What brings you joy?
The value of creative activity may lie not solely in the quality of the finished product, but in the enjoyment and flow experienced during the process of making.
Drake, J.E., Eizayaga, M. and Wawrzynski, S. (2024)
I have been thinking a lot lately about StraightCurves and reflecting on what we offer to our learners. Reviewing our original brand values from 2014, I was surprised by how little they have changed in 12 years. The business still has the same focus, and at the core of that is joy.
When people ask me why I do it, my answer is always the same: “the proud giggle.”That moment when a learner sees what they have made for the first time and, without even realising it, giggles a little. It’s the only thing that keeps me going when running a small business gets hard — which it does, regularly. Recently, a learner explained it from their side and said it wasn’t just about pride, but also about joy.
This got me thinking. Maybe that little giggle isn’t really about the finished product at all. Maybe it’s about the experience of making it. The experimenting. The problem-solving. The concentration. The moment something finally works. The surprise of seeing an idea become something real.
And perhaps that’s something we sometimes forget when we become too focused on the outcome.
Could you avoid comparisons?
While teaching and attending workshops at the studio, I often hear people making comments about how theirs won’t, or doesn’t, look as good as the examples or someone else’s in the workshop. And it makes me sad. It’s not easy, I know — and I’ve been there myself — to avoid comparisons. But comparison can so quickly take the joy out of something we were enjoying. As the phrase often attributed to Theodore Roosevelt puts it, “comparison is the thief of joy.”
We look at someone else’s finished creation and compare it with our own. Their stitches are neater. Their colours work better. Their piece looks more professional. And suddenly something that was fun becomes a judgement of whether we are good enough. But we’re comparing their finished product with our own process. That’s never really a fair comparison.
When creative activities become focused on comparison with others, or on producing a ‘perfect’ final product, the intrinsic enjoyment we get from the activity can be reduced. Instead of being absorbed in what we are doing, we become focused on how well we are doing it.
So why do we keep stealing our own joy?
For our own wellbeing, perhaps we need to start paying more attention to how creating makes us feel, rather than constantly judging ourselves by the outcome — or, worse, against an unrealistic expected outcome. What if it doesn’t look like the example?
It doesn’t have to.
Your creation doesn’t need to be perfect to have value. In fact, the wonky bits, the mistakes, the changes of plan and the things that didn’t quite work are all part of your creative process. They are evidence that you were experimenting, learning and making decisions for yourself.
Playful experimentation as a habit…
Recently, after many years of trying — and I’m not exaggerating, it really has been years — I have finally established a habit of creating art every day. And it wasn’t easy. What has helped me maintain the habit and motivation, however, is focusing on the experience over the outcome. I found myself playing more, experimenting, trying things without knowing exactly where they will end up and avoiding preconceived ideas about what something should look like. And, perhaps most importantly, giving myself permission to make things that aren’t perfect.
I think this is something we could all benefit from. We don’t always need to make something useful or beautiful. We don’t even need to finish it, and as many of you know I often don’t!
Sometimes the joy is simply in making.
So what are we trying to offer?
I am currently thinking about how we can promote more of this in our sessions, and to be honest, I don’t think it will work in all of them. Obviously, we want you to come away with good-quality finished products. We want you to develop your skills, learn new techniques and feel proud of what you have achieved. But what we really want is for you to find joy in creating. To experience that moment of being completely absorbed in what you are doing. To play and experiment, to make mistakes without feeling that you have failed and to discover that you can do things you didn’t think you could.
And yes, hopefully, to have that little “proud giggle” when you see what you’ve made. Because perhaps the finished product is only part of the story. Hopefully you will begin to see the real value might be everything that happened while you were making it. So next time you find yourself looking at somebody else’s work and thinking “mine isn’t as good”, try stopping for a moment.
Don’t compare.
Look at what you’re doing.
Notice how it feels.
Enjoy the process.
And remember why you started.
You don’t have to be the best at making. You just have to enjoy making.
We as always look forward to having the pleasure of sharing our skills and traveling with you on your creative journey. We look forward to seeing what you create.