Morning Make
A daily (or mostly daily) practice of creative action.
Completed before caffeine, social media, regular media, or even interaction with family.
A moment, the moment, where one creates for the sake of creating and the rest of the world falls away.
For me, this has always meant doing it first thing in the morning. I set my alarm at least 20 minutes before I have to actually get up. It required an adjustment at the beginning, and a readjustment after each school break where we all sleep in, but it is worth it. I don’t feel that anything is lost because my mental health AND creative production benefit. Others I’ve spoken to about Morning Make find that the first thing timing is hard. So make it what works for you. Right after the kids go to school, home from a workout, in the quiet after bedtime for everyone else. The real key to success is to make this a regular practice.
I’ve chosen the word practice quite deliberately. While I like the stretching of yoga it isn’t spiritually my thing. Same with meditation. But the notion of showing up regularly and being completely present is central to both. And it is exactly the same with Morning Make. That is why I do it with no media or entertainment for company. Just me and the creative action. I am completely present. The more you do it, the easier it becomes and the more you see the benefits. Like a practice.
You can do your own Googling, but the benefits of a regular meditation practice are well known. For me, a regular practice reduces stress and calms my anxiety. If I miss Morning Make for a few days because my sewing room is engaged as a guest room I definitely get antsy. Those are the times I have to do something else like write and sketch to make sure my stress levels don’t increase. A regular practice boosts my creativity because, like any other muscle, your creativity grows when you use it. Most days my Morning Make is the only creative time or sewing time I get. It might not be long, but a lot can get done when you show up every day.
In 2020 I’ve decide to change things up a bit for my Morning Make. Just a little push for myself. Instead of sewing on whatever project happens to be out at the time I am going to create monthly motives for my Morning Make. It might be sewing, it might be writing, it might be something else entirely. A month doesn’t seem like a huge commitment to try something different, but also a good way to get some different skills primed, try new techniques, and devote time to my creative development.
Here is the brainstormed list of ideas.
Letters
Improv Doodles
Houses/Buildings
Haiku
Quilt Sketch
30 versions of a block
NaNoWriMo
Nature Photo Macros
Sunrise Pictures
Free Motion Quilting Doodles
Tassles
Dream Big brainstorming
Plant Sketch
Watercolour Abstract
Carve a Stamp
Make Cards
Embroidery stitch sample
There are obviously more than 12 ideas here. And I certainly open to more suggestions. Each month I will decide what to embrace. The decision will be based on desire, motivation, and what exactly our family schedule looks like that month.
Here’s to a year of making!
PS For January, I’ve chosen Haiku. One poem a day.
