| Hi John, This past week has been refreshing, immersing myself in my art practice after a relaxing ocean-side holiday. My morning ritual by the sea involved walking along the beach, coffee in hand, with the quiet company of gulls and other early risers. When I’m on a beach, no matter how captivating the view, at some point my eyes instinctually move to the ground in search of shells, pebbles, and other sea treasures. 👀 Do you do this, too? It’s a game of collecting, noticing, connecting, and thinking. This time, the beach offered few shells, but every now and then I spotted sea glass. So rare! 🥂 Once I discovered this, I was eager to find more. Funny though, a hungry search for sea glass took some joy from the experience and seemed to make it harder to find. On the flip-side, when I turned my eyes to the sea and let go of the urgency to find it, sea glass seems to find me! Especially on my return journey, when the glass was naturally highlighted by the sun’s rays. They popped! It reminded me of Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s “Gift from the Sea.” Lindbergh notes, the “sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient…Patience, patience, patience, is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith.” This got me thinking about our art-making process. Sometimes, we put too much pressure on ourselves, worried about achieving perfection, impatient for quick results, or fearful of making mistakes. As we move along on our creative journeys, where can we be more relaxed, joyful, and patient with ourselves? A question for you to consider for your art-making practice: What small change could you make to build more ease and playfulness into your creative process? Here are four ways to consider this question: Try a new art material, just for fun Paint with a color you don't usually use (and do this with a "who cares!" mindset) Invite randomness into your work. See the Art Prompt Cards in the p.s. for ideas Make art for 10 minutes with zero judgement -- focus on a mantra of process over product Wishing you peaceful shores and endless treasure, p.s. Ready to discover where creativity can take you? Download your Free Art Prompt Cards here Hey Art Studio Members, there are exciting things happening for you in April! We're making rainbow paintings, drawing flowers, making morse code bracelets (April 27 is Samuel Morse's bday!) and more... If you're not a TS member yet, here's how you can join: Join TinkerLab Schoolhouse:
Transform your family's creative journey into an art adventure of self-expression and curiosity with access this all our process art tutorials and 300+ playful creative activities. Doors to TinkerLab Schoolhouse are open now, so make sure to hop over and join here. Useful Resources Whatever your next creative project might be, if you need some help I have tons of resources waiting for you. Pop over to the blog for creative activity ideas, there are free toolson the Creativity Resources page of my website, and find affordable classes in my shop. Follow along and see what I'm up to this week over onInstagram. | 