Embrace the Creative Process: Staying Creative Feeds the Soul

I’ve always enjoyed being creative ever since I was little, often drawing or creating stories. Writing and art have always been my favorite classes in school. I took many art electives in high school, mainly focusing on 2-D media like drawing, as I enjoyed doodling and sketching my favorite characters. I’ve always adored stories, whether inventing my own or reading others’ (many summers I would read at least one book a day). As I moved on to college, studying art education, I began delving into the realm of 3-D media. I probably took around ten ceramics courses as well as a handful of collage jewelry courses and a fibers class. Getting into the creative zone always calms my mind and soothes my soul. The rest of the world and life’s hectic demands melt away. Thoughts drift in and out of my awareness, and it’s when I’m in this zen state of just being that inspiration and insight emerge. Flashes of intuition strike, often suddenly, crystal-clear, like it should have been obvious all along. While activities like “Netflix and chill” are nice for relaxing, it just isn’t the same as mindfully crafting something. There’s just something that such activities lack. Creating mindfully and intentionally is truly fulfilling.

More recently I have explored creating Perler bead projects and abstract paintings. The Perler bead projects range from favorite characters to animals and things found in nature. For most of them I have used a rainbow or cosmic color scheme. Something about those color schemes just feels right—they resonate with my soul. With the paintings I experiment with different marbling, pouring, printing, and collaging techniques. It’s a lot of fun. There’s no pressure, as opposed to other areas of life. There’s not a “right” or a “wrong” way to go about it. There’s just the creative process and endless possibilities. It’s all fair game. You can go wherever your imagination takes you. Plus, whatever I do end up creating can be gifted to friends, family, and loved ones (many projects already have been sent home with them). All my various projects are accumulating into quite the collection.

One of my best friends and I have begun creating short stories recently, and we send each other our latest pieces, bouncing ideas around. It’s so much fun; we have held revision/edit nights where we share our current stories, seeing what needs to be tweaked so they shine like gems. While it’s partially serious so we can improve our writing, we have a lot of fun with it, often our silliness coming to the forefront and playing with what-if scenarios. Some of the propositions are rather absurd, and our sides end up aching from all of the laughter. It’s great to have someone to share the creative process with.

When I create varies from day to day, depending on what’s going on. It could be in the morning or in the afternoon or evening when I get home from summer babysitting (although, there are times when I create arts and crafts with the kiddos). The when isn’t the important thing. The activity and creativity are what’s vital to my wellbeing. I’ll usually turn on some Japanese music or inspirational video to listen to in the background before venturing into the realm of creativity, seeing where my imagination and the creative process take me. Often my kitty will join me, trying to get involved, curious and wanting to investigate the in-progress piece, or curling up on my lap or the nearby chair to sleep. She enjoys hanging around while I create. It’s always nice to have her company during the process; it adds to the tranquility.

While the creative activity varies day to day and over the years, the significant, positive impact it possesses remains the same. Life would be so dull and stressful without the opportunity to create art and stories. The creative process colors my world and invigorates my soul. I wouldn’t be the same without it.