The Reciprocal Cycle of Creativity.

surrendering to the process + free journaling prompts for weekend reflections.

With the Summer Solstice just past, propelled by the vigorous energy of Spring growth, do you find yourself reaching a zenith and pondering life?

"Who am I?" and "How did I get here?" or ‘‘What do I do next?’’

So many questions.

I've been feeling the need to tread lightly these days, moving through life, in and out of the bindery, with great reverence. Settling into our new home [and my bindery] has taken much longer than I had anticipated. Life has been exhilarating, confusing, scary and wondrous, all at once. What do we do with all those thoughts, worries, anxiety of living life in this day age with our own personal battles and dealing with collective grief caused by injustice in the world?

I had to remind myself this week that whenever life has felt overwhelming in the past, I’ve always found comfort in trusting and surrendering to my creative practice, whether that is creating journals for you or spending time filling the pages of my own journals.

Journaling paired with time spent in nature is a good remedy for a weary heart and scattered mind. Dive deep, and you will encounter the waves of joy, gratitude, and comfort you have been seeking when you allow yourself to just surrender to the practice of creating something lovely for yourself or a loved one.

Bookbinding and journaling has been my saving grace over this past decade, it has always helped me pull myself out of the darkest of places; whenever I’ve felt overwhelmed by my health issues, change, the news, running a small business or when I feel confused and scattered like thousands of autumn leaves, it is always returning to my craft that helps me come back to myself, and then being able to write in a journal I have made with my two hands feels so much more meaningful.

I don’t journal everyday like I used to, nowadays you’ll find me pressing flowers in one of our tea stained Ephemeral Earth journals and spending a few minutes on the weekend reflecting on the week that was. Just 10-15 minutes with my journal can help fix my attention, calm my mind and motivate me get on with my day in the bindery.

I’ve been spending time by the stream on the grounds of Paper Foundation where we have a small, wild secret garden as part of our tenancy at Ellergreen. My favourite place to sit and ponder life lately has been by this little stream, it’s a place to feel deeply absorbed in the present moment, to be immersed in marvelling at nature.

This sense of immersion is something I’m striving to reclaim in a world that is continuously coming up with ways to rob us of our attention span and values speed and convenience over the beauty of the slow process of creativity.

I made a short video to share a peaceful moment in the secret garden where I had a profound realisation about how I can simplify my business so it is gentle on my body and mind, I am still not 100%, well, but getting there slowly, keeping things simple in life and work has been paramount to my healing.

You’ll also catch a glimpse of me just pottering around the bindery getting some lovely things ready for a shop restock on Monday, 24th June in which there will be some vintage items, one-of-kind Bundled Curios and a few more Storyteller writing/sketching journals amongst other things.

A PEACEFUL MORNING OF WORK AND PLAY.

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Seek out a body of water to sit by, to reflect, calm and connect with the deeper paths your soul wants to guide you along. Follow these paths; they are trustworthy. Trust this moment and its purpose, even if it seems like nothing significant is happening.

I feel like my story is changing and as a result so is my business, I’m not quite sure yet where it is all leading, but it feels exciting and a bit scary as my new ideas are taking me out of my comfort zone.

Something that has taken me completely out of my comfort zone has been creating a new bookbinding course, The Art of Bookbinding, which launches in September for founding members first, you can find out more here if you’re interested in joining as a founder. I’ve already welcomed 50+ founders and I am beyond excited to share more about the beautiful art and craft of bookbinding with them.

Creating this new course has been hard at times, but I know that it will be wonderful once it’s ready to share with the world.

Recently I’ve been getting some lovely feedback from collectors about their purchase or something I have shared in an email or instagram; some of the messages have had me crying happy tears! It’s so humbling to know that receiving something from my shop makes someone feel special or that my Instagram stories motivate them to get creative or invite more beauty and calm into their everyday life. This sort of reciprocity is what inspires me most.

The cycle of creation and sharing beauty is inherently reciprocal because each act of creation invites a response and inspires further creation. When an artist produces a piece of work, they not only express their own vision, but also contribute to the collective cultural landscape. This act of sharing beauty can resonate with others, sparking new ideas and interpretations that lead to more creative conversations and endeavors.

Just like the divine above us and in us, the creator and the audience are engaged in a magical exchange where inspiration and appreciation continuously flow back and forth, enriching the artistic process and expanding its impact.

Isn’t that a beautiful, magical thing!

If you’ve be wanting to start a journaling practice and need some prompts to help you get going, I’d love to share my own personal journaling prompts with you, a list of 11 questions which I reflect upon every sunday. I nearly took one prompt away to make it a tidy 10, but I remembered I like odd numbers, plus odd numbers are also spiritually connected to creativity and the sacred geometry found in nature.

If you choose to journal everyday, of course you don’t have to use all the journaling prompts listed, maybe just pick 3-5, I like to reflect on 11 questions on a sunday evening to help me begin a new week feeling contented, focused, grateful and hopeful.

I hope you allow yourself the time for some reflective journaling this weekend if like me you’ve been struggling to find your creative flow, what to do next or quieten your mind in this noisy world.

much love,