Creative Spirit Blog September 14, 2025 Joy, Play, and Pleasure!

Running Rapids Mixed Media

“Ultimately, my hope is to amaze myself.  The anticipation of discovering new possibilities becomes my greatest joy.”                    Jerry Uelsmann

What makes the creative process so fascinating for me is that I don’t know what is going to happen.  I have a fairly good idea, just because I have a lot of experience, but truthfully, I never know what the end results will be. The most planning I do is to pick a surface to work on, determine a color palette which reflects a mood I feel or want to convey, and gather a pile of things that go together. (Being mainly a mixed media artist, I have and use stuff!) Then I arbitrarily put in three values from the palette I chose.

Creating for me is done in the moment. Being present, enjoying the materials, and colors I am working with. The outcome is not important.  At least not when I start.  As I work, inspiration comes.  As Picasso said, “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” 

Unfortunately, this is a hard concept for new artists to grasp.  They feel they must have an idea and a mental picture of how it is going to come out. Then they worry about how others will look at their attempt. 

As artists we must play!  We need to play with mediums, surfaces, styles to find out what is right for us.  We must get clear in our own mind how we want to create.  We can’t do that without trying different things and letting go of preconceived ideas, and we can’t worry about the outcome.  Risk that glorious failure! If you are not happy with the outcome it becomes a puzzle to solve, and if that fails it can be repurposed.  Find joy in the process.  

One of the best ways we can help ourselves create is to design a "daily ritual" that we use regularly and routinely. When our ritual becomes habitual, we will find ourselves moving effortlessly from not creating to creating and our muse finds us!     

We can’t plan for everything, our circumstances change. Unexpected things come up.  But we can try hard to consistently be in our creative place for a short period every day.  Showing up for “play time” is three-quarters of the battle!

If we passively wait for a sudden spark, we may never create anything. We must actively engage in the creative process to increase the likelihood of getting innovative ideas.  We must cultivate the conditions for inspiration to grow. 

It always amazes me how time flies while I am in the studio.  Problems, stress, pain, things on the “to do list” all seem to disappear. I am there enjoying the textures I am working with and the colors I choose to work with.  And yes, I am frequently amazed at what has happened during my “play time”. Only then do I critique my work for the purpose of selling or showing.  Sometimes I even say…that was fun and walk away.  It will be something else another day. 

“The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.”   Authur Helps

Find joy in playing, you will derive much pleasure.  Carolyn