If you read my previous post, then you know I’ve been through a bit of a dry spell lately. To me, creative blocks might be annoying, but they’re also deeply fascinating because they are part of the ebb and flow of the creative process and can lead to new growth and discoveries.

But there’s nothing like a good deadline to get back into the flow and start creating again! This year I’m part of a year-long mixed media course full of inspiring projects, and my lesson will be part of the “River” theme of the class. What a wonderful opportunity to explore the creative flow! Filming the videos last week has really helped me get back to painting and in fact, the state of “stuckness” I was in at the time gave me new ideas to share in the lesson!

“A river seems a magic thing. A magic, moving, living part of the very earth itself.”

— Laura Gilpin

Water is the element associated with emotions, and just as the river does, they flow and carry us through life in unique and sometimes unexpected ways: What if we let ourselves be guided by them? What if we let go of resistance and simply embraced the flow?

What if we trusted ourselves enough to dive under the sparkly surface and find out what wisdom awaits us there? What if we came back from this journey refreshed, renewed and inspired?

"River Reflections" art journaling lesson by Laly Mille for Wanderlust 2019

“May what I do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back, the way it is with children.”

— Rainer Maria Rilke

I always love to mix nurturing, self-care processes into my art lessons because I find them so helpful in my own practice as an artist. One of the things we will do at the beginning of this art journaling project, is symbolically throw pebbles into the water to release anything that is holding us back.

Then we are going to create a soothing, abstract riverside landscape. Working with inks, paints and watersoluble supplies, we are going to combine some flowing watercolor-like effects together with collage and words for a deeply layered look that evokes the depth of our inner river.

FIND OUT MORE