Fickle progress

This week I have been working on getting another inspiration book, Nourishing Sketchbook, ready for the printers. Like my online course of the same title, it is about beauty found in the simplest elements of nature, and seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary. It is about my love of growing and the lessons that has given me for making my art - a recognition of patience and an order to gathering, growing and harvesting.

Whilst I now feel accomplished and excited to share this new book with my followers, I missed time in the studio this week and I am berating myself for this. I acknowledge that progress is not always linear; it is a meandering path filled with unexpected turns, and it is in these deviations that we often find our most authentic expressions. Feeling that I haven’t put pencil to paper has given me the focus to get out into nature this weekend and fill up my creative well, fill some pages with drawn marks and enjoy the freedom of scale.

Authenticity is something I have been dwelling on - what is it that makes you you as a creative? How do you keep that expression with integrity, rooted in your own creative story but with room to grow? A bit like life - how do you develop and become new versions of yourself without losing sight of who you are? How do you honour yourself? How do you accept the quirks and the less palatable parts?

There is only self acceptance, both in art and of self, if you accept the imperfections. Art is about embracing spontaneity, an encouragement to move beyond the fear of making mistakes.

The art of life is in acknowledging that not every moment needs to be structured and purposeful. Not every art work, works. Not every day is a success, not every studio session fruitful. Staying on track doesn't mean a military operation; rather, it involves embracing the ups and downs of life as a part of the creative journey. Challenges are opportunities for growth and new ways of working; the pauses can be the fermenting ground, full of potential. The trick is to stay in the dance. To keep an eye on what you are enjoying and where progress is being made, however tentative.

Do one thing this weekend that is a stepping stone toward authentic artistic expression. What will you do?