Drawing Room’s entire purpose is to build community through the exploration of different mediums. We encourage people to try out a wide range of art forms and even mix-and-match them together. However, a lot of the adults who walk through our doors come in whispering about their passions, worried they’ll get caught in some treacherous act. Since the Industrial Revolution, creativity has been increasingly undervalued in our society. The pursuit of it is seen as something to be ashamed of. That is why we started The Cozy Corner at Drawing Room. Through monthly blog posts musing over the creative process and it’s connection to all aspects of our life, exploring different forms of art, and chatting with experts in their creative fields, we hope you’ll become emboldened to create whenever, wherever, and however you please. So:

“Why Create?”

It’s a question most artists face at least once in their lifetime. One that continues to plague art philosophers everywhere. After all, why create when there’s a chance it won’t be seen? When it won’t be lucrative or “good?” When the world fails to listen? 

Why create and waste our time on something that “won’t go anywhere” when we are already strapped for time and toppled with a mountain of responsibilities? 

To create for creation’s sake is to acknowledge we are more than that.

These questions are exactly why we must create. We live in a world, in a city, that grows increasingly fast-paced—driven by a means of production and profit rather than value. To pause is to miss out on a prime opportunity to hustle and get ahead (even if we have yet to determine where we’re going). We’re taught from a young age that our value comes from the work we do, how much money we make, what accomplishments we can post on Instagram. To create for creation’s sake is to acknowledge we are more than that. It is to heal and reconnect with a part of ourselves often hidden away, unlocking new perspectives and opening up new gateways to connection. To create is to carve out a space for ourselves to rest, reassess, and progress—much like a rock grounded against an ever-flowing current of pressure to move.

To Create is to Rest

To express ourselves is to see ourselves; it is the process of learning to accept ourselves.

It’s no secret that art is a tool of relaxation for many. Studies have shown creative activities help in relieving stress, anxiety, and depression. Just look at the sales of Paint by Numbers to prove it. If for no other reason, create to help lower your blood pressure in a stressful world.

However, rest is much more than a quick break to energize yourself for the rest of the day. It is an opportunity to pause and reflect. When we create, we watch the colors of ourselves spill out onto a paper, a dance floor, a tapestry, and so forth. To express ourselves is to see ourselves; it is the process of learning to accept ourselves. 

Tricia Hersey, nap bishop and author of Rest is Resistance, also provides a beautiful definition for rest as she says, “Resting and dreaming is a portal to imagination.” When we rest through creation, it opens a door to our dreamspace—a space where our imagination knows no bounds.

To Create is to Reassess

As children, a safe space to create was necessary for the development of our individual identities. As adults living fast-paced lives, it is even more necessary to check-in with ourselves and our emotions. Allowing yourself the time, space, and freedom to dream unabashedly allows you to embrace a realm of possibility.

Take a moment to ask yourself how you are feeling at this moment. Why do you feel that way? Where do you want to go from here? How might you get there?

As we grow-up, we are increasingly encouraged to disengage with our inner child. And as a result, we tend to shut down our dreams before they can truly be considered. We stop approaching life with a sense of wonder and curiosity, instead replacing it with a dreary sense of reality that keeps us from ever really exploring where life can lead us.

Indulging in creativity forces us to explore our dreamspace, which is to explore a world without limitations (even gravity). Creation helps us zero in on a desired destination, causing us to reassess where we are on our journey to it.

Beyond exploring our wildest dreams, creativity has been shown to enhance our current, in-person lives as well. The active practice of it can foster problem-solving skills, encourage innovation, improve cognitive function, and inspire new perspectives, making it easier to approach challenges with flexibility and openness. A study in Frontiers in Psychology found that creative engagement can “enhance cognitive functioning in aging adults, contributing to longer-lasting mental sharpness.” Thus, continually challenging ourselves and imagining new futures—whether through dressing like the main character, attempting a new recipe, or simply improvising small talk with a stranger—not only can enhance your experience of life, but can maintain brain health.

To Create is to Progress

Our desired reality cannot exist until we dream it, and our dreams often come into existence with the aid of others.

Once we reassess, we can redirect. Through redirection, we are brought closer to the dreams that once felt out of reach. Drawing Room was once a mere idea thought up between two friends daydreaming about a life outside of corporate America. Now it is a safe space for countless people looking to do their imagining. Our desired reality cannot exist until we dream it, and our dreams often come into existence with the aid of others.

Creativity most often extends beyond the individual as one person daydreaming inspires another, which inspires a movement. Yet even if you don’t have such lofty goals as inciting a revolution, research in the journal, Psychological Science, has shown that creativity enhances social connections by encouraging collaboration and communication. Thus, whether it be a shared project at work or a fun art collab with friends, engaging in collective creativity is essential to achieving the end goal.

If there is one thing that we know at Drawing Room, it is that creativity inspires creativity. Drawing Room would not exist as it does today if it wasn’t for fun suggestions made by our community members and excited ideas thrown around a dinner table, even if it did start in just one person’s living room. Creativity encourages us to band together during a time of heightened loneliness and chaotic headlines, pushing toward a more inclusive future founded on shared values and unlimited cups of coffee—a future greater than one we could have ever imagined alone.

Drawing Room would not exist as it does today if it wasn’t for fun suggestions made by our community members and excited ideas thrown around a dinner table

Creativity keeps the heart beating and the mind imagining new paths forward. By indulging in your creative nature through play or art or the decisions you make on any given day, you indulge your inner child who only asks that you take a moment to relax and dream again. Through creation, you give permission for what needs to come up to spill out in a whirlwind of color, sound, words, or whatever form must be taken to see ourselves, hear ourselves, and accept ourselves. In doing so, we reconnect with the goals and aspirations we may have pushed aside, a way of living that feels more aligned with our needs, and even a community that supports and understands us.