embroidering each way on your commute each day = 5 hours in a week alone.

What will you do?

Carved Soap Sculpture

Carved Soap Sculpture

How lucky I am…

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Wednesday is Art Club day at school.

As 3.30pm approaches and I am preparing the room, moving tables and chairs, choosing music and building up to two hours of teaching, I am never quite sure what to expect and feel that delicious combination of nerves and excitement, reminding me that what I am about to do is both a challenge and something I love that means an awful lot for a number of reasons.

Some days, all goes well: I don’t lose my voice; great art is produced; everyone leaves with a smile.
Other days, I am faced with challenges: paint-splattered uniforms; lively mischief; tired, hungry kids.
And sometimes, I leave on a high: inspired by my students; proud of what has been achieved; thrilled by the possibilities.

Today was one of those days… an exhilarating day to remember.
Today, I walked out of school with a smile on my face, thinking HOW LUCKY I AM!
And as I walked, it struck me that some of the things that challenge me are also the things that excite me. I thought about the lively class; their voices raised in playful banter. I thought about the mess they made; the fun they had making it. I remembered the hug from the liveliest class member before he went home; his way of thanking me for the lesson he had so clearly enjoyed. I smiled as I thought about the conversation about art which I had shared with one of the students as he worked a little late, keen to finish what he had begun.

In class, as I tried to keep the volume down, my perspective shifted, in a moment, from frustration to elation… those were excited voices, the laughter and sounds I hear coming from my own children’s mouths as they anticipate some fun activity or outing.

As I tried to tame the mess, something changed in me and I chose to let it flow, to deal with it later, to let the experiments get a little out of hand… what else is art about if not pushing things further; taking things to the next level; playing freely with paint and paper and whatever else is at hand?

Watching the artworks unfold, I became more animated as I acknowledged that all that was happening was all that I wished for… the children were experimenting freely, playing, exploring, creating original works of art and feeling good about themselves, gaining confidence in their abilities and letting go of ideas of perfection.

How lucky I am…
To be working with a group of children who are lively, playful and open to new ideas.
How lucky I am…
To be learning from the children I am teaching; sharing my love of art and watching theirs grow.

Last week, on the boarded up wall of the classroom, we installed a hanging system – a simple hook and eye contraption on which I can display the work and cover the wall. Our art class is now becoming a gallery too… living with art is as important as creating it. I want these kids to share their art with pride.

I love to witness their first experiments with new techniques and see their joy as they realise they did well.
I love to see that pride as they spot one of their artworks on the gallery wall and show their parents what they have created.
I love to watch their eyes light up as I tell them how brilliant they are, how original, how creative.

I love art and it is a privilege to share it.

How lucky I am.