Full of The Joys of Spring
I’m coming to the end of the first season of my online creativity class, based on a book I started writing at the start of this topsy-turvy year. The idea for the class came from a what if moment on the night of 16 March 2020 – the evening Boris Johnson announced pubs were to close.
The class was thrown together, because the idea behind the book is about working with the energy of the seasons – and spring was only days away. If I didn’t start soon, I’d have had to wait til summer, and who knew where we’d be by then? I sent out an email late at night and within two days forty people had signed up. Slight issue in that I hadn’t written much of the spring section – I’d been concentrating on winter. But, I like a deadline and anyway, spring is about surprises, so on March 21st, we set off together on a journey of creative discovery.
Fast forward nearly thirteen weeks later and we’ve become a tribe. I’m happy to report that almost everyone who did the first week’s exercise made it to the last – we lost only two on the way. We’ve risen to ridiculous challenges – from spring cleaning [not very popular] to discovering dead bodies [hugely so]. We’ve written haikus and monologues, dribbles and drabbles, sonnets and songs. We’ve mined memories, music, settings, films, books and collage to find ideas. We’ve planted seeds, baked cakes, made soups, made friends. We’ve sewn and stitched and upholstered. We’ve pulled each other through difficult times, always able to see the silver in the darkest of clouds. I’ve laughed, cried, watched on as we’ve driven each other mad, but at the same time, always been there for each other.
To me, creativity is radical. It’s the opposite of consumerism. Consumerism teaches us to devour. Creativity teaches us to exhale – to give out. Creativity is consumerism’s antidote. I am re-energised by the experience of the last thirteen weeks, by the people I’ve met. I’m reminded not only of why creativity is more important now than ever before, but also of how much fun it can be.
So much so in fact that I’m starting a summer season as soon as spring ends. Nutter.
