Finding Creative Inspiration in the Winter Months
Two weeks ago, Southwestern Ontario received a heaping serving of snow, disrupting the normal course of life for most of us who still had to go outdoors. When I was a child I would have rejoiced at the idea of a snow day, getting to spend the day tobogganing or skating or snowmobiling with my siblings, but as I have gotten older, my fondness for snow has waned and I much prefer to hibernate indoors in the winter months. I still appreciate the beauty of a snowy landscape with icy branches and frozen pathways, but I am not inspired by it. Whether it is the shorter days and darker nights, or the greyness of the cityscape, this time of year usually slows down for me creatively. And I have tried to find inspiration in the landscape, observing the light and shadows change and grow longer in the snow, but a slow and gentle, restful winter is what I desire and some of that means a rest from making art in a “serious” way.
One of the ways that I still enjoy art in the winter months is to appreciate the art of others. Winter is a wonderful time to visit art galleries and in particular I like to go to the Art Gallery of Ontario. I love to spend time visiting old favourites at the gallery such as the Group of Seven Collection. I will have music playing with my headphones on as I wander around admiring the textures and colours of the painted landscapes. It is a wonderfully relaxing way to observe art and I often come away feeling a desire to paint.
Another thing I like to do this time of year is to explore other activities that are art adjacent. In particular right now I have been seeing a lot of online content around Valentine’s Day. Normally this isn’t a holiday that I would decorate for, but this year I feel inspired by the crafts that I have been seeing and last weekend I started with making a paper heart garland. Cutting the strips of paper and stapling them into heart shapes is both relaxing and it’s fun to look at the hearts hanging and meandering along the shelves of my dining room studio. I’m not sure if I will make other decorations, but what I can say is that by doing something different creatively it fuels my desire to be artistic, but in a gentler way. And this gentleness gives me the space to let other creativity in. This desire for gentleness is also why I like to spend this time of year working in my sketchbooks.
As we brace for another winter storm due to arrive later today, I will be distracting myself with flowers in my sketchbook and streaming old sitcoms.
Until next time, stay warm my friends. Spring is just around the corner.
Laura