Just One Tool - Filling the Creative Well - Blog Series

 

Limiting your tools or supplies can be one of the most liberating creative decisions. Today’s challenge is to use just one tool, medium, or material and explore everything it can do. I find it is a great way to really understand all the uses of that tool or supply, and it gives you more flexibility and variation in your work.

Check out the Video - if you find limiting yourself to just one to begin with difficult, just reduce the amount you would normally use.  In this video I use some paints and stencils to work on the page.

What you can try

• Pick one: a watercolor palette, a black marker, a needle and thread, a gel pen, a single color of paint. What happens when you stretch its use across the whole page or several? 

• With fewer choices, you are able to explore further. Try making different types of marks. Experiment with layering. Use the tool in unexpected ways maybe your pen mimics another supply, or your watercolor develops unusual texture when layered thickly. 

• This kind of exploration sharpens your understanding of your materials and deepens your relationship to them. You become more resourceful and imaginative. 

• You might also notice that limiting your choices frees your brain. Instead of worrying about all the variations of color in your acrylic set which can sometimes be 50+, you get to focus on how many different shades and variations you can get from one color.

Bonus idea: use the same tool each day for a week. Observe how your comfort grows. This practice helps you slow down and appreciate simplicity.

Takeaway Nuggets: 

1. Limiting tools can unlock deeper creativity.
2. Mastery comes from exploration

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Check out some of the free and paid resources below to enhance your creative journey 

Course Platform - there are a variety of FREE courses and resources for you to use in your creative practice.

FREE Tier - Patreon - I have a Free Tier on Patreon that has a selection of early release posts and monthly Digital Download Papers for you to use in your creative projects - Learn More Here

YouTube - Weekly Videos to encourage your creative practice, Slow stitching, art journaling and Artists chats - Learn More Here

Check out Filling the Creative Well which helps you establish your creative practice. In the course Filling the Creative Well, your journal is also a place to answer questions, encourage and motivate you, some days you need a reminder and so filling it with encouraging words so that you can come back to it, especially in those days where you are in a valley is really important. .

Mark Making - Filling the Creative Well Blog Series

 

Today we are going to look at ‘mark making’ – It is slightly similar to doodling but you are using additional tools, lids, bottle tops or any other recycled or natural materials. It is a good idea to experiment with some of your tools to see what kind of marks you can get. There’s a special kind of freedom in intuitive mark making, you don’t have the pressure of making “art.” It is creative play and expression.

Check out my journal above to see how I create in my journal.

You can also check out this 'Mark making Tools video HERE where I share some of the tools that I use.

What You can Try

We are not thinking about drawing something specific, but we are going to make marks.  Choose a tool: a lid, a stick dipped in ink, a brush, a crayon, a piece of string – whatever you have and start to make marks on the paper. Try other things like using your non-dominant hand or put on music and respond to it with marks on the surface.

These marks don’t need to “be” anything. They can be scribbles, slashes, scratches, dots, or loops. Fill a page - or several.

 

Intuitive mark making is like your voice before you have the words. It side steps the need to be perfect and you just have fun.  You learn to value the moment and express what you have no words for.  You can do it anytime and with any supply.

Once you have a moment you can add to your marks, color them in, cut them up and use in collage, or build a library of patterns and textures that you can return to.

Takeaway Nuggets:

• Intuitive marks are expressions of energy, not outcome.

• The body often knows what the mind hasn’t said yet, let it speak.

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Check out some of the free and paid resources below to enhance your creative journey 

Course Platform - there are a variety of FREE courses and resources for you to use in your creative practice.

FREE Tier - Patreon - I have a Free Tier on Patreon that has a selection of early release posts and monthly Digital Download Papers for you to use in your creative projects - Learn More Here

YouTube - Weekly Videos to encourage your creative practice, Slow stitching, art journaling and Artists chats - Learn More Here

Check out Filling the Creative Well which helps you establish your creative practice. In the course Filling the Creative Well, your journal is also a place to answer questions, encourage and motivate you, some days you need a reminder and so filling it with encouraging words so that you can come back to it, especially in those days where you are in a valley is really important.

Handmade Backgrounds - Filling The Creative Well - Blog Series

Handmade Backgrounds

A blank page can be intimidating whether in a journal or a canvas and can often put a stop to your creative flow. There are many ways in which you can set up your surface to avoid feeling fearful and jump straight into enjoying your creative process.

