Oh My Felted Goodness!

The approach of autumn always makes me feel like I want to get cosy and snuggly, and I usually associate wool with that feeling. 

I love felting! 

I always return to it when I want to feel comforted and calm. It's time consuming but very relaxing. The thing I love about felting is that you can't completely control the final outcome, so it's a great activity to do as a reminder and practice of holding things loosely and going with the flow. 

I have been making lots of felted flowers. I use them for the bags & other things that I sell but I do actually just love making them.

I also use the flowers to adorn my window display which brings me much joy.

My felted flowers look especially wonderful in a woodland setting.

I have been working on a Junk Journal inspired by autumn, and the cover is made from denim and felt and features one of my felt flowers.

If you'd like to browse my various Felt related items, here's the link to my shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ayozie

So here's to the approach of Autumn, and all the newness that a change of season brings.

Thanks and very much love.

xxxx

Staying awake.

It's the start of a new term and I currently feel inspired and focused and ready to work, especially after a lovely summer break but I don't always feel this way.
Through the years I've had patterns or cycles of feeling awake and inspired, and then periods of time, when it felt like I was half asleep with absolutely no creative energy at all. 

(I have written about this before. Click here to read that blog post.)

Page from my art journal.

More recently I've realised that the key to staying awake is to make myself stay awake! 
To make sure that I stay inspired and motivated to create. 

Inspiration can be cultivated, it doesn't just fly on the wind like a bit of pollen that pollinates a flower, although that is sometimes true. I find it more helpful to think of inspiration as a plant that is rooted in discipline. It produces flowers and fruit, and is beautiful in every season.

Discipline is the soil that inspiration grows in. 

Routine is not the enemy of inspiration, it can be its friend. 

I used to find that in the periods of awakeness, I would get overwhelmed. 
Colour would become so much more vibrant and it felt like pretty much everything was interesting! This would lead to sensory overload and I would get frustrated because it wasn't possible to execute all the ideas that would come into my head, songs, music, artwork, patterns for dresses, craft projects and so on. 
So usually what I tended to do was to shut down. I didn't even realise I'd done it. So then I'd have long periods of time of just existing, and then I'd wake up, become overwhelmed, and shut down again. It's a bit like if you plug your ears for a while and then release them, the noise all around would be overwhelming at first.
But now, I'm starting to embrace being awake, and staying awake, trusting that the initial shock and overwhelm of it will die down.

I find that a regular routine helps a lot, making time everyday to do a creative exercise like art journaling, collage, making something, or just simply writing an idea down. 
Getting ideas out of my head onto paper removes the panic I have that if I don't execute it straight away, I'll forget it or the inspiration will be wasted. 
Something to record audio like a phone, or voice recorder helps too, as song ideas tend to pop into my head randomly before bed!

Keeping my creative mind engaged has been key to an improvement in my mood, perspective and general well being.
I find that taking daily walks really helps, keeping eyes and ears open. 
It could be paying attention to the simplest things, the way that paint is peeling from a wall, or a bit of rust, or the vibrant colours of a flower, these are all wonderful sources of art inspiration.

So here's to a new season of awakeness and discovery
With very much love.
xxx