Something wondrous this way comes

Want to bring more creativity and connection to your winter days? Same! Let's do it together.

If you’ve been reading my words for a while, you’ll know that I love to explore new creative practices and to share these with you (if you haven’t - here’s a peek or two). Playing with different forms, drawing inspiration from unexpected places and connecting with folks from all over the world lights up my days, and my work.

For a little over a year I experimented with gathering folks together to converse, create and connect at The Spark Crew. Our intimate group held space for us as we navigated life changes, stretched our comfort zones and cultivated creative self-belief. With backgrounds spanning circus arts, floristry, architecture, art and design, plus photography, writing and more, it was a wonderful way to connect across disciplines. These sessions had to be paused while I finished my masters, then navigated the latest wave of neurodivergent burnout, but I’ve been missing them and wondering how to bring them back ever since.

One of the challenges was that I was using a relatively unknown platform to host the community, which felt clunky and ineffective at times. I’ve been watching the evolution of Substack ever since, and marvelling at the myriad ways it allows us to create and connect. And while some folks aren’t so keen on the addition of audio and video options, I see these as exciting and inclusive additions. For those of us who love to read and write, it can be easy to forget that the written word can present a barrier to many people, due to disability or lack of access to learning opportunities. I often see this both in my work as a creative coach and positive psychology practitioner, and with the experiences of family and friends. So while I have a natural tendency to lean towards written forms, I’m also thinking about ways I can connect with and include those whose strengths lie elsewhere. We have so much to learn from each other.

And now, for my next experiment!

Photo by Warren on Unsplash

I’ve decided to play with hosting The Spark Crew here on Substack. How this will look is that from November, I’ll share two Spark posts each month - the first will be an invitation to create (we’ll be drawing inspiration from art, music, incredible writing and other wonders) and the second will be an opportunity to share your writing, art or creative work (ooh, exciting/scary, right?!).

Each month will be themed and we’ll be giving ourselves permission to play, ripping up the rule books and taking a non-prescriptive approach to find what works for each of us individuals. We’ll also get to share thoughts and ideas with each other, and who knows, maybe a collaboration or two will be sparked.

The aim is to energize our creative practice - especially through the winter months, because I for one need that! - but the pace will be gentle. You can drop in and out as suits, and you’ll always be welcome to take the prompt and run with it - or go completely off piste instead. This will be an invitation to create and connect, rather than an obligation.

As always, I’m making it up as I go - so that’s pretty much all I can tell you for now. If the idea of a fun, sometimes messy, creative project sparks joy for you then all you need to do is sign up (or switch to) a paid subscription (at £6 a month or £60 a year) and you’ll get your all access pass.

If you’re wondering if this is for you, or feeling worried that you’re not creative (or insert other fear here) enough, then please know that you are so very welcome to come and be your sometimes messy, beautifully weird self here.

Got questions? I will hopefully have answers. Hit me up in the comments. And if there’s a creative practice or area you’d like to see explored here, I’d love to hear your thoughts. x