Taking creative risks

I’ve been taking some creative risks lately to shake things up. It’s really good for my creative spirit. One of the worst things you can do to your creative life is stick it in a rigid box. Boundaries and structure are good for creativity (so it doesn’t lead to chaos), but repetition of the same thing over and over is the kiss of death for creative motivation. Adding change into your life in small doses does wonders for the imagination.

I’ve been wanting to paint an accent wall in our small living room since last year; however, everyone kept telling me it would make the room look too dark. I believed it would ground the space. The airy neutral beige walls that the last owner chose give our small space the illusion of size, but they were so boring to me. I like color!

I found this pillow as color inspiration since it reminded me of pillows that my Big Sister from the Big Brother Big Sister program had on her couch when I was a kid. (Read more about that experience here). While I love the shade of jade in the fabric, I decided not to use that as the wall color since it seemed too matchy with the pillow and too blue against our red slipcover couch. Instead, I chose this neutral green color that didn’t have a yellow tone to it and would work with the other warm objects in the room.

As I started painting, the color was much greener on the wall than I anticipated based on the paint chip. I convinced myself it would darken as it dried. It didn’t. The paint can said it would need only one coat, guaranteed. Not true. I could still see the beige coming through after the first coat, so I definitely had to do a second. (I just noticed that at the bottom right corner of this photo, you can see Milo the cat walking by!)

Now that it’s done, I love it! It did exactly what I was hoping for. It grounded the room, and now when I first walk into the house, it greets me with warmth and happiness and color. I decided to make it a gallery wall to hang artwork which was scattered all over the room before. (These were all thrift store finds over the years. I hope to collect local artist work eventually.)

It has brought so much life into the space, I wish I had listened to myself and done it sooner. Why do we let people talk us out of good ideas because of their fear?

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My agent called this week with great news that has to stay a secret for now. Sorry for being vague. Let’s just say I took a creative risk, there’s been a development, and things are looking hopeful. Fingers crossed and positive thoughts, please! You’ll be the first to know soon once things pan out. (And if you are trying to guess what this is, guess bigger!)

If you’ve been reading my recent posts, you know I’ve been struggling with empty nest coming this fall, and slowly coming to terms with what this stage of my parenting and personal life will look like. This week reminded me that accepting small changes can help us adjust to larger ones later. Give yourself permission to allow change into your life. When you do, the universe listens. It knows when you are ready for a season of growth.