Are Some People Just Not Creative?
One of the most joyful weekends recently brought a wonderful group of people together at The Colour Factory for a day of creativity, inspired by the beauty of sunflowers.
Studio mates and long-time friends Jenny and Rachael — over 30 years on from Winchester School of Art.
I had the pleasure of teaming up with my studio mate and long-term artist friend, Rachael Alexander. We met at Winchester School of Art back in the late 80's, the good ol' days of dungarees and cassette tapes and have worked alongside each other for over 30 years since.
For this workshop, we decided to bring together our complementary approaches to making art, along with decades of experience, tips, tricks and studio secrets to share. Together, we helped our students explore the colour, textures, shapes and forms of sunflowers, experimenting in playful ways before developing their ideas into individual paintings inspired by Van Gogh.
Exploring colour, texture and shape in watercolour and ink before starting the final piece.
Everyone's sunflowers turned out completely individual — full of colour, energy and personality.
At the beginning of the day, one participant who hadn't done any art since school was feeling understandably nervous about her abilities. She asked me, "Surely you have to be born creative to produce artwork?"
It really made me smile, because the answer is a resounding NO!
Creativity isn't some magical gift that a lucky few are born with. It's about practice, play, experimentation, curiosity — and having a few tips and tricks up your sleeve.
Put the right people in the right space, add a little encouragement, inspiration and freedom to experiment, and amazing things happen.
And that's exactly what happened. Everyone created something completely individual, full of colour, energy and personality.
And, wonderfully, by the end of the day, the very person who had questioned whether she was creative had produced the most beautiful paintings. We had reignited her confidence — and, I hope, her love of the process of making and painting.
I can't wait to see what she does next!
And that, for me, is what these workshops are all about.
So, if you think you're "not creative"... perhaps it's simply time to give yourself permission to play.
Students Sunflower artworks at the Colour Factory.
If you think you're 'not creative'... perhaps it's simply time to give yourself permission to play. Book onto Jenny's next workshop at The Colour Factory.
