C*U*R*R*E*N*T*L*Y - Fall Blog Hop

Brilliant foliage. Jack-o-lanterns. Apple cider. Fall is in the air! My writerly pals and I are sharing autumn moments in the C*U*R*R*E*N*T*L*Y - Fall Blog Hop. Please have a read and enjoy. Then visit the other #Gr8Blogs listed at the end of this post for more Fall 2016 C*U*R*R*E*N*T*L*Y inspiration.

Loving

Absolutely loving my new lifestyle. I took the leap of faith in August and left the dreaded day job to pursue creativity full time. It was the most scariest decision I have ever made and was not one I took lightly. However as stressful as it was, it is the best decision I have ever made. I am finally able to put more time into doing what I love and my art is coming along leaps and bounds with all of my experimenting. I have no idea how long this will last, but I am thoroughly loving the new lifestyle even if I do resemble a hobo most days due to the lack of makeup and permanent wear of jim jams and dressing gown ha ha. 

Reading
I am currently reading Jerry Sargeants book Star Magic. As most of you know energy healing and meditation has been a big part of my life since last Christmas after it snapped me out of a slippery slope to doomsville. It is the healing of Jerry Sargeant that has transformed my life and helped me find my true self. I was so lost last year, but after tapping into meditation and energy healing everything suddenly made sense. I knew what I needed to do, and most importantly I no longer let my fears control me. 

So much has changed this year, people have entered my life who seem to be key to my journey and opportunities are constantly coming in that all seem to be linked somehow. I just love this new game of life, it's like trying to piece together a very elaborate and colourful puzzle. I found my missing piece and now I just need to put it altogether, exciting stuff. I really need to write more posts about all of my experiences with this new “reality”. I am handwriting them all down in my journal and one day I will blog about it all. Anyway I am fascinated with Jerry's work and when I heard his new book was out I had to buy it. Its a very interesting read, quite nuts in parts but I love the unusual so it's right up my street. I am hoping it will help me understand more about it all and how I can use everything I am learning to help others. I would love to do one of his facilitator courses in the near future.

Listening To

Now that I am working from home I have been taking a trip down memory lane and listening to a lot of alternative and ecclectic sounds. I usually like my dance / house music but lately I have been listening to things like Enigma, Paul Oakenfield, Enya and a few tribal beats. I might do musicals next week, fancy a bit of Les Mis and Phantom of the Opera, although that was my Dad's favourite and might not be the most productive choice, never a dry eye when thats playing, stunning soundtrack though.

Thinking About

Gosh what am I not thinking about! Well I am still trying to get my business Artypeace off the ground so that takes up a lot of my thoughts. The latest thing I want to try this weekend is decorating candles so if that goes well I will run a little Christmas workshop for the kids again as I thoroughly enjoyed Artypeace's trial birthday party. There is still so much to do with the business but it's going to be such a slow process as the illustrating has to take precedence seeing that illustrating is what's paying the bills. I have recently handed a tonne of leaflets out for the painting party packages so I am hoping I will get a booking soon. It can be frustrating when things get stuck but you just have to keep going and think of different angles, it is one big learning curve! So far the workshops seem to be the most successful so I will have to plan more of them next year. It is fascinating seeing how much creativity does benefit people though, I am thoroughly enjoying all the experiences I have had through the company so far and am looking forward to all the ones to come.

Anticipating

I am off to Australia at the end of the month for my sisters 30^th. I will be going by myself so I am a little nervous about the flight, but can't wait to see my family out there again, I miss them so much! I am also going to meet an Art gallery director out there so I am trying to get a few story telling pieces together for it. Fingers crossed they will agree to have my work on display and hopefully we can collaborate in some way with bringing their concept to the uk.

I am also currently working on a spiritual themed range of children's stories at the moment which have been written by Jerry's daughter… see what I mean about the right people coming into your life! I am very curious to see how these books will turn out, there seems to be big plans for them and Jerry certainly is a man who makes his visions happen so I have a feeling that they will do just fine! 

Hot off the easel

Around illustrating, launching a business and the usual motherly duties I have been able to squeeze in some other artwork to keep the creative juices flowing. I participated in inktober over on Instagram which was great fun and I have painted several new experimental pieces, trying out different mediums and techniques. I am trying to incorporate everything I have learned over the past years and bringing them together somehow. My style seems to be slowly coming together, taken long enough! I have also launched an online shop through https://www.curioos.com/corrinaholyoake for prints of my work. Here are some of the things I have been working on......

Thanks for stopping by! For more Currently - Fall 2016 moments, visit the #Gr8blogs below.

And hey, if you’re pumped about writing your own Currently - Fall 2016 post, just add your family-friendly Currently link to your blog post in the comment section. We’ll visit your blog and give you some blog love!

Cat Michaels Cat’s Corner 

Julie Gorges, Baby-Boomer Bliss 

Carmela Dutra, A Blog for your Thoughts 

Auden Johnson,  Dark Treasury

Sondra Robbins Rymer Fairytales Imagery

How to help unleash the therapeutic powers of creativity

Creativity has such an important role in society and I don’t think people realise how therapeutic it can actually be. When you are doing something creative, you are allowing your mind to switch off for that moment in time while you are focusing purely on the present, nothing else. Whether it is through, drawing, painting, dancing, singing, playing an instrument… whatever creative outlet you choose, that time that you decide to give yourself is so beneficial to your mind and soul.

