‘The art of creating stimulates dopamine production, providing us with a sense of pleasure and motivation to continue our artistic endeavours.’(APA)

fish flying over yellow leopards bane

I was on my kneeling stool, hands deep in a thicket of overgrown Daylilies when it occurred to me how much gardening is like writing.  I start with an intention and often end up in the wildest places. When writing it could be that a drift of crab-traps on a dock morphs into the time I bought a purple sweater in Camden Town and later missed my train. Much the same with my circuitous journey through my garden today.

Rose Campion

I had gone to the garden with the intent of deadheading Rose Campion and other past-their- prime summer flowers when I spotted the Mexican Feather Grass that had seeded itself in the gravel driveway. In a flash, I was away. New plan. I will pot up those grasses. But as I was revelling in the vision of clay pots filled with waving grasses artistically placed around the potted Rosemary it was suddenly: SQUIRREL! Look over there! Daylilies dead and dying. I must cut them back. I gathered my gardening tools and began hacking back the foliage, the delicate grasses temporarily forgotten.

That is how I garden and that is how I write. (Actually, that’s also how I talk. Drives some people crazy; not mentioning names here.)

When I am fully involved, gardening and writing are calming. With my mind focussing on a single task, another layer of my brain seems to engage leading to a burst of creativity enabling wild ideas to surface.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), ‘when we engage in creative activities our brains enter a unique state and the Default Mode Network becomes highly active, allowing us to generate new ideas by connecting disparate concepts. The Default Mode Network is most active during mind wandering or daydreaming.’

pot of Osteospermum from my sister and self-sown brown sedge grasses on the gravel drive

I could landscape a whole new garden or write pages and pages of mind shattering prose if I could stay in that creative space.

So, if you see me lolling around, drinking coffee, staring into space, know that I am working! Truly!

Writing is Art

If you want to read more about creativity, my friend and writer Lois Petersons’ beautifully illustrated book Creatively Human – Why We Imagine, Make and Innovate is available for pre-order.

https://www.amazon.ca/Creatively-Human-Imagine-Make-Innovate/

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~ Island Crone by Liz Maxwell Forbes