Does anyone else here suffer from ‘creative itch’?
No, it’s not something you should be embarrassed about, nor is it something you need to get cream from the doctor for. Rather, it’s to be celebrated. Creative itch is that feeling you get when you just HAVE to get creative.
For me, my creative itch is guaranteed to be scratched each day by doing The Colour File, whether it’s taking and matching up photos, collecting and arranging marine plastic or – and this is a big one for me – doing shelfies (shelfie arranging is, for me, like the creative equivalent of a bear scratching its back against a tree. Ahhh! THAT’S better š»).
This little corner at Colour File HQ is a consequence of creative itch. The cabinet was from a car boot sale and I painted and wallpapered it to cover its sad and sorry brownness before filling it with happy eBay finds (like these jugs). The objects on the wall include family heirlooms such as this flower still life whose frame I turned into a multicoloured paint project to save it from cream oblivion. And the cushions include one I made by cutting up a crewel work jacket in bought in India when I was 18 but never wore (sitting alongside this GORGEOUSĀ @tomdixonĀ limited edition Paint cushion).
Looking at this snapshot, I realise it has all come about because of creative itch. The nature of creative itch is that it never really goes away – you have to scratch it by throwing yourself into another creative project. Then another – and another. But this is no bad thing.
Fortunately creative opportunities are everywhere and so is inspiration (lately I’ve been watching the amazingĀ @kasiebartonĀ @ftlocolourĀ transform average chairs and bar stools into things of great spectral beauty forĀ @ebay_ukĀ as part of theirĀ #fillyourcartwithcolourcampaign. Head over and take a look for yourself. She is sure scratching that creative itch!).
How do YOU relieve your creative itch? And how often does it happen?
Martha, The Colour File x
