How Affirmations Can Inspire Your Creativity My Story. “It’s not your turn.” In kindergarten, it was free choice time–we could choose to do anything we wanted, so I went over to the easel and made one big vertical blue streak. Then, my teacher came over with another child, who had an apron on, and told me that it wasn’t my turn to paint. That I hadn’t asked permission to paint, but this other child had asked permission. I was confused–it was free choice time and we could choose to do anything we wanted to do, but…somehow I chose wrong? The teacher ripped my page, with its one blue streak, off the easel and set it on the floor by the window. I had to find something else to do. For so many years, part of me has remained this five year old who was told that I’d made the wrong choice when I chose to paint. I have had to learn to rewrite this memory so it has less of a negative impact as it likes to play on repeat and persuade me to give in to fear. It is always my turn to paint. Photo by Artem Podrez from Pexels Application for Us Once I found out that I had been subconsciously holding onto this lie that it wasn’t my turn and that I had chosen wrongly, I was able to make a change. I had no idea why I was resistant to spending time making art or why it felt like forbidden fruit to be created in secret when I had the opportunity to rebel. Now that I know, I can remind and affirm myself that:1. It is always my turn to paint.2. When I paint, I’ve made a great decision.3. It is a good use of my time to paint.4. My art is worthy of hanging on walls to be appreciated.5. I am a grown up and I have given myself indefinite permission to paint.By working with affirmations, I am able to grow and be more creative.Would you like to be notified of a recap of when I blog or to have creative inspiration delivered to your inbox? Click those links and we’ll be in touch. Photo by Jessica Lewis from Pexels I often find it helpful to journal in writing questions and answers as a way to process what I’m thinking or feeling about a situation. Especially, when it’s something like this, from my forgotten past. If writing seems like it’d be helpful for you, I want to invite you to take time over the next week or so to reflect on these questions and how you might answer them. When is a time that you felt like you were doing the wrong thing (when morals were actually not in question)? What was the situation? How old were you? Who was with you? What meaning did you assign to that experience? What have you told yourself since then?Ask God what might have been the result of feeling like you were wrong? What have you been prevented from doing?Imagine the best version of yourself: How would you love to spend your days? What type of person would you love to be?What might life look like if you started to give yourself permission for these things?Who might you be able to talk to about taking these new steps?What is the negative belief, meaning, lie that you’ve been telling yourself? How could you change it around to be a positive affirmation? What have you learned from working with affirmations? What questions do you have around this process of turning a negative thought into a positive one?Leave a comment below.
Should you write, paint, or teach? Why I’m doing it all! Who am I? I am Molly Ovenden, a writer, visual artist, educator, and creative coach thought partner, based in northern Minnesota. Creativity has always been a part of my life, but after moving to England in 2010, I felt compelled to take creativity more seriously. After seven British years, I returned to Minnesota in 2017 with a bearded Englishman carpenter for a husband, dual citizenship in the U.S.A. and the UK, and a renewed confidence in my identity in Christ as a daughter of the King of kings who is deeply loved by my Heavenly Father, and as a writer and artist who has valuable words and beauty to share with the world. I have continued to pursue a creative life, which, as of January 2021, has become a creative career. Molly proudly posing in from of the feature wall of her exhibition at the Johnson Heritage Post Gallery in Grand Marais, Minnesota in December 2019. What inspires me? Beauty in Nature I’m fascinated by color, line, and light, and my paintings are often an exploration of how these elements all interact with each other. I love the freedom of experimentation since I cannot be in control of what actually occurs. I work mainly with acrylic paint, watercolor and felt tip pen and I am learning to experiment with an even wider range of materials, such as coffee (yup, you read that right–it’s not just for drinking in this gal’s studio!), and various recycled materials for collage and mixed media pieces. Sharing Stories: yours & mine As a writer, I also value telling stories. Not only am I intentional about how I title each painting, I love to write stories, fiction and true. Capturing what I learn from God through everyday life, I tell stories through devotionals and personal essays. The concept of how humans simultaneously live their own vibrantly intense lives intrigues me, too, so that idea is the source of my current novel and short story projects. My Students I teach online community education classes on creativity, writing, and art. My students are a constant source of inspiration. Their questions and enthusiasm propel me into consistent creativity, learning from them as well as being challenged by their different ways of thinking. Why start a blog? I am learning to love sharing my own story! As a five on the enneagram (a personality , I’ve lived in unhealthy mindsets of being overly private and hoarding the information, experience, ideas I have. Often I’ve lived in fear and scarcity–although I can live like it’s the reality, it doesn’t have to be my reality (or yours!) and I’ve realized that the more I share of myself, my creativity, what I’m learning, the more I experience abundance and overcome fear. What will I write about? What I’m learning: as an artist through exhibiting and sharing my artwork in exhibitions, cafes, galleries, and online.as a writer, and tips, ideas, inspiration for your own writing life.in my spiritual life from God and from others around me.What books I am reading, how I’m growing, developing, and healing as a lifelong learner.What I’m writing, drawing, painting, and otherwise creating and where you can find it.How I make creativity a habit, how I grow as a creative person, and ideas of how you can stay in creative growth, too.What I’m doing for self-care, from healthy eating to marathon training to sleeping well. Why do I want to write a blog? I’m a writer! I want a platform to share my writing journey. I’ve learned so much from hearing about other people’s processes and I want to give back in hopes of helping someone who’s where I have been. I want to share to encourage you toward personal growth.I want to inspire you to try new things and to live a creative life.I want to overcome my own fears and maybe, help you do the same as I share my transformation story and process.I want to create with regularity and consistency to stay accountable by sharing what I’m working on with you.Ultimately, I want to tell my story to bring freedom and hope to you in the midst of living your own story. I’m thrilled you’re on this journey with me. Leave a comment below and let me know what you’d like help with: What keeps you from pursuing creativity in your life?