Dedicating time for creative play

Giving our thinking brain a break

Creative play - what is it exactly? I mean, it can be a multitude of things, and in a way, that’s the beauty of it.

For me, creative play is about creating for the sake of creating. It’s enjoying the process, as much as, if not more than, the final result.

Growing up, I didn’t consider myself to be creative. It’s certainly not a word I would use to describe myself. But, in my early twenties, I gave in to creative inklings. First, with photography, then with writing, and all sorts of other arts and crafts. I still can’t draw, or paint, and I’m not particularly masterful with my words, either. But I truly believe that we're all creative in one way or another, and it’s okay if sometimes it takes a little while to find our thing.

When my creative work became my job, I realised that I wanted other spaces to play in. Spaces where it really didn’t matter what the outcome was. So I’d buy lino printing kits, and watercolour paints - and just allow myself to enjoy the process. Harder to do, when you’ve spent many years thinking that whatever you gave your time to, had to have some form of tangible outcome.

But creativity for the sake of creativity? Who has time for that?

What I’ve come to learn is that, by finding ways to be creative and making room for play, we give our thinking brain a chance to rest. You might find that you lose yourself to the process, and get in the flow - suddenly, your concentration is hyper focused, minutes and hours can go by, without thinking about anything else. Solutions to problems come to you out of nowhere, new ideas take shape. At the very least, you give yourself a creative break.

Whether you consider yourself to be creative, or not - I challenge you to schedule in some creative time, and see what unfolds. I’ve just finished running a vision board workshop - the perfect way to indulge in a bit of creativity, without the need for painting or drawing. Without the need to judge what comes out in the process!

Here’s what took shape for me:

I’ll leave you with a quote I came across on Instagram, and one I’ve ended up including on my vision board too.

"Today: Soak in what's real - and what's real is unhurried. The ground. The air. The exhale. The planted seed. The shift. The season."

Victoria Erickson

Things I liked this week:

• Ventoux on Netflix - group of friends reunite 30 years later to go on a cycling trip

• Never Gonna Snow Again - a mysterious film set in Poland, available on MUBI

• Small Bodies of Water by Nina Mingya Powles - started reading this before Christmas, and only just finished it - but it was beautiful, and echoed some of the themes I’ve been exploring for myself around belonging

Until next time,

Anna x