If you’ve been following along for a bit, you likely already know that gardening is one of my creative outlets (that and cooking, which go hand in hand). It’s nice to step out of the studio and get my hands dirty with something other than clay. I think that it’s really important for us creative folks to have outlets and find inspiration beyond the studio. You gotta keep filling that creative well eh?
If you are looking to do some creative exploration this summer, here are some of my favourite Creative Reads:
➡️ Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert - we are reading this in the Maker’s Spark Membership* right now for our summer book club. I listened to it when I was in the final stretch of working on my MFA show Trace. The audio book is excellent as it is read by the author.
➡️ Art & Fear, by David Bayles & Ted Orland — a classic, and a super easy book to jump into when you need a little creative pep talk.
➡️ The Rise, by Dr. Sarah Lewis — a bit of a meatier read, but well worth the time. You can get a taste of it in this podcast interview she does with Brené Brown.
➡️ The Creative Act: A Way of Being, by Rick Rubin — I’m just a few chapters in, but already there are so many great nuggets. Don’t be put off by its length—it is one of those books that you can pick up and just read a couple of chapters of then put it down for a while. The audio book is also excellent.
➡️ The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron — a seminal book on creativity. I’ve not actually read the whole thing, but have dipped in and out of it over the years, and it always rewards.
On the fiction front, I just picked up a stack of books from my favourite independent bookstore. I’m currently halfway through You Are Here by David Nichols and it’s had me chuckling away, while simultaneously planning a trip to Yorkshire.
I’d love to know what’s in your Summer stack-of-books—or am I the only one who has one of those?
In addition to reading and gardening, I’ve been having some fun playing in the studio. I even have a new studio challenge—I call it “f*ck-around-Fridays”. I’ve been encouraging my Makers’ Spark* members to have some fun experimenting in the studio this Summer, so I thought I should take my own advice. You can check out a recent result of this studio play here on Instagram.
Looking for some inspiration in the studio? I’ve got a whole archive of workshops available on-demand.
*Curious about my Makers’ Spark membership? It’s a super fun community of kick-ass makers from around the world who are interested in both the how and the why of making great pots.
We’re currently working on some fun new additions to this rad community, so doors will be reopening in September. You can learn more and get on the waitlist here.
