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I get a twitchy eye when I hear the words “listen to your body.” I realise this is a blasphemous thing to say—maybe even a confusing thing—coming from someone whose work has been body-based for

Yesterday I wrote what I think was a very useful thing that was quite heavy on the eyeballs. In it, I talked about how your nervous system patterns can play havoc with your creative process,

I’ve developed the habit of giving myself instructions before I go to sleep. I do the same when I’m about to set off walking. I take seriously the power of my unconscious brain, my collaboration

I love the idea that the opposite of anxiety is creativity. I muse on this a lot. I’ve been asking myself, what’s the opposite of perfectionism? Is it play? I think that’s certainly a part

A few days ago, I had a good wail about perfectionism and how it can turn us into human turnips. I wrote that piece because I’d read an article where perfectionism was framed as something

I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do. This will be a total waste of your time. You should probably get up and leave now. It’s useless. You can’t say I haven’t tried. I’ve taken The

So here’s the question: “I used to paint and enjoyed how time passed unnoticed while I was daubing away. But for some reason I stopped, and now it’s been years and I simply don’t know

Before we get started, you should know that I have a pathological fear of being boring. Flaccid is another word I also never want anywhere near my name (even just writing it makes me screw

I mean, let’s say hypothetically it’s Friday morning. Your head is feeling like scrambled eggs because you were up tending to global affairs with only two hours sleep, or because you were partying like it’s

When I was very young, I had a best friend named Carly, and she had a budgie named Roger, a little parakeet of yellow and gold, who lived in a very small cage. Roger was,

Sprinting when you are designed to walk… I talked yesterday about seeking out more and more activities (art! all the making things!) that see you moving at a human pace, and today I thought I

  Ok, so the first part is about avoiding maths… But the second part is something I’ve recently become a little bit obsessed with: moving at a human pace. So much of what we’re asked

Don’t tell anyone this, but I used to be a massive nerd. I was the biggest, swottiest nerd you ever did see. I would hide away in my bedroom around exam time and study those

I’ve been thinking about what to write this morning since yesterday, and perhaps the day before, because the truth of the matter is, I’m feeling a little porous. Like the spaces in between the edges

In an alarming set of circumstances, the two baby Pūkeko who had been tended to by their huddle of mamas over many weeks appeared missing — only to be discovered just next door. Their neighbour

And this, lovely people, is why I am wholly unemployable.Because I try to follow along with the inktober challenge, but end up drawing a pink parrot instead, progressing to painting on handmade paper I just

Some things I think of when it comes to making time for this fantastic business that is art. Make it easy to get started. Remove the friction. Have your sketchbook or your pencils or your

To make time for the things that are important, you must make choices about what you say no to or let slip away. You are a finite human who is not limitless. I know this

Let me open up the shutters for a moment. You can peak in through the hole. We won’t be here for long (there’s too much to discuss) but then context is always helpful, isn’t it?

I was walking with our smallest, mightiest dog, tracing round the inlet track, and I was feeling not quite down in the dumps but also not quite perky when I reached the tall, towering gums

This comment popped up on a newsletter I sent out with my Raven drawing yesterday: “Your raven is stunningly beautiful. As are your words. As is the fact that your drawing course has filled my

Wanting to develop a writing habit? Start and end each day with a question. This is something that I developed for myself that’s really helped me. I have been aiming to write one thousand words

Much of the pressure and resistance we feel in creative practice comes from approaching things from a linear perspective as opposed to a cyclic one. So often, we expect to appear at the page, hash

Last night, I was invited to share my thoughts about creativity at a hub in my hometown that’s called Stitch Kitchen. Part of their ethos is to inspire and build community through creative practices, while

I’m interested in the stories we arrived with. The words and ideas that are lodged in the clay of our bones. How creativity can facilitate belonging. All these topics swill around the whitewash of my

Who cares? It’s an always-relevant question, and like so many relevant questions, it’s meaning very much depends on tone and context. Who cares? As in, here I am in my silk pyjamas, leaning back on

I’ve been thinking a lot about pressure and our relationship to it. It seems we’ve come to think of it as a bad thing, but I’m not sure that’s the case at all. Someone mentioned

I woke up this morning to the words, “These are the first birds I’ve drawn since I was 10 years old and I’m 67” and I saw a page full of Silvereyes and Wrens and

Here’s something you are no doubt already aware of: It’s easy not to be creative. It’s easy to not to write or draw or do the thing that you are called to do. We are

I’m a little late this morning because I’ve made it my mission to draw a bird for you every day, and I went off piste as they might say. I got flamboyant in the evening