Creating Challenge Day 17--Process and Play

Today my blog post IS my creation! A month or so ago I played around with some acrylic paint and foam brushes. Inspired by an exercise in Flora Bowley's book Brave Intuitive Painting, I squirted various colors of acrylic paint on a spare piece of cardboard then had at it with foam brushes of various sizes. I pulled a brush across the cardboard. I swirled it. I pulled and swirled it at the same time. I took the end of the handle and made dots. I flopped the foam head over and over and over. After utilizing the foam brushes in ways Bowley suggested, I pressed in and made up some of my own maneuvers. It was a mess, and it was a blast! I ended up with this:

For whatever reason, I felt inspired to use some of these techniques to create a background for some art journal pages. Knowing more of what I could accomplish with these brushes, I had a concept in my mind's eye. I started with that idea then let inspiration flow. Here's the result:

I'm not yet sure what I'll journal on this page, but I sure had fun creating it. I enjoyed giving myself the permission, space, and time to play around without needed to have a result. What I discovered is that I could go beyond my limited beliefs about what I could do. I also had new energy for creating something with a determined purpose. Process and play. As a former perfectionist, this kind of experience is a breath of fresh air!