Why do we need creativity in our lives? What do we need to be creative?
These are some of the questions that I started exploring in 2019 in a newsletter called Creative Fuel. It went out once a month, and allowed me to explore my own creative process and tackle some of the central components of creativity in general.
The first ever Creative Fuel newsletter sent in January 2019.
Then in the spring of 2020 the global Covid pandemic hit. Our day-to-day lives were put on hold and we scrambled to find new ways of doing things. Knowing that creativity can often be a very healing process, I started sending out prompts called the Creative Fuel Challenge. They were small creative projects, little snippets of inspiration to help us move through hard times. In March of that year, my friends at JAM Collective asked if I would host a mid-week art hour on Zoom (here is the first one we ever did). It soon became a weekly thing. The Creative Fuel workshop was born.
That weekly gathering became a staple in my own life, and for many others. Yes there were prompts, and yes we made art, but I've always felt that the most important thing was that we created a space that felt supportive and inspiring. It was a space to ask questions, a space to mull over new projects, a space to show up even when you felt creatively blank. It led to new friendships, it led to new ideas.
One of the things that I have to remind myself the most about the creative process is that it's a winding path. There's no start and stop point. You start at point A, and maybe you have a destination in mind, but most often, if you're able to give up control and give in to the process itself, you end up somewhere entirely different than what you ever could have envisioned when you took the first step.
And that's what Creative Fuel Collective is. I couldn't have mapped this whole thing out a few years ago when I started the newsletter. I couldn't even really have mapped it out when I started teaching the weekly workshop.
This is a platform for creativity. It is a platform for exploring creative process in all its forms. It is a platform for highlighting creative work. There are workshops, there's a podcast, and yes, there will still be a monthly newsletter.
One thing about being an artist/creative/writer/etc. is that the work can often feel a little lonely. But collaboration is central to the creative process, and even those of us who work well alone need a support team.
So that's what I like to think of Creative Fuel Collective as. A supportive and inspiring place.
I don't know exactly how it will grow and morph, but I do know that creativity will be at the heart of everything that we do. Because creativity is essential, and creativity is for everyone.
I'm so glad that you are here,
Anna
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