I would like to share some tips below on how you too can benefit from the healing powers of creativity.

How you can help unleash the therapeutic powers of creativity

Choose something that you are passionate about

When you do something that you truly love it can fill you with so much happiness, you literally get lost with what you are creating. So find a topic that is close to your heart, mine is art, but the possibilities are endless with subjects to choose from. A good way of finding something you are passionate about is to ask yourself, what did you like doing as a child? What activities truly made you happy?

Take some time out now and again to create just for you

I do this a few times a year where everything gets pushed to the backburner for a day or two and I literally throw paint on a canvas. It is so important to take some time out just for you now and again, it really does help. We are all very busy in this day and age, but I cannot stress how important it is to allow yourself this time. It helps rid negativity and anxiety and balances your energy out on to a more level plane.

Keep things simple

To truly enjoy the therapeutic process of creativity, don’t over think things. You are not creating your next masterpiece… you are simply having fun. If it turns out awful, who cares, just enjoy the time you have given yourself to be creative. With the workshops I ran some children were not comfortable with drawing, so I had a load of colouring sheets on hand too of some designs. The colouring in seemed to be just as beneficial to the children as creating the designs.

Get people involved in group activities

By far the best and most therapeutic form for me personally, is when I actually go out and interact with people. Whether it is at a school reading, at a painting party or at workshops, all of them fill me with so much joy. Children are so easy to please, as long as you are willing to spend time with them, encourage them and listen, that is all they need to have a happy experience. By seeing other people happy, it makes you happy. I was on a complete high after two days of interacting with children and being creative with them.

You can create groups to suit your creative outlet, volunteer with organizations, run a club… so many options. Hanging out with like minded individuals will feed your soul.

Create from the heart

Listen to what your heart is telling you, if you are feeling sad and blue, or angry then express that in your chosen creative outlet. By releasing what is within, you will feel so much lighter and your heart less heavy. Likewise if you are on a high then channel that into your creation and you will most probably fall in love with what you have created. It’s amazing how different moods can effect the outcome, but the main thing to get the therapeutic benefits, is to go with what’s in the heart, don’t think just do.

Being creative has always been a massive part of my life and always will be. Some people are naturally gifted in this area but everyone, and I mean everyone can draw. Just because your level of drawing skills goes as far as stick men, it does not mean that there is no creativity in you. It does make me sad when people say things like, “I can’t draw” or “I am rubbish at art”. You do not need to be an artist to benefit from the therapeutic powers of creativity.

Creativity allows us to embrace our inner child, a quality I believe we should all embrace with open arms. To see life through the eyes of a child is truly the best way to make the most of your life. It is no wonder that so many creatives are big kids at heart. Life can be difficult at times and it is so easy to get sucked into the seriousness of being a grown up, but taking up a creative pass time allows you to find that playful side to you.

“Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.”-Pablo Picasso

All forms of creativity is incredibly therapeutic and it helped me through a bad time in my life. I still rely on it to this day along with meditation to get me through dark spells. When things get too much as they tend to do at times, I literally throw paint on a canvas; this is usually when my darker pieces get painted. It works every time though, I literally feel a weight lifted, and I am able to approach things with a fresh head after.

This year I want to explore the therapeutic side of creativity more, by using everything that I have learned over the years to help others. My first step is to work with children and to see how art benefits them. I ran my first children’s workshops last weekend on creating mandala designs for my new business venture Artypeace. The great thing about these designs are that they are so easy to do yet look quite complicated. It also turns out that a mandala is the symbol used in hinduhism and budhism to assist during meditation... my angels did a great job sending that little nugget into my head, I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect subject for my workshops.  

I had the most amazing weekend hanging out with kids of all ages. There were so many different personalities, you had the very confident children, the cheeky ones, the shy and the quiet ones. Some kids would come in and just want to sit with me, have a natter and colour in, others just wanted to zone out with their creations. I cannot tell you how rewarding it was to see all these different personalities and age groups get stuck in and really enjoy what they were doing. Some children were with me for hours and the whole experience is one I will never forget.

I heard a lot of “I can’t draw” and the look on their faces after I guided them with creating their own mandala was priceless. I can’t wait to do more events to help children appreciate creativity more. The dream eventually is to study art therapy to help people on a  deeper level, but that will require much studying and time so I am really not sure how that will pan out. For now I am just having fun with it all and learning from each experience. The main thing that did stand out was how beneficial creating something is for children, I already knew how it has helped me as a grown up.

Every one of us can find at least one creative outlet, the tricky part is making the time to utilise it. I guarantee though, if you do let your inner child out to have a play once in a while, you will grow to love that side of you.

Do you use your creative hobby as a form of healing? If so what works for you? Please feel free to leave your feedback in the comments below.

Much love to you all.

Namaste

-X-