Words of Wisdom from the Making Zen Artists

From the very beginning of the Making Zen Online Retreat back in 2021, it has been about creativity, community, and learning. We were still in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, and being able to come together in a way that was both safe and nurturing felt almost insurmountable, but also deeply necessary - and with the miracle of technology, we found a way. I lined up a roster of 15 artists I admired, plus myself, and in October of that year we held the very first Making Zen Online Retreat.

Back then, I had no idea it would be the first of many, or how big the event would grow to become. Many of the artists that were featured in those first events have returned to share their talents again over the years, and between them and the thousands of participants we've welcomed, we've really build quite a beautiful community here.

Over the five years and ten events we've had, I've had the unique opportunity to connect with dozens of artists and creative thinkers, often more than once, to chat about all sorts of topics. In doing so, I've gained insights into their practices and ways of thinking that I am delighted to share with you here; many of these tips and ideas have been incredibly useful in my own practice, and I just know you'll find them helpful, too.

1. Being Open to the Mystery

Photo from Amy Maricle's October 2022 workshop, Printing with String

It's so easy to shy away from trying something out, especially if we have this perfect image in our mind that we aren't sure we can do justice to with our own skills. Listening back to my chat with Amy Maricle from October 2022, I think she says it beautifully:

"... I think often like with my students, they have a certain idea or picture in their head of what it should look like. And sometimes it's important to totally reach for that and to practice and to master. And I I definitely believe in that. I also think though if that's the only acceptable image in our head that we miss out on what could appear, and what could be really beautiful that's outside of that image. So, I feel like it's it's like two tracks, right? Like it's it's going for mastery while being open to the mystery."

2. Creativity is a Priority

One of the things that I hear most often is that people just don't have the time to be creative. And it's true that many other things can take priority over your creativity, especially in the different seasons of life. But it's also true that nurturing that side of yourself can have benefits that radiate out into the other areas of your life. In a conversation with Meredith Woolnough for our May 2023 event, she said this:

"I think you've got to make it a priority and I think you've got to realize how important that time is for yourself and for your sanity. I was even talking to my husband about it today. I was all stressed about this that and the other thing this morning... I was a bit cranky when he called me on the way to work, and then he called me later in the day and I was in the studio and I only get a couple of days a week in the studio when both my kids are in school and care. And it was a day in the studio where I was just drawing and stitching. I was just doing the things that I love... And that was just what I needed to reset. And he called me later in the day. He's like, "You sound so much happier." And I'm like, "Yes, because I'm doing what I like to do and I'm making progress and it feels really good." When you realize that you need that time, I think it's important to schedule that time because otherwise everything else will get in the way."

It can be as simple as keeping a pen and notebook on hand, so that when you, say, reach for your phone to fill a few moments whilst waiting for the kettle to boil, you can do something creative instead.

3. Your Story is Worth Sharing

Photo from Kiala Givehand's October 2021 Workshop, Making Zen Zines

Another thing I hear a lot, especially for people who are just starting out with art, is that they don't think that they are creative people - but I just don't believe that to be true! I think every person has creativity within them, we just need to learn how to use that muscle. Even if you don't have a grand idea for a project, you have a story behind you, and I think Kiala Givehand said it vey well when I chatted with her during the very first Making Zen Online Retreat in October 2021:

"... I think it's one of the biggest barriers for people with creativity, is they think they don't have anything to offer. They think that no one will think that their thing is, you know, worthy of anything, of any time or energy. And I find that a lot when I work with women, is that they've already convinced themselves that their story doesn't matter. Their creativity doesn't matter. That their lives have just been about, you know, doing the thing, whatever it was, working a job or raising children or, you know, taking care of parents or whatever it might have been, and not realizing that in that work, there's lessons, there's medicine for them and for other people, right? And so, yeah, you'd be surprised at the number of people that have, that's the first hurdle is believing that their lives have purpose and that they matter."

4. Mistakes Are Part of the Journey

Perhaps the scariest part of a project is the beginning - there can often be a paralyzing fear of making mistakes and messing things up. The beautiful thing about creativity is that even if we do make a mistake, we can embrace them and evolve with them. Chatting with Ellie Beck in our May 2022 retreat, she talked about how we can actually take pride in our mistakes as part of the journey:

"I'm not sure if you've heard about kintsugi, which is the Japanese art of repair. And so when something breaks, they actually use gold to fix it up. And that's not hiding the mistakes, that's highlighting the mistake, which is a really special thing to remember that mistakes are part of the textile, but also part of our personal journey."

I think this is a really beautiful sentiment, and it inspires me to revisit with fresh eyes some of the pieces that I've set down because I wasn't happy with how a certain part of it turned out.

5. Stitching is Soothing

The world can be a heavy place, and particularly in the last few years, it seems there is always something to be stressed or anxious about. It's such a great comfort to me, and to I'm sure many other creators, when I get to visit my stitching basket at the end of the day. Something about the rhythm of needle and thread grounds me, and I think Rebekah Johnston communicates it perfectly in her conversation with Maria Theoharous ahead of Making Zen November 2024:

"I work in quite an intuitive way. So I'm not necessarily having to concentrate really hard on what I'm doing. I can just let my hands move and my mind wander and that kind of approach works works for me with where I am at this stage at life... I'm someone that needs to keep my hands moving. And we've talked about this quite a lot, but somehow your hands are better at articulating what's going on in your head than than your words are sometimes. So, it's a way for me to kind of process things. And yeah, repetitive movements are really good for just kind of calming your brain. So the running stitch is is what I use most often. It's just the most simple rhythmical kind of stitch. That's what I use most frequently. And yeah, that's often my sort of go-to thing to do if I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed or a bit anxious. That kind of stitching really, really calms and soothes me."

