The beautiful town of Barga, Italy.
Holidays on the Horizon
You may have seen from the Oldmangrey social pages, that Nic and I are about to go on holiday. We’re off to Italy with my family, and I can’t wait!
But you’ll be glad to hear that the purpose of this blog is not to brag about going on holiday! Instead, I wanted to highlight the importance of taking a break (whether that’s abroad, or just downtime in general) from work and creative thinking. And, equally, the benefits of producing creative work while in a different environment and routine.
The Importance of Rest for Creativity
We all know, no matter what industry we work in, that there comes a point when we need a break. You know the signs – it’s harder to get up in the morning, stress levels are affecting your sleep, and you have less patience for the work or possibly even your co-workers.
While I’m a huge advocate for habits and routine, there does also come a time when you need to see a change in your daily life, take a break from work, and allow yourself the opportunity to replenish your mental and physical energy. We all deserve to prioritise our mental health, so whether you can fly off to the sunshine, take in the sights of a new city, or just put your out-of-office on and visit new local places on your doorstep, you’ll come back to work refreshed, more resilient, and full of new energy and ideas.
Finding Inspiration in New Environments
Stepping away from work allows our minds the time to relax, recharge, and refocus, which is especially important in the creative industries. As a student of Intermedia Art, and in my first creative job role as a Junior Art Director at the Leith Agency, I was actively encouraged to take time away from creative projects; to unplug my mind from the brief and distract myself with downtime or topping up my creative bank account elsewhere (honestly this was encouraged…I wasn’t just skiving!).
Stepping away gives your mind the chance to subconsciously consider creative projects you’ve been working on and soak up inspiration and ideas elsewhere which could help to solve the creative problem. New experiences and environments are so valuable in increasing your energy and motivation and sparking your creativity.
Summer Project
For as long as I can remember I’ve taken a sketchbook and pens, and more recently an iPad, on holiday so I can be creative. This tends to be a few days into the break; once I’ve had the chance to decompress, relax, and reset a little. I might just draw random fun things in my sketchbook (see the Pip the Dog illustrations above from my sketchbook in Barga in 2016!) or I might have a specific freelance project to work on. This was the case in 2019, when I completed the original hand drawn illustrations for my ‘Let Sleeping Dogs Lie’ exhibition to be held at Art & Vintage , while under the shade cover by the pool!
Standing proudly with some of my ‘Let Sleeping Dogs Lie’ exhibition at Art & Vintage in September 2019.
This year while in Italy, I’m going to be working on illustrations for a new dog design to apply to a brand new range of Oldmangrey products…keep your eyes peeled on our Instagram and Facebook page to get sneak peek updates later this summer!
Renewed Energy and Perspective
Once we’re home, we’re entering our busiest time of year from August to December, so I’ll be making the most of my post-holiday creative energy. From the Edinburgh Festival market in August, a weekend-long dog event in England in September (more details on that soon!), our annual Colony of Artists weekend, and then the lead into Christmas with markets right up to the big day. Alongside this we’ll have the launch of the brand new design and products ranges and releasing our Christmas cards and 2024 Calendar...keep an eye on our Etsy shop for these! It seems like I’m having this holiday at just the right time 😊
Sunset over Barga, Tuscany, Italy.
How are you planning to take a break, recharge, and take in some new sights this summer? What do you do to switch off and relax? What creative projects do you have planned? Let me know in the comments!
Need to take a quick break?
Why not stick the kettle on and take some time out to read about my illustration project for the wonderful folks at Machina Coffee.
