Why I must repeat myself!

I am now over two thirds of the way through the 100 day project and this little daily creative ritual has got me thinking about how valuable repetition can be....

This exercise in creative repetition has helped me to:

• Focus - I don't sit down every day with a blank piece of paper and a question mark about what to do which often leads to procrastination.

• Be MORE creative - I have needed to think about ways of adding variation within the constraints that I have set. I have been undertaking the same task every day (10cm squares featuring a circle motif in a set colour palette) but i haven't made the same thing every day! It has got me thinking about creative ways to add textures, vary the design (eg organic vs geometric), use different mediums, different marks etc.

• Develop my skills - doing something over and over has helped me to develop confidence and skills.

• Let go of outcome - I like some of my abstracts more than others and the value of an exercise in repetition like this is that I just need to move on and do it again tomorrow. Each individual piece becomes less important than keeping moving.

When I started thinking about it, I realised how fundamental repetition is to my creative practice more generally - stitching and mark making are two particular examples.

This is a piece of 'fabric collage' that I put together from scraps and then stitched over. As you can see, there are no fancy stitches here, simply repeated running stitch adding an extra layer of texture and pattern on the fabric. I am going to turn this in to a mini journal cover but, to be honest, I had no particular purpose in mind when I started it - simply an urge to do some stitching!

And here is another recent project which began as a way of using up small scraps of fabric on a long strip that I had left over from our fabric panels. I love doing this repetitive stitching - it is mindful and meditative and allows my mind to wander while my hands are busy :)

And that is possibly the most important benefit of repetition - it has a calming effect on a busy mind! Whilst I love to spin lots of plates and have a number of projects on the go at the same time, taking a deep dive in to a single project or engaging in simple repetitive actions to build backgrounds or add texture is a wonderful way to unwind. Why not choose your favourite mark or shape and simply fill a page with it? It is a great way to spark ideas for your next project and, if nothing else, you will have created some great collage fodder :)

I would love to know what repetitive task or activity you return to when you may not have an end project in mind but want to be creative.

Thanks for reading,

Sarah x