6. Be Inspired by Your Materials

Photo from Ruth Woods' September 2023 Workshop, Create a Practice Project Wall Using Plant Fibre 

As I listened back through the years of these chats with the artists, I noticed a theme that kept appearing. So many of the artists that we've had the pleasure of hosting for this retreat allow themselves to be inspired by their materials and let the project take them on a journey, rather than trying to force a specific outcome. In my September 2023 chat with Ruth Woods, I asked her about being inspired by nature for her sculptural weaving and baskets, and this is what she said:

"It's also about what part of nature inspires you or, you know, how does that work? So most definitely like with the vines they grow in a particular way and they form in a particular way so you can actually cut them and as you get them in your hand you're looking at them and that will just inspire you, that shape. So it might depend what type of plants you're looking at or um the leafy plants, you know, how do you use them, and that's part of the whole the course is about that working with those aspects of nature and creating your practice projects. So, most definitely. Yeah, that's probably the key thing really."

7. Your Work Can Evolve With You

As someone who offers and also takes a lot of creative courses, I am very familiar with the array of feelings that can start springing up when the unfinished projects in my studio start to pile up. I'm quite a visual person, so I like to have things out and visible to remind me of what I am working on. Sometimes, though, this can backfire, when I catch a glimpse of a project that's been sitting for a little too long, and the guilt creeps in. Leading up to our October 2025 event, I chatted with Heidi Iverson, who had this brilliant breakthrough with her unfinished works:

"Sometimes when I want to make something, I just started going back through unfinished projects and things like that. And kind of looking at them and remembering when I made them and being like, "is this something I want to finish?" And I was like, "well, maybe I need to bring it forward with me." And so I started recycling a lot of unfinished projects and things and like transforming them. And I think it was an extremely healing way to deal with things, because it was sort of like, you didn't always remember what you were doing at that time, but you might've really just needed to stitch, but you didn't need to truly make something, so maybe that's why it got set aside. So bringing it forward and adding a few new pieces of fabric and more stitchings and transforming it into something new, I was just like, "this is great!""

I really love this idea of carrying forward the parts of a past project that still resonate with you, and allowing the rest to evolve and grow with new energy. I can't wait to revisit some of my own works! 

8. Challenges are Good for Creativity

Photo from Blair Stocker's May 2024 project, Embroidered Chicken Scratch Pillowcase

When I chatted with Blair Stocker ahead of our May 2024 online retreat, we got to talk about how good for the soul it is to try something new and fail. She mentioned that she had tried weaving and was terrible at it, and that she wanted to try it again because she could see the potential. I think there's a lot of beauty in that, especially as someone who admittedly gets the urge to walk away from something when I'm not immediately good at it. Sometimes the best thing we can do for ourselves is to push our bounds a bit, and I love this story that Blair shared about how her daughter challenges herself weekly:

"My daughter, I take a lesson from her because, so she works five days a week, Monday through Friday. And every Sunday she goes to the same coffee shop and she has a little challenge for herself. Like right now she's trying to draw little tiny pictures in little tiny sketchbooks, which is not something she's very comfortable with. Or she'll try to use watercolours, which she's not very comfortable using, or something. Or she'll do needle felting. But she'll dedicate, she goes by herself and she dedicates that time to just working on something because her job is very creative. And so she'll dedicate that time to just working on something completely different and then she'll go home and I mean she's been to that coffee shop every Sunday for two years."

I love this for a lot of reasons, but I think it really resonated with me because it combines the discomfort of trying something new and maybe even being bad at it, with the comfort of a routine and a familiar place and a warm drink. 

9. It's Okay if the Process is Messy

Something I am asked about all the time, is how I organise my threads and other bits and bobs to keep a tidy studio. If I'm being honest, my studio isn't always the most tidy... So when I chatted with Ann Smith ahead of the May 2025 retreat, I took the opportunity to ask her about her solutions.

10. Creativity Connects Us

Photo from Selina Ben's May 2026 workshop, Unwritten Folded Treasure Pouch

I think many of us understand how a big event like Making Zen can bring people together, and I love the community that's been created here. And Selina Ben takes it even further with the projects she brings to Making Zen, not only connecting us to one another, but also connecting us to our ancestors and the people who can before us. I got a chance to connect with her ahead of our most recent May 2026 event, and I love how she talks about how people deserve to be known:

And ultimately, that's what Making Zen is all about - connecting and making something special. I am so grateful for all that this event has taught me over these years, and all of the artists and participants I've met along the way. My hope is that these lessons will resonate with you and give you that tingly feeling where you just can't wait to make something.

If you'd like to hear even more invaluable insights from the artists of Making Zen, I'd like to invite you to join me in the brand new Making Zen Membership. It's where we're keeping the creativity going all year round, with a private community, access to the 241 workshops that have been presented at the retreats over the years, AND you'll get access to the archive of my interviews with the artists in podcast form. And this is just the beginning... You can get all the details here!