I sat down to work with paper collage ( a medium I'd dabbled in but never really explored) and I noticed myself procrastinating even in the chair. It had been a while since I'd sat there. So I pulled out my Art Session Planner sheet anyway and filled it out, to see if I could flesh out what I was avoiding. That one small act changed the whole session. And it taught me something I didn't expect: the paper collage supplies that actually matter aren't the ones on a shopping l

An art journal can hold painting, drawing, collage, writing, mixed media...or all of them at once, on the same page. Some people fill theirs with words and a little color. Others never write a single word. There are no rules about what goes in, which is exactly why it is the easiest way back into making art after a long time away.

Drawing is one of the easiest creative practices to return to because it asks for so little. You don't need a studio or trays of supplies. You can use an HB No. 2 pencil and a sketchbook—or a mechanical pencil and scratch paper. If you must, you can draw in your lap.

A creative challenge is a defined creative commitment with a beginning, an end, and a payoff for finishing. It might ask you to draw every day for a month, complete one unfinished project, or follow a series of steps that helps you get back to making art. That structure is part of the appeal. A creative challenge can help you build a habit, make progress on something you have avoided, or get past the blank page. The problem is that the challenge itself can become another b

Those odd shapes and uneven angles weren’t problems I had to correct before I was allowed to keep going. I could work with them. I could cut a piece at an unexpected angle, attach another scrap, turn the block, and build outward. The discovery brought relief, but it brought something even better: possibility. I loved the tactile experience of fabric. I loved putting colors and patterns together in combinations I hadn’t seen before. I could stack, cut, rearrange, and mix scrap

One of the most common topics in my executive coaching practice isn't leadership or communication. It's guilt. Guilt for leaving work on time. Guilt for taking a vacation. Guilt for investing in themselves and their own development instead of squeezing in one more hour of work. Over the years, I've noticed something surprising: that same guilt doesn't stay at work. It follows people home, right into their creative life. If you feel guilty taking an hour for yourself at work,

What if your art block isn’t actually a lack of creativity? Sometimes you don’t need another idea. Sometimes (I'd say most times) another idea actually won't help. What do you need instead? You need time, space, a clear next step, or a break from the running commentary in your own head.

"I used to make art." Sometimes it's painting. Sometimes quilting, pottery, sewing, knitting, or keeping a sketchbook. The medium changes, but the sentiment doesn't. I've heard that sentence hundreds of times. People think they’ve lost their creativity. I don’t think that’s what’s happened. I think they lost their rhythm. I know, because I did too.