How to Make Space for Feelings in the Creative Process

Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Feeling our feelings is uncomfortable and scary at times. And nowhere is that more apparent than in the creative practice of art journaling.

An art journal is an intimate record of our heart’s story. With paint and imagery and words we expose our vulnerable underbelly, our longings and feelings.

When we make intuitive art we are taking a deep dive . . . inviting our deepest and darkest feelings to come up to the surface. And then we invite them to splash around on the page!

It’s pretty much a given that we’ll end up feeling a bit uncomfortable. And it’s not always pretty. And it’s not often easy to hold.

The anger, the grief, the rejection, the sadness.

But, this is important work!

It’s why our art journal calls to us . . . “Commmmeeee . . . play with meeeeee!”

It’s why we are drawn back and back and back to the paint and collage and ephemera of our art journal practice. Nothing feels quite like expressing from the heart with art!

In our day to day lives we so cleverly know how to bypass our feelings.

We deny, minimize, control, mask, act the opposite, numb, project, blame others and ourselves, ignore, neglect, and brush them off.

Wow. Impressive, right?!

We do all that in order to not feel our feelings!

So the thing is, we’re so habituated to doing that, staying on the surface, steering clear of the pain, that when we get to our creative space (whether that’s an art studio or dining room table), we have lots of other ways to stay safe rather than dive down deep where the feelings are. We will do all sorts of things to block the discomfort of rising feelings in the creative process.

We follow our “plan” rather than leaving open space and allowing our intuition to guide us.
We chat with other people in the room rather than get quiet and allow our minds to get quiet and our hearts to speak. (And by the way, when we do that, we’re getting in the way of other people accessing their deeper, uncomfortable feelings as well!)
We reject impulses that want to guide us in the work, rather than follow them and see where they lead.
We allow ourselves to be distracted as we work so that we can’t touch into that tender, shy spot in our hearts (phones, computers, noise, interruptions).
We avoid the hard topics, even if they’re calling to us.
We don’t leave enough time to truly do the work.

Here are 4 things you can do to make space for your uncomfortable emotions in your creative practice:

Make the practice sacred: Light a candle; pull an oracle card; use an essential oil diffuser with a favorite, calming scent; sage the room
Make the practice private: Give yourself space to feel and dance, cry, yell, beat, mutter, or make noise with percussion instruments
Make the feelings welcome: Accept that you’re going to have them and welcome them in when they appear
Make your body a sanctuary for emotions: Begin your creative time with a centering meditation and/or some intuitive movement

Most importantly, envision the space you are creating for feeling your feelings and when they show up, celebrate their arrival!