I got a new gel plate this week, and I couldn’t wait to try it out! And when I say big… it’s a BIG one! 😁

So, of course, I turned on the camera, grabbed some of the new-to-the-shop stencils, pulled out my medical exam paper, and got to work.

Although, let’s be honest… this didn’t feel anything like work. It was just plain FUN!

I started layering paint, playing with the stencils, and making some of my favorite kind of papers—yummy, messy, grungy collage papers. And because of the size of this gel plate, I could make BIG papers that will be perfect for backgrounds in my art.

I love using medical exam paper for this because it’s so thin and wonderful for layering. It has just enough transparency to let little bits and pieces of what’s underneath peek through—and you know how much I love those layers!

Once I finished making the papers, there was no way I was going to put them aside. I wanted to use them right away! 😁

And here’s the funny thing…

I had no plan.

No big inspiration. No meaningful quote I was trying to build a page around. No deep story I needed to tell.

I just wanted to play.

And maybe that’s the whole story for today.

Sometimes we can get caught up thinking our creative time needs to lead somewhere. We need to finish something, make something beautiful, learn a new technique, or somehow make our time “productive.”

But creating doesn’t always need a purpose beyond the joy it gives us.

At one point, while I was happily making all these new papers, I had the thought, Shawn, you absolutely do NOT need any more collage paper! 😂

And that’s probably true.

But if making collage paper makes me happy… if it brings me to the table, gets my hands messy, sparks new ideas, and makes me want to keep creating… then I will happily make thousands more collage papers!

Because creative time is never wasted time.

Sometimes the very thing that seems unnecessary is exactly what we need to find our way back to ourselves, back to our curiosity, and back to the joy of making something simply because we can.

So today, I want to encourage you to do what makes you happy.

Don’t worry if it makes sense. Don’t worry if you “need” another collage paper, another journal page, another experiment, or another messy afternoon at your art table.

If it brings you joy, follow it.

Get your hands messy. Play. Experiment. Make the thing you don’t need.

Just create.

Enjoy the process, and always know that you are loved!

Stencils used: These will be on sale this week

•  Fun Dots 9×12
• Abstract Line 5×8, 8×10, 9×12
• String 5×8, 8×10, 9×12