I prepare my pages beforehand and the way I do that is by using up excess paint that I am using in a project on these journal pages.  Over time you build up these layers without even thinking about it as you are only using up excess paint.  There is no judgement of these pages as they are just the foundation.  When you are then ready to work on the surface you already have a stepping stone to work from gorgeous layers of paint or collage, inviting you to play.

Check out the video of my process for creating backgrounds.  If you put 'backgrounds in the search, it will also pull up some of the other videos I have created.

What can you try?

Next time you are working on a piece do not discard your excess paint, but find another canvas or papers, or art journal that you can apply the excess to the surface.

If you want to create a background from scratch you can also start by gathering your favorite materials: paints, old papers, tissue, glue, stamps, and stencils. Consider using unusual tools—cardboard, a sponge, or the edge of a credit card. There are no rules here, just layers.

Creating Backgrounds 

• Begin with paint washes or collage pieces. Let the layers dry between steps so you can keep building. Add text, stamps, or rub-on transfers. Try using a braye in the paint, scratching into wet layers, or applying gesso to tone things down and then reintroducing bold marks.
• There’s something meditative about creating backgrounds. You’re not trying to “finish” a piece—you’re setting a mood. This frees you up to experiment.
• Keep a stack of these pages ready. They’ll become the foundations for journaling, focal images, affirmations, or quotes. Think of them as planted seeds—creative soil waiting to bloom.
• Sometimes, backgrounds become the main event. If you love how a page looks, leave it, you could also photocopy the page for further use.
• Let go of needing each page to become something right away. Let the joy of creating be enough.

Takeaway Nuggets:

1. Backgrounds create momentum and break creative blocks.
2. Every layer you add is a whisper of your voice.

 

👇👇👇👇👇👇

Check out some of the free and paid resources below to enhance your creative journey 

Course Platform - there are a variety of FREE courses and resources for you to use in your creative practice.

FREE Tier - Patreon - I have a Free Tier on Patreon that has a selection of early release posts and monthly Digital Download Papers for you to use in your creative projects - Learn More Here

YouTube - Weekly Videos to encourage your creative practice, Slow stitching, art journaling and Artists chats - Learn More Here

Check out Filling the Creative Well which helps you establish your creative practice. In the course Filling the Creative Well, your journal is also a place to answer questions, encourage and motivate you, some days you need a reminder and so filling it with encouraging words so that you can come back to it, especially in those days where you are in a valley is really important. .

Gratitude Pages - Filling The Creative Well - Blog Series

 

Gratitude Pages

Gratitude has the power to change our perspective. When we pause to notice what we’re thankful for, we shift from a lack mindset to one of appreciation and satisfaction.  It is a great idea to start a gratitude journal where you can list and reflect on what you are grateful for.

A few years ago I created a ‘Gratitude and Celebration’ Journal and on a regular basis wrote about the things that I was grateful for and created a journal page with an image.  You can check out the video where I do a flip through.

What can you try?

Create a gratitude page. You might begin with a list, a sketch, a series of symbols or images that reflect what you’re grateful for today. Think of the small things that often go unnoticed -  your morning cup of tea, a bird’s song, a cool breeze and so much more.

Use colors, collage and add textures to express the gratitude, or frame your words with decorative borders, look at what you have and don’t hold back.

Return to your gratitude pages often. Over time, they are great reminders that will take you out of a slump on those rough days.

Takeaway Nuggets:

1. Gratitude nurtures joy and strengthens creativity.
2. Documenting appreciation deepens its impact.

👇👇👇👇👇👇

Check out some of the free and paid resources below to enhance your creative journey 

Course Platform - there are a variety of FREE courses and resources for you to use in your creative practice.

FREE Tier - Patreon - I have a Free Tier on Patreon that has a selection of early release posts and monthly Digital Download Papers for you to use in your creative projects - Learn More Here

YouTube - Weekly Videos to encourage your creative practice, Slow stitching, art journaling and Artists chats - Learn More Here

Check out Filling the Creative Well which helps you establish your creative practice. In the course Filling the Creative Well, your journal is also a place to answer questions, encourage and motivate you, some days you need a reminder and so filling it with encouraging words so that you can come back to it, especially in those days where you are in a valley is really important. .