The Frosted Blueberry is an artist called Jo who creates to take care of her own mental wellbeing.

Why the Frosted Blueberry? Well, mostly because of how many blueberries she eats everyday but also how her greying hair looks somewhat like the frosted grey you see on said berries!

Jo is very much at home in her converted shed-studio (affectionately known as the “shedio”) making art everyday whilst the world goes about their busy business all around her.

 

 

Making art has always been a part of her life from the moment she picked up her first crayon. But as life had other ideas for her, it fell away into the background for months or sometimes even years at a time. Not counting the innumerate doodles she has drawn on phone calls or in lectures and meetings her whole life!

Now, its been several years and creating is the most precious part of her day. It has become a daily practice in much the same way yoga and meditation does for many others. It matters not that each “piece” isn’t gallery-worthy but what very much does matter is that moment of focussed inner peace that creating brings. Reacquainting herself with creative flow has been the best medicine Jo has ever taken.

Mental wellbeing is in the forefront of Jo’s mind as someone who has suffered with anxiety, depression and recently PTSD. She wants to encourage everyone to grab a pen and some junk mail envelopes out of the recycling bin and just create. Be it patterns, splashes of ink or paint, frustrated scribbles with coloured pencils or stick people voicing your deepest darkest thoughts in cartoonish speech bubbles. It matters only that you find your daily moment to just be present. Slow life down, even if it is only for a minute. That minute can change your whole day.

And in creating daily, if you find yourself wanting more, then give yourself permission to explore. Get some artist grade paints. Use the cotton rag heavy weight paper. Step into the shoes of a “professional” artist and try on their style, see how their moves feel in your hands and what your new tools allow you to create. Capture everything from your morning coffee to portraits of your loved ones. Be sure to have a sketchbook and a pen or pencil with you at all times so when inspiration strikes you can run with it and let go with a hurried sketch or two.

 

It doesn’t matter what you create, it matters that you create.