Cultivating creativity at home
The importance of creative input, how to display art, a clever DIY project, and a few more artsy things (also, hello from the beach!)
My friends, I am writing to you from a coastal cottage in Newport Beach where we are spending a few windswept days. It is the morning that this newsletter is due in your inboxes and, given the time difference, I am already late. But I am here, perched on a couch with my coffee in hand. I am writing. And I will tell you why this is late.
The theme of this week’s newsletter is creativity, the role it plays in life, and how it can be cultivated. Naturally, this has been a week that I’ve felt creatively stumped and out of ideas. I have no words to say, no original thoughts. This is why I, despite being of sound body and mind, left this newsletter to the last minute in hopes that creativity would somehow strike. Instead, I’ve joined the assembly of writers who have pushed their work past its deadline (this does give me some consolation, thinking that maybe Hemmingway or Salinger were late on deadlines at one point).
There was no notable cause for this lack of creativity or monumental event that has consumed my life. I’ve just been busy. Work has been jam-packed with meetings and deadlines, I spent a few extended evenings with friends and family last week, and I had to do some chores before we left on vacation.
But I have been learning that artistic input is equally as important as artistic output in the process of cultivating creativity. Here’s what I mean: the experience of art, creativity in its many forms, can be as impactful as the act of creating something. I think this is why I care so much about curating a home or a space for myself because I know (possibly, knew) that being surrounded by beautiful things, things you enjoy, can inspire.
In hopes of becoming a better writer, I’ve taken a more critical look at the activities in my life that fuel (or deplete) my creativity. There’s a little bit of math in the creative process. There’s addition and subtraction and shuffling around the variables until an effective combination is found.
I’m a task-driven person with a running list of responsibilities on my mind at all times. Recognizing that my brain wants me to complete all of my tasks and responsibilities before I can rest or settle has been illuminating. It’s a clear explanation as to why my energy is depleted before I can spend any time on creative work.
Much to my surprise, I have learned that reading and endless supply of books doesn’t inspire me to write as much as listening to classical music, playing the piano, or cooking seem to inspire me. I’m in the process of altering my habits and changing my daily practices to do more of the things that give me energy, however small that they are (like displaying art on my desk or taking a real, actual break for lunch).
All of this is to say that I’ve been reminded once again that I need input before I can create any output. I need food in order to function. I need inspiration in order to create. I need rest (!) in order to thrive.
Today’s newsletter has a few of ideas for practicing creativity at home, plus inspiration for putting art on display. And, if you don’t consider yourself creative, read this book. I promise that you are.
ART ON DISPLAY
3 perfectly curated art collections
Piece by piece I’m building my own art collection, but one thing I’m intrigued by (as I source and shuffle and exchange an item in one room for another from a different room) is how art is displayed at home. The paint color on the walls or the symmetry of the design can impact how the art is experienced.
Take a look at these perfectly composed walls where art is on display.
The Charleston home of interior designer Chelsea Handegan has the prettiest pink paint color with darker, moodier artwork hung on the walls. The contrast between the sugary, sweet pink and the rich tones brings out the depth of the art. There’s something about the symmetry in this image that makes me happy, too.
The late Robert Kime, who was a decorator and antiques dealer, created incredible, art-filled homes. Notably, he was called upon by King Charles III (then, Prince Charles) to decorate Clarence House. You’ll see picture rails, which I love the idea of for purposes of rearranging but also adding charm, as well as this perfectly cheery but subtle blue paint color on the walls in many of the rooms he’s decorated.
This image of Lee Radziwill’s Paris apartment, with the cluster of botanical artwork hanging above the pink sofa, is often on my mind. I think it’s the arrangement of the art — the height of it on the wall but also how it frames the sofa and end tables and creates a vignette — that I remember. Finding a single piece of artwork to cover that space would be tricky, given the size, but the grouping of coordinating images looks cohesive and collected simultaneously.
