“I’ve forgotten what those buttons meant. I can’t remember any of them!”
This statement was uttered in frustration and exasperation by a young creative (age 7) in one of our private after-school classes recently. She had, just before, created a ‘teleporting machine’ (well, sculpture) which was covered in different coloured buttons. Each button had a very specific function, e.g. teleporting to the ice cream shop. 😁
As she kept painting on more and more buttons, she remarked that she no longer knew what some of the initial buttons were for. I suggested creating a manual that went with the machine, so that she – and anyone else using the machine – could refer back to it.
She liked the idea but started feeling a little frustrated. Because she couldn’t remember some of the buttons. She worried that she would never remember them ever again.
I told her:
“Sometimes our thoughts and ideas come back when we stop thinking about the thing itself, and instead relax.”
Her response:
“But my brain is so busy I can’t stop thinking about it.”
I realised what I tried to explain was too abstract.
She needed to experience it for herself.
So I showed her a simple creative practice and told her it’s something I like to do to help my brain relax: drawing without a plan, just making scribbles, lines etc. on the paper, maybe a pattern.
She copied me doing this exercise, and I saw her getting engrossed in the experience. Her breathing slowed down, and so did her movement. After a few minutes, she excitedly called out:
“I remember a button!!” – “And another one!!”
I said:
“See, the strategy worked! And guess what? You can do that whenever your brain feels busy.”
She smiled and proudly continued with her mahi.
Sometimes all it takes is a little unstructured mark-making to clear the cobwebs and let the ideas flow back in. By giving her mind permission to wander (through simple scribbles, lines and patterns) she discovered not only the missing button functions but also a playful way to reset her creativity whenever she felt stuck.
And that’s the magic of art: it invites us to slow down and rediscover our own wonderful ideas – and, guess what? This applies no matter how old we are. 🙃
Why not try it yourself this week? Grab a pen, pick up some paint, or even tear and glue bits of paper (you read that right!) … no plan needed. Notice how your thoughts settle, and inspiration returns when you least expect it.
Happy playing and creating,
Franzi 🌞
PS: If you enjoyed this post and want to support what I do, pick one of these right now before you forget (just like what happened to those teleporting buttons 🙃):
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