A Festival of Creativity

"Come with me and you'll be in a world of pure imagination. Take a look and you'll see into my imagination.

We'll begin with a spin
Traveling in the world of my creation
What we'll see will defy
Explanation” - Willy Wonka

The hairs on my arms stand on end and there is some strange electricity coursing through my soul. I can feel my heart in my throat, I catch my breath.

I can feel an idea, tantalisingly close, just at the edge of comprehension. It flits and flutters in my mind like a single tiny firefly among a mesmerising sparkle of fireflies. Inspired by them, but new.

I follow it. Curious and excited. Along a path through the woods, clambering over tree roots and through the bluebells and wood anemones. We come to a rickety wooden kissing gate. Beyond the trees, a wildflower meadow bordered with hedgerows stretches out before us. There is quiet music drifting on the breeze and I can see across the hills and valleys to the sea.

In that perfect moment, the firefly alights, softly glowing with it’s inspirational magic, and before me, a Festival of Creativity materialises.

It is a celebration of creativity of all kinds.

The art gallery is a lighthouse by the sea, where stunning photographs hang side by side with beautiful watercolour paintings, pencil drawings, pastel art, collage, mixed media and wonderful artworks of all kinds.

In a glade in the woods there is a cabin where you will find woodwork and metal work, intricate marquetry, pyrography, wood carving and furniture making.

There is a boat in the bay filled with papercrafts; card making and calligraphy, origami, scrapbooking, papercutting, bookbinding and decoupage.

In the sky, a hot air balloon drifts, lifting festival goers into the clouds, where there is a marquee made of patchwork, filled with textile crafts; from knitting and crochet to embroidery and felting, weaving and macrame. There are silk paintings and cyanotype printing and tie-dyed creations.

The jewellery makers, silversmiths, potters and glassblowers ply their craft in the summerhouse by the lake, creating bowls and pots and bottles and delicate decorations that delight and enthral.

In the Hobbit hole you can find decorative crafts of candle and soap making, flower crafts and basket weaving. The bakers and cooks delight our senses with delectable recipes from the kitchen. The gardeners work a natural magic with their green fingers, of blooms and foliage, fragrance and colour in the garden under the trees.

Drink the potion in the tiny bottle to stroll through the miniature village where there are dollmakers and puppeteers, dioramas and model makers of all kinds.

The library in the old oak tree is filled with magic, where words and pictures conjure doorways to other worlds. There is poetry written on the leaves, and stories and songs adorn the branches.

At dusk, as the moon rises, you can take a balloon ride to the stars, where mystical arts and oracle cards tap into the subconscious mind to unravel mystery of future and past.

An orchestra plays in the meadow and the dancers plie and pirouette to the enchanting music of this magical place.

There is a nature trail too, where we can lose ourselves in quiet wonder, finding inspiration for our creative souls in the natural world.

There are no crowds. You can enjoy the festival in peaceful solitude, or if you choose, you can chat to other creatives, follow along with the different activities and join in with the community.

The festival is open day and night, through every season, in all weathers, for festival-goers to enjoy at their leisure.

Would you like to join me?

While I can’t organise a physical Festival of Creativity where we could sail to patchwork marquees in the clouds or shrink to Thumbelina’s size to explore a model village, I can bring it to life with words, pictures, and a little imagination.

I will be creating the festival here on Substack, gathering together Letters and Notes about creativity of all kinds to share with you.

We’ll explore inspiration and ideas, process and behind the scenes, tools and techniques and so much more. I have always loved to create and I am planning to try out as many different crafts as I can, just for fun, and share that with you too.

There will be a festival map with magical doorways to each of the locations, where I will gather my favourite Substack Posts and Notes, and share my own creative adventures.

The Festival of Creativity will be entirely supported by readers like you.

Creative Explorer festival tickets are free, and I will send them to everyone before the festival opens!

If you are able to upgrade, your contribution will help the festival come alive, and I will send you a personalised Inspired Creative festival ticket.

Founding members will get a personalised Patron of the Arts ticket, as well as an original bespoke illustration or fine art pencil portrait.

I am deeply thankful for every paid subscription, each one gifting my creativity another moment to draw, write, and craft freely.

As well as welcoming you to the festival as a guest, I am also looking for creatives who would like to join the festival as a contributor.

If you write about any type of artwork or creativity, from silk painting to woodcarving modelling making to calligraphy and would like to feature your work at the festival, I would LOVE to hear from you.

If, like me, you have an endless desire to fill your life with creativity, I would love you to join me on this adventure.

Bye for now,

P.S. I’ll send a set of my Best Friends greetings cards to anyone who upgrades to an annual paid subscription in June 💜