So, WHY does CREATIVE EMPOWERMENT mirror WELLNESS? And WHY is it so POWERFUL?

Simply put, when we’re creatively disconnected, we’re most likely disconnected in other areas of our lives. This is because we don’t yet have a creative means or vehicle to connect with ourselves in deep and profound ways, preferring to choose to live on the surface, or in our heads, or in our family chaos, or in our work, or in a ‘relaxing’ bottle wine. 

 We’ve all been there, sometimes, we simply forget about ourselves. 

 We find it easier to stay in firefighting mode rather than finding the time to understand our inner world and our preferences, beliefs, experiences, responses, emotions, desires, our natural rhythms and our sub-conscious wisdom.

Creativity is a wide and broad term, and whilst creativity can take on many valid and glorious forms, it’s important at this point to make a distinction between creative craft making for relaxation or passing the time and the work of deep creative art. 

Neither of which requires you to be an artist or professional creative by the way..

Ultimately, whichever way you look at it, creativity is beautiful and a good use of time. 

So, this is a difficult concept to wrap yourself around. 

First, let’s examine what creative craft making for relaxation or passing the time,  looks like:

• It looks like following a pattern or recipe
• It looks like the meditative experience of solving jigsaw puzzles
• It looks like paint by numbers or mindful colouring
• It looks like step by step art classes

None of these are bad by the way and still way better than a lot of the non creative alternatives 

I grew up in a house where my mum was a avid crafter, maker, and creative but she was definitely using creativity to relax and ease boredom.. She used her creative pastimes for enjoyment, relaxation and a sense of accomplishment. 

Alot of the stuff she made was impressive. But she struggled to believe in her creative capabilities outside of the rules, outside of the pattern. And to take risks creatively.  

And still, to this day, she won’t even attempt crocheting or cooking without a pattern or recipe. 

She studied counted cross-stitch for years. Some of her most elaborate creations literally taking years to master and complete. Tiny needles with micro silky threads woven into blank linen in precise and methodical counted crosses to create intricate images. Like paintings, using woven satin thread and tiny sparkling beads.

They were stunning, and yes they required skill,  but they all came from highly detailed instructions, rules, and boundaries. And she would unpick anything that didn't comply.

So what does the work of deep creative art making look like then?

• It looks like you a blank canvas and your imagination
• It looks like free hand, playful, tactile sculptures
• It looks like improvising recipes from whatever you have on hand in the fridge
• It looks like poetry and blank pages filled with melodic words
• It looks like being the pattern writer or the illustrator or the engineer
• It looks like entrepreneurship and creating a business from nothing

And it requires you to dig a little deeper within yourself to trust, experiment, play, express and take action and risks, despite your fears, limiting beliefs, lack of experience and lack of resources.

This is the creativity I’m taking about on the road to creative empowerment.

For me, this looks like an art practice: creating traditional 2D art. This is my vehicle,

Over the years, I’ve experimented with many art materials, techniques, and processes with child-like curiosity to help me remember the real me. And to help me navigate my inner world so that I can empower myself to tune into my inner power and wisdom.

This form of art-making is at the heart of the work I do today to support other women on their journey to creative empowerment. I combine traditional art making with holistic wellness practices and soul-led inquiry.

I believe a creative pracgtice featuring these elements can help you to  experience transformative inner connection, resilience, and strength through creative-based action. 

It provides you with a platform to heal, grow and experience empowerment as you dig deep within yourself through fulfilling and inspiring self-led creative projects.

This way of creating helps you to give yourself permission to re-write the way you connect with yourself by surrendering to the creative process. 

Challenging and pushing yourself to create past any fear.  

And, in turn, helps you to gain unique insights into your inner world, giving you the strength and resilience to create more gentle ease and joy in your life

So why is this deep work of creative art-making so powerful? 

As well as promoting mindfulness and emotional regulation, like meditating through creative action, which promotes calm, relaxation, and stress reduction.

It also activates sensory experiences, which make us feel a wide range of emotions and help us tune into our preferences and curiosities. 

The most powerful way that the deep work of creative art-making supports our overall wellness is because it embodies the mind-body-spirit connection. 

Stimulating pathways to deeper self-connection and, over time, actually changing the structure of our brain and our natural responses and behaviours as we utlise the blank page, explore our materials and learn to trust our physical creative responses and achieve creative flow. 

This deep creative process allows us to explore and challenge our subconscious preferences, beliefs, and experiences through art-making. 

Because of this, what you set out to create will often look quite different to what you actually create.

And this is why it is the creative process itself which holds the hidden treasure. 

Providing you with tools, insights, patterns and reinforcements as your inner world spills out onto the page and into your art. 

Now that's powerful.

Take care, Sam x

 Sam Horton is a professional artist, passionate about the links between art, creativity and well-being.

Learn more about Holistic art practices for well-being

Sam's Art Studio and Studio Shop are based in Australia on the Sunshine Coast.

Receive weekly updates and insights, direct from Sam, on connecting the art and creativity in your life with a greater sense of well-being via her weekly email newsletter

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