Hello Creative Souls š
Welcome to my last newsletter of 2024! Can you believe itās nearly December, the year is hurtling towards its festive crescendo and already I am thinking about where I want my art to take me in 2025.
I'm excited to share with you my Christmas preparation process, and at the same time, embark on a new artistic journey that I've been planning for 2025. It's going to be a fun and creative ride, and I'm thrilled to have you all along with me.
Penguin Family Christmas Card Design 2024
The holiday season can be a challenging time for creative people like myself. Between the endless gatherings, gift shopping, and social events, it can be tough to find time and energy to focus on our artistic pursuits. For me, the lack of creative outlet during this time can lead to feelings of frustration and restlessness. I often find myself struggling to balance my desire to create with the demands of the holiday season.
Additionally, the pressure to produce content and keep up with social media expectations can be overwhelming, making it even harder to stay inspired and motivated. It's a constant battle to prioritize my artistic goals amidst the chaos of the holidays. I've learned that it's essential to be intentional with my time and make space for self-care and creative expression, even if it's just for a few minutes each day.
What's more, the commercialization of Christmas can sometimes feel at odds with my artistic vision, making it difficult to stay true to my creative voice. It's easy to get caught up in the consumerism and materialism of the season, but as an artist, I need to stay grounded in my values and authenticity. It's a delicate balance, but one that's essential for my artistic growth and well-being.
Photograph taken from Unsplash
As the holiday season approaches, I've been thinking about ways to incorporate more artistic elements into my celebrations. I've always loved decorating my home for Christmas, but this year, I want to take it to the next level by incorporating more handmade and DIY elements. I've been experimenting with different craft techniques, like lino cuts and printing, hand painting watercolour Christmas cards and Iāll be foraging and gathering foliage to make a Christmas wreath for the door and decorate the table.
Itās āstir upā Sunday tomorrow and each year I like to follow a recipe that incorporates more natural and sustainable ingredients. Full transparency here, for the last two years I have had a lovely friend who has done all the preparation and baking of my Christmas cake. I source the ingredients and she kindly potters away in my kitchen producing the most wonderful cake. The marzipan and icing is left up to me at a later date. I do keep her supplied with tea whilst she works. I believe that food can be a powerful form of artistic expression, and I love the idea of bringing people together through a shared meal. By incorporating more artistic elements into my holiday prep, I hope to create a more meaningful and memorable experience for myself and those around me.
As I reflect on my artistic journey, I've come to realize that 2025 will be a pivotal year for me. I've been feeling the urge to take my art in a new direction, one that's more expressive and authentic. I've been inspired by the works of other artists who have bravely pushed the boundaries of their medium, and I feel a sense of excitement and trepidation as I consider doing the same.
A recent experience and a new friendship have significantly influenced my artistic perspective. Focusing on intuitive painting, I created a piece not based on anything tangible. I simply sat quietly with my art materials and applied paint to paper, which you might describe as intuitive and expressive. I shared this with a friend, who is a medium, and he emailed it to another medium friend. She kindly did a reading of the painting and the response was deeply impactful for me. It was incredibly liberating to release my fears and doubts and just create. This experience has lingered with me, and I am determined to incorporate more of that freedom and spontaneity into my artistic practice.
Intuitive painting using watercolours
As I look ahead to the new year, I'm filled with a sense of anticipation and wonder. I know that there will be challenges and setbacks, but I'm more committed than ever to pursuing my artistic vision with courage and determination. My YouTube channel is growing slowly but surely and I am building a nice community of like-minded people. I am slightly changing the way I do things over on my channel and very recently I took the plunge and did my first āliveā session. It had a great response, I gained more subscribers and after the session I felt more confident as an artist and uplifted. This is the direction I think I want to take my channel and I'm excited to see where this new chapter will take me, and I'm grateful to have you all along for the ride.
Wreath painted live on my YouTube channel
I hope you've enjoyed this peek into my Christmas prep and artistic journey. Don't forget to comment below and share your own holiday traditions and artistic pursuits. And if you're new here, be sure to check out my previous posts for more insights into my creative process and donāt forget to check out my YouTube channel where I post my vlog most weeks for more arty inspiration.
Wishing you all a creative and joyous Christmas, make sure you take some time for yourself and put some time aside to get creative and truly enjoy the spirit of Christmas.
Seasons Greetings,
Clare šš
My YouTube Channel - Please support my small channel by subscribing and sharing with your friends and family.
Itās good to see that youāre back sharing your monthly newsletter with us. So many achievements to be proud of. I look forward to seeing how you art evolves in the new year. Thank you for sharing.
When will we get time for a cup of tea? š¤·š¼āāļø
Lovely words Clare x