January 10th, 2025

Often what’s holding us back from making something is simply figuring out where to start. The blank page can be intimidating—as can a new carefully and beautifully prepped canvas, or the idea that I need a certain amount of patterns for a new collection. Usually though, I have no shortage of ideas. I have so many patterns, colors, and images living inside my head that I want to get down on paper to share. Even still, the challenge lies in getting them out of my head—the line doesn’t come out as I imagined, the color isn’t quite right, the doubts begin to creep in, and day-to-day demands get louder.

When I’m feeling stagnant or overwhelmed, I start my studio days with a warm-up. It’s a simple practice that helps me sink into the slowness of creativity. I get the brush moving and see what thoughts and emotions unfold on the paper. I have lots of projects I can jump around to, but entering into that project from nothing can have its—what’s the word, the opposite of fluidity?—tension. I need to feel open to get past that friction and into a state of flow.

Painting simple stripes or mark-making, just stamping my brush (or something else) across the page gets my hands moving, my body moving, and quiets my mind. Letting myself enjoy this simple pleasure of observing paint glide across the paper helps me reconnect with what I love about painting. I’m not worrying about what I’m trying to make or it becoming “something” but just enjoying what it is. And through this relaxed, subconscious process I find my creative flow.

I often have about five sketchbooks going at once because I hate to wait for the paint to dry and want to keep moving. Sketchbooks have become a big part of my process. I think it’s from my many years living and working in New York City, where I didn’t have much space and needed to work smaller. I also loved that I could flip a finished page and not look at it again. It felt very private.

If you’re interested in working in your own sketchbook, I love my Muji sketchbooks. The paper is thick and holds paint well, but it’s not a beautiful printmaking paper like Rives BFK that you feel compelled to save for a special project. It’s just good, solid paper. When I open my sketchbooks to look back at ideas there are lots of stripes, dots, dashes, and stamped marks. There are pages with the same idea over and over again. I use these marks to play with new patterns or color palettes I’m considering. They are my guide, helping me settle into this world of color, pattern, and creation while acting as a roadmap to new chapters.

I hope this sparks a conversation about the tension we all feel. I’d love to hear about your creative practices and what helps you renter the creative world.

Thank you, Rebecca