Why It’s Important To Prioritize Your Relationship With Your Art

Recently I learned the most valuable lesson in art-making that I’ve ever received:

To keep my creative reserves full, I must prioritize the relationship I have with my art.

It might sound strange, but have you ever thought about the relationship you have with yours?

Do you dedicate time out of your day just to create? Do you give yourself room to play? Do you nurture your creativity with good self-care practices? Do you set firm boundaries from negativity to protect it? Or do you neglect it?

Learning to respect mine was a lesson that the universe had been trying to teach me for a long time. Years, in fact. But I resisted its wisdom. Instead, I chose to learn the hard way by ignoring my own needs for boundaries, play, exploration, and rest. ‘Something must be wrong with me,’ I thought. Why else does it seem like my peers are having the time of their lives while I’m burnt out?

Needless to say, I took my creativity granted. And as a result, I suffered from artist block and crippling self-doubt whenever it was time to illustrate. 

Worse of all, I no longer found joy in making art.

Our creativity is our magic.

Working endlessly with no rest in sight, I’d forgotten the simple truth that our creativity is our magic. It’s how we alchemize our vision and dreams into a tangible force that can be seen and felt by many. And it’s the fuel we need as artists to show up and do our work.

So, when I didn’t protect my creativity by not honoring my relationship with my art, I limited my creative potential. I failed to understand how important it is to have a healthy art practice for my emotional and mental well-being.

Because, ultimately, our relationship with our art is a reflection of the relationship we have with ourselves.

To keep our creative reserves full, we have to take care of ourselves in order to show up for our art. Our creativity is our most valuable asset as artists—heck, as humans. It truly deserves the utmost care and protection that we can provide. And it should never be taken for granted.  We shouldn’t take ourselves for granted.

To maintain a healthy relationship with our art, we need to prioritize our self-care.

We need to play. We need to rest. And we need to devote time for making art.

So, if you’re unsatisfied with your relationship like I was, then take a moment to try and understand what’s straining it and do what you can to nurture it instead. It truly is one of the most important relationships you will ever have.

And lastly, cherish it just like you would with someone you deeply care for. I promise, you won’t regret it.

DIY Christmas Ornaments with Cornstarch and Baking Soda

It's been such a long time since I made a craft just for fun. Usually, I talk myself out of doing this kind of thing, but to celebrate the holiday season and get in a festive mood, I decided to get out of my own way and make some cute Christmas ornaments. Oh, and what a joy it was! 

It’s such a simple and fun craft that you can easily do with your little one, too.

Handle with care when painting and inserting string or you may risk breaking them. :(

All it takes to make these ornaments are cornstarch, baking soda, water, and that’s it! Bake them for a half an hour, paint, and then go crazy decorating them.  Again, super easy.

There were some minor hiccups I had while painting but so long as you follow the directions, your ornaments should be alright. For example, make sure you roll the dough to a quarter-inch thickness and not any thicker. This helps your ornaments to harden completely when they bake. I, unfortunately, made the error of not rolling them out thin enough, and I had to throw half of them out because their centers never hardened. Luckily the recipe makes about 20+ ornaments, so I still had plenty to work with.

If you are feeling crafty, here’s how to make the cornstarch dough ornaments for you and your little ones:

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Cornstarch Dough Ornaments

Materials

For Decorating:

• Acrylic Paints

• String ribbon and/or twine (for hanging)

• Gloss Varnish

• Scissors

• Glitter (optional)

For Dough:

• ½ cup cornstarch

• 1 cup baking soda

• ¾ cup warm water

• Rolling pin

• Parchment paper

• Cookie cutters

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250F degrees.

2. In a medium sized saucepan over medium heat, combine cornstarch, baking soda, and warm water. Stir the ingredients for a couple of minutes until dough starts to form.

3. When the dough has thickened enough, remove from stove and place it into a medium sized bowl. While the dough cools, cover it with a wet paper towel to prevent the dough from drying out.

4. Once cool, sprinkle your countertop or work area with cornstarch to help prevent the dough sticking to surface area. Using a rolling pin, roll dough until it has a thickness of ¼ inch, then use your cookie cutters to cut-out your ornament shapes.

5. Using a straw or another poking device (I used a baking thermometer), poke a hole at the top of your ornament. This will be where you add string to hang after you have decorated them.

6. Gently place your cut-out ornaments on parchment paper and place them on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes.

7. After baking, remove them from oven and place them on a flat surface to cool.

8. Once cooled, you can begin to paint and decorate them as you like saving the string to hang for last.

9. (Optional) for a glossy finish and to preserve your ornaments, spray with a high gloss varnish before inserting the string for hanging.

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Overall, these ornaments were a joy to make. Not only did the experience calm my busy mind but also helped me get into the holiday spirit. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I almost made another batch! But I’ll save my enthusiasm for next time. Making Christmas ornaments may just be a new holiday tradition I’ll do to celebrate Christmas every year.