The Creative Return – the Big Picture
September is the time of year for getting back to things (work, school, the routine of our daily lives) after the summer break. The French call this time of year La Rentrée – the return – and it affects everyone, not just workers and students. I like to think of this time of year as the Creative Return – where we can harness this feeling of beginning, to look forward to the rest of the year and prepare, to be ready to meet whatever opportunities or challenges we may come to.
This month, on the blog, I’ll be taking the theme of the Creative Return to focus on 4 elements: Values, the Big Picture, Reflection and Looking Forwards, with the aim of helping you remind yourself of your Why, to feel inspired about your work, to reflect on past successes and to set a course ahead. I’ll be asking you questions that get to the heart of each element and offering places you can gain additional inspiration or chances for reflection. Last week we looked at Values, this week we look at the Big Picture:
The Creative Return – Values
Every year I think to myself how odd it is that summer shifts into autumn so quickly, how September often feels a bit sudden. When it really isn’t that strange at all – we are all products of the relentless academic timetable of Back to School in September that long after we are freed of it, the rhythm has become ingrained. So, whether you are still part of that academic world (either as a student yourself or through your own children) or whether you are now part of the bigger world of work, this time of year is undeniably a time for feeling like we should let go of the freedom of summer and ‘get back’ to something. The French call this time of year La Rentrée – the return – and it affects everyone, not just workers and students. I like to think of this time of year as the Creative Return – where we can harness this feeling of beginning, to look forward to the rest of the year and prepare, to be ready to meet whatever opportunities or challenges we may come to.
This month, on the blog, I’ll be taking the theme of the Creative Return to focus on 4 elements: Values, the Big Picture, Reflection and Looking Forwards with the aim of helping you remind yourself of your Why, to feel inspired about your work, to reflect on past successes and to set a course ahead. I’ll be asking you questions that get to the heart of each element and offering places you can gain additional inspiration or chances for reflection. So, let’s begin, with Values:
Continue your creative return – Locate your practice
Last week I recommended the excellent book – What they didn’t teach you in art school: what you need to know to survive as an artist. By Rosalind Davis and Annabel Tilley – a book full of excellent, practical advice on how to survive in your chosen career.
This week, I thought I’d recommend a book that will help you think more broadly about your practice, and how to locate it within the context of contemporary craft/art/design.
A creative return
There has been an undeniable shift in mood during the last week. Some days it seems I can perceive the light changing and the weather shift. Although not cold, the mornings are chillier and I can no longer pretend that the evenings are balmy and long. A new season is here. Every year I try to remind myself not to grasp, not to try to hold onto time beyond what is natural. Summer passes into autumn and it is right that it does. Whether I feel ready or not is beside the point.
This year, I am more aware of the French notion of la rentrée. This season, which goes beyond merely ‘back to school’ at the beginning of September, infuses life at this time. It is a return. A return to life as normal after the long summer. Now, this probably makes more sense for a country which definitely experiences a long hot summer, and which almost closes up shop for a month or two. This return is a very real thing. Children return to school, adults return to work, politics gets going again, the media begins a new schedule and even the literary world joins in, launching hundreds of new titles. But, I think it is also something which we can embrace, psychologically, as creatives.