This painting is Claude Monet’s ‘The Artist’s Garden at Vetheuil’. It happened to be hanging in a place we stayed in a few years ago, and I spent a good hour lying on the sofa, drinking chai tea and thinking about that garden.
What was life like during that era in France? How was life for Monet as an artist?
Creativity and the inner child are inextricably linked. Children HAVE to be creative to learn about the world. They have to be creative in their problem solving, learn to get a spoon in their mouth and learn how to get mum’s attention effectively. They know how to be creative for fun. They instinctively put their hands in the mud, want to paint with their fingers, and get messy in the creative process.
For children, it is not a surprise to fall over. It is expected. Creativity and learning for children are messy. It is only as adults we become scared of falling over and getting messy metaphorically. We shut our inner child away and keep her neat, tidy, and contained so as not to make too much mess. Does anyone relate to this?
So, creativity is one way to connect with our inner child.
You might like to try one of these exercises with your inner child – just for fun ☺
- Painting with your fingers
- Colouring with no lines or outside of the lines
- Making a mess baking
- Making someone a fun birthday card
- Decorating a silly hat
- Making puppets out of toilet rolls
You may have noticed that creativity has become a bit of a buzzword in corporates. Companies realise the value add by having creative employees who can think outside the box.
Creativity is even research-based. Plucker, Beghetto & Dow (2010) found that creativity is essential to “problem-solving … healthy social and emotional well-being, and scholastic and adult success.”
I hope you find some time to get creative this week. I’m going to use my creativity in my holiday planning.
Tag me in your creative endeavours so that I can share them too.
Love, Jen
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Reference: Jonathan A. Plucker, Ronald A. Beghetto & Gayle T. Dow (2004) Why Isn’t Creativity More Important to Educational Psychologists? Potentials, Pitfalls, and Future Directions in Creativity Research, Educational Psychologist, 39:2, 83-96, DOI: