Here’s Why Creative Play Is So Good For You!

Do you know what creative play is and why you should engage in it?

As someone who designs and creates my own chairs and ottomans, I consider myself a creative entrepreneur! I’m happiest when I’m dreaming up new chair designs or on the hunt for the perfect pairing of textiles and ottoman feet. So I get to exercise my creative muscle on a regular basis. But over the recent summer holiday, my family was all together, so as usual we planned a creative play date. 
In the past we have decorated Christmas cookies, Gingerbread houses, made alcohol ink tiles and tied-dyed tees and sweatshirts.
This time we took advantage of a couple of boxes of 16×20 artist canvases we had acquired and had a paint party. 

Now here’s the thing about creative play, you don’t have to know what you’re doing or be any good at it. Just have fun. Explore the medium and let you’re mind wander. 
We pooled our paint supplies and spread out a plastic tablecloth and just let our paintbrushes guide us. One of my nieces is an incredibly talented artist so we leaned on her for guidance and tips. But mostly we winged it.

My painting was based on a tutorial by Ella Byers. I watched her tutorial and referred to the painting as I worked on mine. As you can see, mine is a very loose interpretation of hers. 🤣 But I so enjoyed it and it’s not completely horrible for someone who has never attempted something like this.

Our artist in residence, used a painting by Studio Andain as her inspiration. She nailed it.

There was also a Star Wars inspired sunset and a boho Vintage VW van.
But perhaps my favorite idea was from the youngest member of our paint party, my 6 year old great niece, she decided she would just paint what was in her head! She painted a very imaginative sunset!

So why is creative play so good for you? Well it lets your mind be free to think outside its normal box. There is no right or wrong, no successes or failures, just expressiveness! No matter how focused you are on your creative endeavor, it releases stress and anxiety. In my family, there is lots of laughter and fun, idea sharing and support. 

At the end of the day, we are renewed and refreshed, ready to take on the challenges of everyday. And we’re already dreaming up our next creative play date.