Celebrating creativity of all kinds
There is a magic in this world. But it is not a magic of wizards and wands, of spells and sorcery.
There is a magic in this world. But it is not a magic of wizards and wands, of spells and sorcery.
It is wild and powerful. Without it there would be no stories, no invention, no art or music. We would not dance or sing or make things.
It is a magic created in the space where a paint brush touches canvas, where air vibrates into music, where movement becomes dance.
a snippet from my unwritten book, Esmerelda and the Fireflies
Dear reader,
I hope you will forgive me for writing to you again this week.
But I’ve seen so many things that I have loved so much recently, that I can’t help but want to share them with you.
I would have waited until Sunday to write to you again, but I already have a gorgeous letter from about the lure of clay to send to you then!
I have an endless desire to try out so many different creative things. Each time I do try out something new though, I find that rather than being able to tick something off the list, I end up adding another 10 new things!
And as I have continued to explore and create for myself, I’ve realised that it’s not just my own creativity that lights me up and enthrals me, it’s the wonder that I feel when discovering and exploring the creativity of others.
In this little corner of the internet and among my friends and family, I have found a kaleidoscope of creativity and wonder and beauty and inspiration.
Here is a small selection. I know you’ll love them too.
Beautiful friend who writes for “the dreamers, the makers and the creatives”, crafted this delicate artwork from torn scrolls of paper and strings and watercolour and wove words of magic into a beautiful poem.
We are made of stories.
Tangled and tightly woven with lines of shared memory.
Spun and undone.
Then woven again, anew.
who writes wrote a wonderful letter about seeing past the shame and embracing the treasure of a cluttered life.
Memory Keeping with Clutter and Junk
I've come to embrace clutter in a whole new way in the form of memory-keeping through junk journaling. A junk journal or trash journal, as it's also called, is a unique visual representation of a cluttered life. Throughout life, we collect pieces of paper that often get thrown out with no regard for the memory held within it or the beauty and meaning you can associate with it. Think gift cards, receipts, product packaging, stamps, stickers, or a word or illustration that catches your eye in a magazine. It's all beautiful clutter you can treasure and keep in a junk journal to hold a memory of a certain time or place or to create aesthetic pages for the pure enjoyment of it. (Read Tania’s letter here)
Each Sunday, I start a thread in Substack Notes called Substagram Sundays. It’s an invitation for anyone who loved and misses the calm and beautiful inspiration that Instagram used to be, to share their artwork, creative endeavours, photography, moments of beauty; anything and everything that fills them with joy. A few weeks ago, who writes composed a beautiful haiku, inspired by a photograph I took of spring grass laden with droplets of dew.
who writes wrote about therapy, art and glassblowing in her letter, Getting Creative
I started making art a few years ago and it felt right in a way that it didn’t when I gave it up in my teens. Coming back to it, I learned that the process of making was so much more pleasurable than the brilliance (or otherwise) of the outcome. (Read Katy’s letter here)
Katy made the most beautiful witch ball, that “looks like bits of sky and bits of Monet’s waterlilies scooped up together in a bubble.”
who writes braved the heat to made these wonderful pottery bowls and buttons and mugs.
who writes made the most amazing crochet scarf that is absolutely perfect in every single way. I love it so much.
It was such a pleasure to connect with who wrote a guest post for While I Was Drawing, sharing her love of crochet and her beautiful designs.
Because Creativity - for the joy of crochet, with Klamo
Join me on an adventure, exploring and celebrating creativity of all kinds, just because.
I have added to my creative wish list poetry and paper craft, writing haiku, pottery, junk journaling and crochet (just for starters!!), how about you!?
There were so many other wonderful examples of creativity that I have seen and delighted in over the past few months, I wish I could share them all with you.
In fact, perhaps I will make this a regular feature on While I Was Drawing. Let me know what you think in the comments!
Would you care to join me?
I have been flirting with the idea of inviting you to join me on a creative adventure, to try out creative things together, just for fun, just for the joy of it.
The quiet glory of merely making things and then sharing those things with an open heart and no expectations -
But since you wouldn’t all fit in my house and some of you live on the other side of the world, how about Zoom instead!?
I thought we could start with some crochet.
I bought some pretty yarn and a crochet hook. I am a total novice, but the wonderful
suggested Attick24 for amazingly helpful photo based tutorials that are really clear and well explained.I am going to try this flora granny square! Whether you’ve been crocheting for years or are a complete beginner like me, I am sure that we will have lots of fun just having a go.
If you can’t make this session, there will be more. I will vary the time and day and we’ll try out lots of different things. So if this time doesn’t suit, perhaps future session will.
And in the meantime, please tell me, I would love to know, what creative things are lighting you up right now?
Come and join us in the While I Was Drawing Chat where we are sharing pictures with each other of our creative explorations.
Bye for now,
P.S. If you’ve enjoyed reading, send some hearts (click the ❤️), comment 💬 or restack🔁 on Substack or share on social media.
When you subscribe, you’ll get a beautiful bundle of illustration assets in my Welcome Letter or upgrade to access my every growing gallery brimming with gorgeous illustrations to create beautiful things for your home, your life and online spaces.
I am so grateful for every paid subscription, each one grants my own creativity another moment of freedom, to explore and discover new an wonderful things.
P.P.S. I have already started saving more creatives treasures that I’ve discovered, to share with you in a future Celebrating Creativity post. If you discover any, tag me, or send me a link so I can enjoy them too, and maybe include next time 💛
Thank you so much, Emily, for mentioning my Substack and sharing pictures of my pottery! I was blown away when I saw the notification and then read your post! Little newbie me along side so much creativity and inspiration 🙏🏽.
Will be looking at the other beautiful things you found, this is such a brilliant idea!
Thank you again.
Those clay buttons! 😍