2025 was a wonderful year – we welcomed our son into the world, I worked on some exciting commissions (my designs made it onto the walls of a high-end restaurant), my print “Ever-Loved” was short-listed for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, and I began my collaboration running workshops with The Royal Parks. I certainly feel an immense amount of gratitude for all of those things. However, I ended 2025 feeling a sense of distance from what it is that I want to create. So in January 2026, I committed to regular journaling using a set of prompts to help me get realigned with my creative vision. The goal was to drill down into what feels like me and to find a path forward when ideas feel like they’re pulling in different directions.
Throughout December of 2025, I noted down prompts that came to me for something I might like to explore. Things like “What originally drew me to lino printing?”, “Which pieces have stood out to me at exhibitions and why?” or “What inspires me about [fill-in-the-blank]?” I collected them in a note on my phone to come back to once the Christmas rush had ended and I would have a bit more space to reflect. I ended up with around 15 creative journal prompts, so for the first 3 weeks in January, I set aside time each working day for answering one of them, for as long as it needed (usually around 30-45 minutes), and then I would close the book and move on with my day. The next day would be a new prompt and a clean slate and this percolation and space between answering each prompt was crucial. To blitz through them all and reach a finish line, to be “productive” or “efficient”, would be missing the point.
Once I had answered all of the prompts, I went back through and highlighted common threads. I used different colours to highlight threads pertaining to what I might create (the subject of the work), how I might create (media, methods, colours) and who I would love my artwork to reach. I then spent time thinking through how I felt about the various recurrent threads and themes.
There were a number of themes that I was expecting to see come through: my love of nature, plants & animals, observing the changing seasons, botanical illustration and symbolism, the moon, magic & folklore, gardening and growing, vintage aesthetic & style, natural wood, dark blues & greens, yellow ochre, earthy colours, my love of capturing details.
What surprised me was how often high contrast, black and mood/moodiness came up in my answers. I’ve recently been reading about the Spanish concept of El Duende, the idea of intensity of emotion, even darkness in artistic expression that comes from within, often from raw passion, and I hope to explore this concept some more. I was also surprised by how much I enjoy seeing roughness, noise and chatter in other artist’s work, yet detail and precision has been a big part of what characterises my work and style. Most pleasantly surprising, and the theme I’m going to really enjoy delving into, was a huge Japanese influence in my life. I have been very fortunate to have spent some time in Japan, I adore a lot of Japanese art, from printmaking to textiles to ceramics, I’m fascinated by the the history and legacy of woodblock printing, and the Japanese dedication to craftmanship in general, and when I look around my home I see a lot of the evidence of those things.
I was also challenged by this process in a way that I wasn’t totally prepared for, mainly in realising that some of the things that I find visually impactful, such as great composition, or capturing movement and character, I don’t necessarily feel I have the skills to visually represent. The rational part of my brain has the answer ready: “no artist is the finished article, use your sketchbook and practice”. The very much fallible flipside of me feels the fear and limiting beliefs deeply.
Despite these challenges, I’ve learned a huge amount from journaling on these creative themes, and it has helped me to reground and re-centre around what I want to create that is going to feel most true to me. I now have a roadmap of ideas for gallery visits, sketchbook themes, and experimentation, keeping it playful so I don’t get disheartened. I’m looking forward to seeing where it all leads and sharing it too.
If you’re interested in doing a similar exercise, here are the prompts that I found the most helpful:
- What in my previous work has excited me the most?
- If all other elements of my creative practice were to fall away and I could only keep one part of it, what would it be?
- What draws me to a piece in an exhibition?
- What other sensory experiences feel like me?
- Who inspires me and why? Who originally inspired me to begin lino printing and why? Do they still inspire me today?
- What styles/aesthetics am I drawn to/what do I display in the house and why?
- What are my values? If I only had time to tell someone 3 of my values, which would be non-negotiable?
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