A Slow Start To The Year, And Trusting My Artistic Voice.

I have been taking the first month of the year slowly, I could easily hibernate when it’s dark and cold. A few years ago I started taking a hygge approach to the dark winter months, and gave myself the luxury of spending more time reading in bed as well as twinkly lights, bowls of soup, homemade bread, long walks, weather permitting, I love winter when it’s sunny and I can get outside.

I’ve been writing in my new journal daily and as I am trying to reinvent myself creatively I’ve asked myself some questions, to find/ reassess my creative voice. Some things don’t change even when the medium does, I still love tone and texture.

I’m still not in the mood to make anything really but I did buy a lovely pattern for a crochet scarf from Etsy. My hands have been feeling a little better so I thought a couple of rows in the evening might kick-start my creative juices.

The scarf is meant to be done using vibrant yarns but when I got my yarn bag out and tipped it on the floor there were blues, greens, neutrals and a bright pink which was the only bright colour I had. I don’t know where it came from, it’s not a colour I like.

So I made the scarf with blues, greens, turquoise and neutrals, a few rows in and I found myself enjoying the process and loving how the colours worked together. I realised these were my colours.

Looking back in my journal I had written that I love the colours of the British landscape, from the turquoise water of the Hebrides, green pastures, blue skies and the colours of seed heads in winter. Here it was all along in my yarn bag. Then when I was dusting I saw all my favourite colours around my home. It was there all around me the whole time and I had stopped noticing. Its not surprising really, as being outdoors in the countryside or on a deserted beach are my favourite things to do. Reconnecting with my favourite colours made me smile and reminded me to trust myself, I don’t have to reinvent myself I just need to go with the flow.