I am a firm believer that if a person loves to create, they need a space of their own to do this.  I’m not talking about taking over the spare room in the family home, (although it’s a good place to start while you’re waiting…) what I am talking about is that space where the ‘crazy creative’ can walk away without having to repack and tidy up at the end of each time they make something. Without a set space a person who longs to create can become inwardly focused and miss opportunities to create what could be their most amazing output! Oh, and yes, we can become very grumpy. It’s TRUE! Whether its words, paints, mixed media materials, fibre, wood or concrete, and stone – if the intense pressure to be at one with your skills is not released, these urges may begin to settle and become quieter to the point where they become at risk of being ignored, and no longer embraced. I acknowledge that creatives can be messy, distant at times, and so immersed in what they are doing, it can feel like no one else exists.  But surely this is the best reason ever to ensure every creative person has a space they can call their own?

I have been extremely creative lately in lots of different ways. I feel grateful to be able to follow my passion and create the wonderful things I have been storing up for YEARS! Yet there was a time, like millions of other people on this beautiful planet of ours, when I suppressed what it was that I really wanted to do. When I did break out the materials I needed, it was usually met with groans of “messy” “You’re spread out too much” and even “Clean up!” It was a constant pack and unpack throughout the whole process, and being a creative, this can be the death knell of inspiration.  It felt like I wasn’t quite complete, that there was always something I was wanting to do, that I was missing something, or had forgotten to do something.  I realised after some time that I was needing a release.  A project where I could lose myself in the process of just being me and letting my mind, body and hands do the work they yearned to do. CREATE! It’s a calling, a need that cannot be satisfied any other way.  There is nothing that I can purchase that replaces what I need to make myself.

During the times I felt incredibly stifled. I felt pure admiration for the creative souls who kept doing what they loved and created their own space wherever and whenever they wanted, sometimes alongside a lot of what they didn’t want at that particular time, but it was all just an arm’s length away. My dream was to one day have a similar space that I could call my own where I could walk away from a project knowing everything would be exactly as I left it when I returned. And I now have that space.  Okay so I am now on my own and my creative space can be pretty much where I want it to be, yet knowing that I have space outside my living space, where I am surrounded by the tools of my creative trade is so incredibly uplifting and inspirational. I understand that for some of you, this may come across as being totally self-absorbed and I have no problem stating euphorically that this is so true!

So if you long to create in whatever shape that may be, ensure you find a space and place to practice your craft.  Decorate it, label it and own it!  You will do your worst work and your best work when you relax into your own space.  There isn’t a dollar value you can place on the feeling of belonging and contentment.

I love personal creative spaces!  I especially love MY personal creative space!