SPRUCED UP
A designer’s clever ideas for adding visual interest to simple art pieces
Shannon Claire Smith, an interior designer based in D.C., has an art collection that I covet. I’ve found Shannon’s D.C. home to be a wonderful source of inspiration because she has a wonderful, mixed collection of decor, from inexpensive pieces and DIY artwork to designer upholstery and a chic, bullion-fringed sofa. When I think of my home and its many empty walls, I want to fill them with art that’s interesting and varied, as opposed to a gallery wall of sameness. But it can take time (and funds) to curate the extensive collection I’m dreaming of for my walls.
A few weeks ago, I reached out to Shannon because she shared some clever, DIY art ideas that I want to replicate in my own home (and that I wanted to share with you). Perhaps this will inspire you to fill your walls with art.
In a recent update of her guest room, Shannon embellished a few art pieces she had on hand. A simple architectural drawing (above), which she won at an auction, was customized with paint and colorful paper.
“I accentuated the shapes of the buildings by cutting out marble paper to mimic those shapes, and adding paint to highlight,” she wrote me in an email. “In a weird and fun twist, I decided to add some John Derian stickers to give the prints a bit of a surrealist look.”
And to add a layer of fun to a vintage engraving, she painted red stripes onto the frame’s mat.
Another DIY project, which Shannon said was inspired by Casa Gusto, yielded a paper-covered frame that offers a pop of pattern and color within a gallery wall. It’s a simple frame covered in patterned paper with a matching mat.
Shannon generously shared a few tips and sources for the projects:
To find marbled paper, like what she used to embellish the architectural drawing, try Etsy (particularly, Etsy retailers in the UK, she said).
For the patterned frame with the matching mat, she recommends Paper Source for affordable papers.
If you plan to cover a frame with paper, go for one with very simple edges. Mod Podge or spray adhesive both work well to attach the paper.
Thank you, Shannon, for sharing your creative ideas and all the tips.
MAKING ROOM FOR FAMILY PIECES
Decorating with homemade artwork
I’ve told this story before, but I’ll say it again: my favorite piece of art in our home is a painting that José created in a college art class. It’s a focal point in our living space and the source of the room’s color palette. I purchased a pretty, premade frame from a local framer and tucked the canvas inside.
My parents’, grandparents’, and great-grandparents’ homes have been full of homemade artwork. I love how the process of being creative, even just a simple weekend painting project, can turn into a piece of art that’s cherished and kept for years to come. The late designer Kate Spade was known to mix in her daughter’s artwork to display alongside collected pieces (see a photo of her home in a previous edition of the newsletter). And, a months ago now, I interviewed a woman from Houston who got her start as an artist simply because she wanted to fill the empty walls of her home with colorful, cheerful art.
GOOD CHOICE
A $5 watercolor set that has served me well
I grew up in a home full of art supplies; my parents’ home is a storehouse of creative resources. They have a pottery wheel, woodworking tools, and every type of paint or paper you could imagine. When I moved out and got my own house, I quickly realized how much I missed having the ability to rifle through a closet and start up a creative project on a whim.
A few weeks ago, I purchased an inexpensive watercolor set and some watercolor-paper postcards to have on hand. It was something small that I could use to eliminate my often-cited excuse of never having the resources to be creative (and, thus, forever putting creative work off). I’ve already used it more than a handful of times and have found that you can create a good many colors and designs out of a single palette and a single brush. I’d highly recommend it.
NEXT WEEK
Collected homes and cultivating a vision
Next week’s newsletter will be about cultivating a vision in life and at home. We’ll talk home inspiration, developing style, and longstanding design best practices — alongside sources for building a collection.
ONE LAST THING
Shuffle through the archives of Choosy
Substack just released a few updates which make it easier to read through the archives of a newsletter. If you are new here or you’d like to revisit some older editions, head to Choosy’s homepage to find them. You can filter by most popular editions, most recent, or even search for a specific topic.
There are six months of newsletters waiting for your perusal. Thanks for reading.
All the best,
Mary Grace
Wonderful! Thank you so much!
Such an inspiring post.. and I love José's painting. You are so right about how the quality of the inputs influence the creative output. Thank you, Mary Grace!