D E C E M B E R
My friend Emma set me a challenge to create everyday for the month of December, even if the finished product didn’t look as I expected.
So for the month of December I wanted to create each day but in the end only managed two weeks. When it got closer to Christmas, I stopped. That little exercise taught me lots about pushing past creative blocks and using art as a way of expressing myself, regardless of the outcome.
At first, this was challenging for me as I sometimes overthink before I begin to create. I decided to leave all my paints and paper out on the table so I couldn’t make any excuses. I had some large pieces of paper, which I covered with ready mix paint straight out of the squeezy bottles. This formed fun patterns and lines weaving in and out. These were used at Church to decorate the building for Christmas. It was such a wonderful opportunity to share my art with others.
As part of my daily creativity, I was influenced by Eat Pray Pedal who create the most gorgeous baubles with abstract art on them. This inspired me to make my own. I did this with my friend Becky and we had the best time painting together. I especially love how colourful the baubles turned out, my personal favourites were the ones with splatters on.
After making larger paintings and baubles, I painted sticker as the next part of my daily creating. I composed a video capturing the stages of process, I was experimenting with different layers and colours. After layers of paint, the final effect of the stickers were all unique and showed different aspects of the printing. I would love to make more in the future.
Looking back at last year, I can see that creating daily in December formed and shaped me, affecting how I create now. I know my art has grown lots this year, which is mainly due to the lockdown that started back in March 2020. I wanted to utilise the time to create as often, creativity gets pushed aside even though it is an essential part of who I am.
Let me encourage you, as December 2020 Sophie, to take up creating. You will never know the full potential of your creativity unless you try. It’s never about the outcome, it is ALWAYS about the p r o c e s s.
Allow the process to develop, although it will be time consuming and it may be discouraging at times, but you will never know who you could bless by taking a risk.
You are Created to Create, so start today.
