The Art of Making Space
Creativity, Clarity & Letting Go
You know that feeling—that itch to fix, to figure out, to push for clarity? The frantic chase for the right idea, the right solution, the next step?
But what if clarity isn’t something you chase—but something you clear space to receive?
We live in a world that glorifies busyness, productivity, and the constant pursuit of more. It’s easy to believe that if we just try harder, inspiration will strike.
But creativity, insight, and self-trust don’t come from filling space—they come from making space.
This is something I explore in my art journaling practice. I teach that journaling isn’t about producing finished pages, but about creating playgrounds for future insights to land.
Because here’s the truth:
✨ You already know more than you think.
✨ Your inner wisdom is already speaking.
✨ You don’t have to force the answers—just give them room to emerge.
Creating a Clearing
A poem I return to often is Clearing by Martha Postlethwaite.
It’s a gentle reminder that we don’t have to force our purpose into existence.
Instead, we create space—a clearing in the dense forest of life—and wait for it to find us.
Do not try to save
the whole world
or do anything grandiose.Instead, create
a clearing
in the dense forest
of your life
and wait there patiently,until the song
that is your life
falls into your own cupped hands
and you recognise and greet it.
The Background & Foreground of Creativity
In my journaling practice, I borrow from a concept in Gestalt therapy called background and foreground work.
🖌 Background work is play. It’s where you move with energy—laying down colours, textures, and marks without overthinking. It’s an active process, but it’s not about control. It’s about using up the noise.
🔍 Foreground work is different. It’s where you get quiet. You stop adding, stop doing, and instead—start noticing. You let the symbols and images emerge on their own, pointing you toward what matters.
The biggest mistake people make in journaling is waiting for a fully formed insight before they start. But the truth is, the insight arrives because you start.
This is the power of making space.
Genius thrives in spaciousness.
It arrives when we stop forcing, pushing, demanding outcomes—and instead, clear a space for it to land.
💡 Do the Work: Your Own Clearing
This is what I invited a group of participants to explore in one of my recent Saturday journaling sessions:
📌 How do we clear space in our minds and hearts?
📌 What do we need to release in order to welcome new insights?
📌 What might emerge when we finally stop trying to control the outcome?
⬇ Inside the paywalled section, you’ll get:
✨ A guided visualisation to quieten the mind & open receptivity
✨ Art journaling prompts & video clips to let inspiration emerge
✨ A creative practice to return to whenever you feel stuck
Let’s do the work together.