What I've Learned About Play, Mess and Being a Person

Seven years ago I started hosting relaxed art sessions for adults because I was looking for somewhere to work. I wanted to find someone who was already doing this, someone running online art classes for adults that I could join, help with, learn from. But I couldn't find anyone!

Not because relaxed, no-pressure art sessions didn't exist, but because I couldn't find any with the same philosophy as me. Most of what I found were classes: ‘Get better at this technique’. ‘Paint this landscape more accurately’. Improve, improve, improve.

I didn't want to improve. I wanted to play.

So instead of finding the person who did this, I became her.

I just wanted to give people space so they could play and explore and maybe make a mess -  that was it. That was the whole idea. No end goal, no critique, no "here's how you could have done that better." Just space, and no experience needed.

Why I Started Hosting Relaxed Art Sessions for Adults

It wasn't a straight line to get here. I'd done Metalwork and Jewellery at university, and I spent years after graduating in 2013 making and selling jewellery. Looking back, none of that was wasted, it was all part of the same thread: making things with my hands, connecting with people, working out who I am through what I create.

I'm still meandering now. Still learning, still getting to know myself and my place in the world a little more with every session. I used to think that was something to eventually finish, some point where I'd "arrive" and know exactly who I am and exactly what I'm doing. Seven years in, I don't think that point exists - and that's become part of the whole philosophy behind my approach to mindful art. That's just part of being a person, I suppose.

The Biggest Lesson: Starting Without a Finished Piece in Mind

If there's one thing seven years of running guided art sessions has taught me, it's this: picking a starting point, rather than giving yourself the pressure of an end point, is very helpful.

Not just in art - in everything.

We change our minds halfway through. We have thoughts that want to be heard, ones we didn't know were there until the pen was already moving. Sometimes we want to throw caution to the wind and just see what happens.

And what better place to practice all of that than on a page, with some crayons, or a paintbrush and a palette of watercolours? (Or both at once, if you're that way inclined. I have a lot of love for a wax resist.)

That's what a starting point gives you that an end point never can: permission to change your mind. Permission to make a mess. Permission to find out what you actually think by making something, rather than deciding in advance what it should look like. It's this focus on process over outcome that makes art for wellbeing so different from a normal art class.

Why Judgement-Free Art Sessions Matter

I host these sessions to help people embrace their humanness through creating and playing.

Being a person is messy. We're not consistent; we don't always know what we think until we've said it, drawn it, painted over it three times. A relaxed, judgement-free creative space isn't really about the art at all. It's about giving yourself somewhere to be exactly as unfinished and changeable as you actually are, without anyone (including yourself) asking you to tidy it up.

That's the space I've spent seven years building. And I'd love for you to come and take up some of it.

Join an Online Art Session This September

My Relax & Create sessions are for anyone who has a project to start, a page that needs painting, a collage that needs collaging, or nothing at all yet. Bring whatever you're working on, or just bring yourself and see what starts.

My Doodle Meditation sessions are for when you want to switch off completely and follow simple, guided prompts to create a pattern, no thinking required.

Both run online, both are welcoming, and both exist because seven years ago I couldn't find a space like this anywhere else, so I made one.

Relax & Create (Online Art Session)

A relaxed hour on Zoom for bringing a project, painting a page, or starting something new from scratch. Every session is different, every session starts from wherever you are. Themes are always totally optional.

Doodle Meditation (Guided Online Session)

A fully guided 30-minute session, following simple prompts to create a pattern. No thinking, no skill and no prior experience needed, just you and a page.

 

Got a question, or just want to say hello before you dive in? Reply and ask, I always love hearing from new faces.

Thanks for reading, Eden 💜