Creative Recharge from Down Under.
And the start to a new daily sketchbook challenge.
Hello Again! I'm back after taking a big break from a the long winter blues and creative stagnation. How? After spending some time back home in Oz.
Welcome to Happy Surprise, a weekly newsletter about creativity and creative practice. This May, I'm embarking on a daily sketchbook, but more about that this Saturday! Thank you for your patience and I hope you join me on a new fresh start to a creative month.
If you’re new to my world, hi! So you probably don’t know that I live in the Netherlands — we’re all the tulips are blooming in the fields at this moment.
But Sydney, northern beaches is were I grew up!
So escaping every winter is a high priority and privilege I don’t take lightly.
So I’m so grateful I got to fly back home late February, and to let nature take care of me and help me awaken my creative energy. And even though I didn’t paint, more than a couple of times.
When you need Creative Renewal but you don’t know it.
I’ve gone from stuck in a creative slump to creative renewal, these couple of last months. Painting was the last thing on my mind, though I was journaling everyday, I couldn’t find inspiration to write a post.
It all started from not being able to cope with long winters and being away from my family for too long.
And the warms days of salty swims and walking in the bush, hearing kookaburras from the distance.
But if you can’t do winters, why are you still living in Europe?
I hear you, but I like it here? Just not the bloody long winters!! It’s not healthy for us tropical people.
The transition of from Dutch culture to the environment in Oz is huge and then you have the change of lifestyle. So forget about how hard it is to deal with the jet lag, it’s just like being in another planet. Fortunately, I’ve adapted well with jet lags, so I can’t complain but I guess experience pays off.
I go from talking in Dutch, everything is foreign and bloody freezing to being able to read everything in English, to wearing clothes that weight light as feathers to eating mangoes from my mum’s garden! Yes, she really grows mangoes, but that’s a story for another day.
Anyways, I’m sure you get the idea but no matter how long I’ve been experiencing this transition or adapting to 30 hours of travel time, door to door. And I’m not exaggerating either.
It still is an amazing experience living in this two worlds and I wouldn’t change it.
A personal voyage of leaving behind winter's gloom for summer in Oz.
Okay, so after my return from a much-needed adventure back in Sydney, Northern Beaches, Byron Bay and Melbourne.
I can't describe how much I needed the escape. And being surrounded the lush nature, rediscovering the Aussie bird sounds and searching for a wallabies, and revisiting beloved spots.
But above all, just hanging out with my beautiful big family, and seeing old friends.
Something my heart was calling for and longing.
But I had all these grand plans to paint every day, and of course that didn’t last more than a few days.
Instead, I embraced nature.
Swimming in the salty sea became a daily ritual, as so did walking in the push or to the beach. Finding flowers of summer or the smell of eucalyptus and jasmine flowers.
And as for painting? Well, I decided to let that slide and put my supplies back in the suitcase.
Without hesitation, I allowed nature to guide me, and it was exactly what my soul needed.
I spent my days reconnecting with family, laughing with old friends, and visiting familiar places as if it was my first time.
I also made a conscious decision to disconnect from the online world completely. It felt like shedding a heavy weights that were constantly in the way.
It was a reminder that sometimes, the most profound creativity comes from simply being still and letting the world unfold around you.
Creative self care can be about giving yourself permission to rest, to recharge, and to find inspiration in the simplest of things.
You don’t always need to be producing or making something in order to call it creativity.
Creativity can be quite. Creativity comes in many forms and priorities can range from season to season.
5 practices I embraced to help me renew my energy and get me out of a creative funk.
Prioritise Self-Care: I went on hikes, bush walks, daily walks to the beach and took long swims at leas once a day. I carved out time to be in solitude and silence away from the busy life. This help me to let me mind wonder and pracitce silence and enjoy being in the moment. So taking care of your physical and mental well-being goes beyond just getting enough sleep, eating nourishing foods, and finding ways to relax.
Embrace Nature: this was a big one for me! I just mentioned that walking and swimming, so finding other ways to spend time outdoors to soak up nature is such a magical way to rejuvenating the soul. It allows yourself to be fully present and let nature's beauty inspire you.
Digital Detox: This seems obvious, yet it’s probably the most challenging one to break away from. But taking a break from screens and disconnecting from social media is so important. You can simply start with deleting notifications and social media apps from your phone. Instead of grabbing the phone, pick up your notebook and write in your journal. Soon enough you’ll reduce your mental clutter and allow your creativity to flow freely.
Artistic Exploration: While I didn’t paint and stopped journaling in that time, photography out in nature was my artsic exploration. Studying flowers and admiring high lush trees along my walks become a new exploration. But you can certainly try out new art forms or creative techniques that you've never explored before or want to re-vist. Whether it's painting, cooking, journlay, pottery, photography, or dance,all to reignite your passion for creativity.
Connect with Others: This was a huge one for me, and it made all the difference meeting up with friends in-person, and getting hugs and enjoying meals with my family was medicine I needed. So if you can, spend time with loved ones who support and uplift you, and bring a sense of connection and warmth to you.
May Sketchbook Challenge
Right. I am embraking on a new sketchbook challenge this month and will be sharing it with you. I've done some prep for it, such as getting the sketchbook ready, deciding on the materials (Gouache and mixed media), and setting the theme.
Can you guess what it is? Yep, you have probably guessed it. The theme is flowers. Simple but it’s everything I see all around me. A perfect month it is to be inspired by flowers and to want to paint them!
P.S. If you're still with me, you’re amazing! I'm trying something different this month: posting twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. My goal is to keep the posts shorter, starting next time, lol, (because I tend to take too long to write), and to keep you updated with the May challenge. I guess you could say it's my way of trying to build my writing habit here again, and exploring new ideas.
I am currently doing the 21 day Watercolor challenge on Skillshare. Through their Discord, you get a daily prompt with a link to a lesson in one of their courses. This is helpful because I have found many courses that did not turn up in my searches. Annual membership with unlimited access to their 1,000+ courses costs around 45 pounds. No, I don't get money from saying this. It has been a great find for me. I also did their 21 day Drawing challenge.