Joy In Simply Creating

Creative joy prompt

Creative joy starts in those quiet, early mornings when I’m alone with my thoughts and able to line up my writing for the day. If it’s a gloomy, overcast day, like today, I light a candle and get busy. The warm glow offers comfort and a peaceful setting.

If it’s a sunny day, I might spend some time outside before I write. There’s nothing like the endless possibilities of a new day; the new bloom that opened up overnight, the squirrel running across the fence to jump in a tree, a butterfly that illuminates a quiet moment. All of these things set the tone for my writing and anything else I’ll create.

Creative joy is when my granddaughter asks if we can color, paint, or draw together. She’s quite the artist and I’ve kept a lot of her artwork. Last week, we found printable bookmarks and colored them, and then made our own bookmarks. We also drew a bunch of pumpkins, bats, and ghosts to string up as a garland.

Creative joy is carving a pumpkin for Halloween which we’ll be doing soon. It’s also making homemade Christmas ornaments. Last year, I found a salt dough recipe and we made our own salt dough ornaments. Some of our Christmas ornaments are from when my boys were in grade school. Those are some of my most treasured because they created something with their hands. Something from their hearts and minds.

Creative joy is giving away what we’ve created so that our joy can be shared with others. It’s the feeling that arises from simply creating, and knowing it doesn’t have to be perfect. The pressure for perfection will take away the whole point of creating. When I first discovered fluid paint pouring, I’d get discouraged when a piece didn’t turn out exactly how I’d hoped. Over time, I learned to enjoy the process. My best pieces were given away to loved ones, and that gave me the most joy.

Creativity comes in many forms and gives hours of joy. We recently painted birdhouses and my oldest son said it was “actually relaxing.” Coming from someone who is always on the go, that said a lot about how into it he was, and how much enjoyment he got out of it. The relaxing part helps relieve stress and allows you to fully enjoy what you’re creating.

My creative joy is simply creating, whether I’m writing, painting, or doodling, or enjoying someone else’s art by reading or listening to music. Most art forms will ignite inspiration for a story or poem. Art in general inspires me to be creative and feeds my creative joy.

This is inspired by Trista Signe Ainsworth and her lovely Creative Joy prompt.