How much mess are you willing to make?

How much mess are you willing to make? I've decided that question determines so much about how things work out in an artist's life. Recently I created a big, beautiful, messy new thing, and it all happened because I decided to follow my heart, even when it felt like I was turning everything upside down.

See, I've been teaching a course called "Find Your Joy" since 2018. It's been an amazing experience, but over the last year or so, I've had a yen to create something a little more advanced. 

So, right at the end of 2024, I launched a new course called Momentum for anyone who had previously taken Find Your Joy.  Momentum wasn’t a “smart plan” or a carefully crafted project. It was a gut feeling; a pull deep inside. Something in me kept saying: “This is what you need to do.” And even though it caused a bit of chaos (okay, a lot of chaos) and sent my whole team spinning for a minute, I couldn’t ignore it. 

It didn't matter that we didn't really have time to create a whole new program, and it didn't matter that I didn't know the course outline.... I've learned to trust my creative nudges. I know they come at just the right time, and I know things will work out.

So my team and I jumped into action. I started developing my ideas and they started organising the website, and designing graphics, and getting the technology all lined up. Lots of brave souls signed up for the beta release - far more than I had hoped in my wildest dreams - and we started the course last week.

Now that we’re on the other side of the whirlwind, I’m seeing why I had to do this. The magic is already happening—students are creating like never before, and even my coaching team has caught the spark. Everyone is leaning into their own creativity in ways I didn’t expect, and it’s like this amazing wave of positive energy. Already my own work has taken a new turn and I am so jazzed about it.

The course centers around my own philosophy of art-making, which is this: The first idea isn’t the project—it’s just the starting point.

Your initial idea is like a doorway, you know? That first spark opens up possibilities, but it’s not the thing. The magic happens when you trust yourself to step through the door, follow the work, and see where it takes you—even if it feels messy or scary.

By experimenting, and playing, and journaling and mind-mapping, you can go deeper into yourself and you start to generate new directions for your work. if you allow yourself to venture into the unknown, your whole world expands.
 
That’s exactly what I did with Momentum. I let myself follow the pull, even when it meant shaking things up and stepping into unknown territory. And the risk is paying off in so many different ways. Students are trying new media, experimenting with techniques and following their own passions. It's beautiful to witness.

I think the one thing holding most people back from their dreams is an unwillingness to make a mess. I've met people who want to make loose, expressive paintings, but feel they must take develop their skills by taking lots of courses before they can have a go. Of course, all the hesitation and all the learning just blocks the natural expression. I've also met people who want to teach an online course, but believe they need a videographer, and a perfect setting, and a flawless curriculum, and so never actually get around to teach what they know.

I think this is a crying shame. There is so much darkness in our world today,but we can bring light to our own little corner of the world, if we simply allow ourselves to get started.

So, if there’s something calling to you - even if it feels a little wild or impractical or messy -,I truly believe it’s worth following. I truly believe that crazy idea is trying to take you somewhere wonderful. Why not mak this the year that you drop perfectionism and embrace the mess?