Welcome to my first monthly newsletter! Thank you so much for becoming part of this journey. Read below for musings about staying creative in the winter, what's new in my shop and portfolio, and read all the way to the bottom for news on monthly freebies!
Using Creativity to Get Through the Winter
Maintaining motivation over the winter can be tough. The days are colder, the nights are longer and the urge to hunker down and hibernate goes stronger. This February has been particularly cold and busy with a seemingly never-ending list of things to do. But taking time for oneself to refresh mentally, emotionally, and physically can help to a positive mindset. While self care can come in many forms, as an artist creating work is not only my job but my passion and my safe space. Creating fun new inspiring projects can be away release pent up energy or emotion. While I use a multitude of mediums in my work, it had been a while since I had done any non-digital painting, particularly with acrylics. Taking some time to refamiliarize myself with acrylic paint and paint a few different subjects helped fuel my motivation and creative energy.
However, if you're like me and find that inspiration tends to run low in the winter months, revisiting old projects can provide new ideas and an engaging creative outlet. With a desire to create, but unsure where to start, this month I turned my attention to some of my older works, predominantly abstract watercolors, that I had created for a project last year and wondered how I could expand upon them. After experimenting with different methods and repeats I expanded upon my design range by turning my collection of various abstracts into unique seamless pattern designs (all of which have been added to by Spoonflower catalog).
Taking the time to revisit my older works and find a new way to use and appreciate them has been an interesting activity in inspiration. By reflecting on my own work and looking back on the emotion and inspiration sources for previous pieces I was able to reinvigorate my own creativity once again while also getting to offer parts of my portfolio in a new way.
