Rediscovering Your Creativity

This post considers why our sixties can be the perfect time to rediscover our creativity and live again with the fearless joy of childhood

The uninhibited imagination and creativity of childhood

When I was a little girl, I vividly remember the excitement of going to Woolworths to buy a cheap, grid marked notebook with my pocket money. I was going to use the pages to make paper sewing patterns for the super cool outfits I had designed for my Sindy doll. I carefully drew and cut-out the patterns and fabric, then sewed them up on my mother’s old treadle machine. Unfortunately, I did accidentally put the machine needle right through my thumb nail while I was sewing. But even that though, didn’t diminish my total absorption and the sheer joy of creating something from my own imagination and with my own hands. In my ten-year-old mind, this was the first step in my career as a top fashion designer. 

Adult life intervenes

Sindy’s wardrobe was the first of many creative projects. During my childhood and teens, I sewed dresses for myself and learnt to knit and to crochet. At school I was taught how to sketch and paint, and I loved doing all of these things. In my twenties though, other things took priority. I needed to earn a living, and working in a bank seemed a safer bet than doing something creative and fun. I got married, bought a house, had a child and my time was taken up with doing all of those things that a responsible wife, mother and employee does. Hobbies that I had done simply for pleasure just drifted away. The sewing machine went up into the loft and the arty stuff got given away.

A chance to rediscover your creativity

One of the advantages of reaching a certain age, is that we now have time to do things just for their own sake and to rediscover the joy of creativity. You get to be a child again, to play, to have fun, to create. There is no pressure to produce a masterpiece or to do it ‘right’, because hey, we’re just doing it for our own enjoyment. No one is going to judge us and if they do, at our age why would we care?

What is creativity?

So, why should you do something creative?

The truth is that you are probably already doing something creative, but just haven’t labelled it as that. Did you style your outfit this morning? Did you choose the décor for your house? Did you decide on the design of the birthday cake you’ve baked for your grandchild? Did you solve the problem of how to reorganise your storage? All of these are creative acts but what I’m encouraging you to do is something intentionally creative just for the fun of it. 

A few benefits of being creative: –

Increases Self Esteem

As you try and succeed at something new, you build confidence and start to see yourself as capable of more. You are doing something that you have chosen and are taking positive action. You build confidence and self esteem just by making that choice and showing up. It doesn’t have to become anything, to be a big thing. You are just doing it simply for the joy and pleasure that it will bring you. The ensuing happiness builds will build your confidence and boost your self esteem.

It can produce a state of flow

Flow is a state of mind in which a person becomes fully immersed in a challenging but doable task. There is fluidity between body and mind. Time feels as if it has slowed down and you are ‘in the zone’, completely at one with the task in hand. It generates a sense of wellbeing happiness and fulfilment. In other words, being absorbed in creating something can make you truly happy.

It can help to adjust your perspective

It can lead on to Something else

Starting a hobby or taking a creative course can lead on to something amazing. An example of this is London-based illustrator and surface pattern designer Tracey English. She rediscovered her creativity with the help of online courses and classes at her local art collage. Now her handcrafted work is a thriving business.One of the online resources that Tracey mentions as a springboard for her career is the 100 day Project. It’s a free global art project that takes place online once a year.  Anyone can participate (yes, even you!). The idea is simple: choose a creative project, do it every single day for 100 days, and share your process on your social accounts using the hashtag #The100DayProject. You can find the details here.

It Can lead you to meaningful connections

One of the joys of engaging with a creative project is finding out that there are a whole load of supportive and helpful people out there only too willing to help you along. Nowadays there are websites and social media platforms in support of almost any type of creative enterprise you could mention. You can find your tribe on social media and discover that there’s a whole community out there willing to help, share and inspire. You only have to look.

In the last couple of years I have found my knitting tribe at Tribe Yarns online Knit Alongs (KALs) and would thoroughly recommend KALs as a way to collaboratively push the boundaries of your knitting skills. Many local yarn stores offer them either online or in person.

Some suggestions for rediscovering your creativity

• Art (painting, drawing, pottery, sculpture, cartoons, printing, 100 day project)
• Writing (blogging, journaling, writing a novel)
• Music (singing, playing, composing,)
• Crafts (knitting, sewing, crocheting)
• Photography
• Gardening (planting, designing, nurturing)
• Cooking or baking
• Flower arranging
• Quilting
• Decoupage
• Stained glass work
• Woodworking
• Brewing
• Bee keeping
• And many, many more ….

Why not pick something, have a go at it and see where it might take you?

I would love to hear about your creative efforts in the comments space below.

Thank you for reading,

Sian.

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