Making art that feels good for you

I want to tell you something that I say to almost every single person who comes to a Relax & Create session for the first time.

“Whatever feels right for you is great.”

Somewhere along the way, we decided creativity had to earn its place. But what if creativity is about the doing, not what it looks like?

You can turn up with no knowledge of any traditional art skills or a wonky sense of colour and it makes absolutely no difference, because that was never the point.

Somewhere along the way, we decided creativity had to earn its place.

Think about the last time you picked up a pencil, a paintbrush, or even just a set of watercolours you bought on a whim two Christmases ago and still haven't opened. If you're anything like most people I work with, there was a little voice that said something like, "well I'm not an artist" or "I'll probably just mess it up." So the paints stayed in the cupboard, and the pencil stayed sharp, and the moment passed.

I think that's such a shame. Somewhere between finger painting at nursery and being a grown adult with a job and a to-do list, we quietly decided that creativity is a performance - that it needs to look a certain way, produce a certain result and be ‘good enough’ to show someone.

For me, the process is always more important than the product.

This is the whole heart of what I do, whether that's in a Relax & Create session, painting a set of earrings in my studio, or running a Craft & Unwind evening. It's never really been about the finished thing - it's about what happens while you're making it.

When you're focussing on mixing colours together and watching them change, or slowly filling in a shape, or just doodling without a plan, something shifts. Your shoulders drop, your breathing slows down, you gently come into the present moment, even if just for a teensy bit. That's the actual magic! Whatever ends up on the page is really just a really lovely side effect.

So when someone tells me they're "not creative," what I hear is someone who's judging their finished result against some invisible standard, rather than noticing what the making itself gave them.

Relax & Create

What this looks like in practice...

If you're joining Relax & Create for the first time, here's what to expect: it's an hour, it's online, and it's on a Friday. You bring whatever creative or relaxing thing you fancy, whether that's knitting, sketching, colouring, journaling or something else entirely. We open with an optional guided meditation to help you properly land in the session, and then we just create, together, side by side: with no demonstrations to keep up with and no ‘now everyone do this’. Just quiet, companionable making.

And if you fancy something with a bit more colour in your everyday life without picking up a paintbrush yourself, that's exactly why I paint earrings. Each pair starts life as a plain wooden shape and I hand paint every single one, so no two are quite the same. Small wobbles and all. They're a little wearable reminder that imperfect and lovely can absolutely be the same thing.

So however this finds you today, whether you're curious about joining a session, eyeing up a new pair of earrings, or just someone is interested in getting some creativity back in their lives, please hear this as an invitation rather than a test you need to pass.

You don't have to be good at this. You just have to be willing to try it.

I'd love to see you there.

Eden x