Reuse and Reimagine - Filling the Creative Well - Blog Series

Creativity isn’t always about starting fresh. Sometimes, it’s about looking at what’s already been made and seeing it with new eyes – change your perspective. Look at old work with new eyes – those abandoned paintings, the background you never used that you made in that course, what about those sketches you did, they all still hold potential – why not revisit them and see what they could be reused for.

In the video I show a page I painted, but didn't like it, I decided to make changes and added mixed media elements.

This reminds us that every piece of creative work that you do can still be used however long after you have created it – they are not mistakes or messes we just did a detour and put them aside, now we can revisit them. Just put your fresh perspective glasses on and away you go!

What you can Try

• Use bits from an old piece to create something new. Build a collage, add stitching, or paint over it. 

• Start by selecting something you made in the past—something that didn’t work or something you abandoned. Then tear it. Cut it. Paint over it. Stitch into it. Layer it into a collage. See what happens when you give it a second life.

You’ll be surprised how freeing it is to transform a piece of work, and there is healing in creating from the remnants.

Takeaway Nuggets:


Repurposing old work is an act of creative transformation.
Every beginning grows from something before it.

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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. .

Quiet Pages - Filling the Creative Well - Blog Series

 

Day 17: Q – Quiet Pages

In a world that is often loud with bold colors and ‘in your face’ imagery, there is something we can do to bring moments of quiet contemplation in our work.  

I do love lots of color and patterns in my work but every now and again I like to strip it back and keep it simple.  It might be soft watercolor washes, light pencil sketches or muted collage layers and tones. Maybe it’s a stitched piece with a single thread, a page with only one word or shape. Don’t be afraid to leave space. Space lets the page breathe. It allows your viewer and yourself to rest and reflect.

 

Intentional quiet can bring restoration. When we slow down we give ourselves permission to listen and we can hear the still small voice and make sense of the complicated.

What you can Try

• Quiet pages become moments of pause, and can balance out the louder more vibrant pages of your art journal 

• Make room for stillness on the page. Think about muting the colors or being minimalist in your message.  How can you say more with less. 

• Create a page using only 1–2 materials. Let negative space or simplicity guide your choices.

Takeaway Nuggets:

• Silence can be a bold creative choice.
• Simplicity holds space for deeper emotion.

👇👇👇👇👇👇

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. .

Patterns and Play - Filling The Creative Well - Blog Series

 

Patterns are everywhere that we look, on textiles, in nature, in architecture, and even in our daily routines. There can be something soothing about repetition. Creating patterns allows us to bring order to chaos, develop rhythm in our work and find joy in the familiar. There can also be a playfulness in the repetition and pattern-making.

In the video it gives you an example of repeated patterns and shapes. I enjoy turning my shapes and patterns into a scene.

What Can you try

• Keep it simple, a shape or a motif. Choose something and repeat it across your page. Try changing the size, color, or direction. Layer them or keep them structured in neat rows. The key is to play without judgement. Repetition can be very meditative and I love creating patterns in my own creative practice.  It is calming and will build your confidence.

• You might discover something beautiful in the way slightly imperfect marks can repeat themselves. Or that one pattern leads to another - circles can become flowers, lines become leaves, the possibilities are endless.

• You can also create patterns with stamps, stencils, or stitching, this is a great way to use these tools. Think back to some of the previous posts and additional tools you can use to create patterns. Turn anything into a stamp and let it lead your design. 

• Enjoy the simplicity and the freedom patterns offer. You can also photocopy your patterns and reuse them in your art journals or creative projects.

Takeaway Nuggets:

• Patterns invite rhythm and play into your work.

• Repetition is a creative meditation.

👇👇👇👇👇👇

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. .

Observation - Filling The Creative Well - Blog Series

Observation Drawing

Every now and again, I like to do a 'still life drawing' and pick a subject in front of me or set something up.  I feel it helps train your 'eye' and we move out of the ‘thinking’ and into the present, you have to focus on what you see rather than what you think it should look like.  There are also additional exercises that you can do that will help in your creative practice.

Check out the Yoga of Drawing

What you can Try

Pick a simple object – you choose what catches your eye.  Spend ten minutes drawing it. Don’t worry about accuracy. Focus on shape, shadow, and form.

Additional Exercises

• Try continuous line drawing don’t lift up your pen and create a figure

• Blind contour drawing – don’t look at your paper and draw the figure.  It takes time to get used to the activities but do something every day.  These practices strengthen your connection to what’s real and present.

Drawing from observation builds patience, attention, and skill and helps you practice sensitivity to your surroundings.

Takeaway Nuggets:

• Drawing teaches presence and awareness.

• It’s not about likeness - it’s about looking.

👇👇👇👇👇👇

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. .