creativity | Samantha Humphreys

January 3, 2026

Finding Joy in Simple Moments: A New Year’s Reflection

Winter Trees (2025) Paper Collage

Despite starting the new year with a headache (not alcohol induced), I was thinking about how 2025 was exceptionally good to me. Reflecting on the past year, I realized that taking a leap of faith by setting myself up as a freelance artist and tutor was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The uncertainty was daunting at first, but with hard work and determination, it has worked out in my favour. I now feel in control of my professional journey, and the flexibility of freelance life has allowed me to cultivate a good work/life balance that I struggled with so much before. My daily interactions now, Remind me of the passion that originally fuelled my decision.

For some of my friends and family though, the year has dealt some devastating and heartbreaking blows. Life is indeed short, and amidst all the unpredictability it brings, one of the most important things we can do is take charge of our mental and physical wellbeing. It’s essential to prioritize our own health and happiness, even when faced with challenges. I’m not suggesting that anyone should recklessly abandon life as you know it, but I encourage taking a small step toward doing something you’ve always wanted to do, a ‘dream’ (a cliche, maybe a better word is … aim, or intention) you’ve put on hold for too long.

There’s a lot to be said for a cliched bucket list, for instance, sunrises are undeniably beautiful, and the best part? They are free, available to everyone in any corner of the world. Getting up early also makes me feel virtuous and taking a moment to appreciate a sunrise and take a breath, gives me the chance to mentally plan my day. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all conducive to the spiritual experience it sounds as I’m usually multi tasking already taking my little dog out for her toilet walk, but, you know….thats nice too.

Additionally, decluttering physical objects really helps to declutter your mind. It’s more than just tidying up; it’s therapeutic. It allows you to create space for new experiences, or just create space. By clearing your environment, you can create a peaceful sanctuary that contributes positively to your mental state.

Oh, and before I forget, I must remind you to wrap up warm and go outside tonight (3 Jan). Look up at the sky; the Quadrantid meteor shower will be amazing! Watching the stars blaze across the night sky is not just a beautiful spectacle but can be immensely soothing to the soul. The best viewing times are usually around or after midnight, so gather a few blankets, perhaps a warm drink, and enjoy this cosmic display.

So, instead of the usual celebratory New Year post filled with standard promises, hopes, and resolutions that often fade by February, I will simply say this: I sincerely hope that 2026 is good to you. May it bring you joy, fulfillment, and countless opportunities to embrace everything that life has to offer. Take the time to forge connections, create memories, and above all, chase after the things that set your heart on fire.

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April 15, 2025

Creating Mindfulness in Nature: A Reflective Outing

This weekend, I was working alongside fellow creatives in leading some community workshops in a non residential retreat. Titled, Creative Calm, these were held on the beautiful campus at ARU Writtle. I designed short tasks using drawing, painting, and writing. These short tasks embrace the idea that mindfulness can be achieved by focusing only on the moment.

Engaging with nature is known to improve life balance. It keeps us mentally fit and promotes a positive sense of wellbeing. Walking in green spaces, forests, woods, and fields makes us feel wholesome. More importantly, it allows us to reset our busy minds when partaking at either end of the day. Being creative also holds these powers. It doesn’t matter if you are an experienced and confident artist. You can also enjoy these benefits, even if you consider your skills to lie elsewhere. The secret to unlocking the powers is understanding that we, as humans, are part of nature. We are not a separate entity. Nature is made up of living, moving, ageing and ever-changing matter. We are just that.

Last week was filled with sad news of the passing of friends and family of friends. I chose a corner of the memorial garden on campus to create a watercolour painting. I’m unsure if that is the name of the garden. It has become a place where tributes are left in memory of those that have passed in recent years. It is also a retreat for peaceful sitting. As I studied the leaves, flowers and man made structures; I reflected, just sat and thought. I layered my painting with the subtle changes in green tone. My aim was to give it the depth and richness I wanted to achieve. I pondered (now there’s a word I don’t use often enough) on how and when we turn to nature. We use plant materials to celebrate life, whether that life is in the current, recently or long since passed. Flowers are given, wreaths or bouquets are laid or trees are planted in memorial. We become connected to nature by these acts of tenderness throughout our lives; we become memories planted firmly in those places of solace when we have moved on. This little corner of the campus is truly a wonderful place for addressing life balance and mental reset. Capturing the current through text and poetry can develop or strengthen mindful practice. It lets us close all the open tabs and hit the power down button for a short while.

My outcome from this session? Life really is too short, do what feels right and change direction if necessary. Cliched I know, but there are many paths to explore.

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December 6, 2024

Finding My Groove

As I expected, life changed somewhat this year, I left formal education after thinking I would remain involved forever in a job I loved. I fixed some….no, most, of the necessary broken bits of my rapidly and scarily declining mental health and started to find time for dealing with what needs dealing with physically. I developed much of my art practice with new techniques throughout the year. This was mainly because of Project 366 which has forced me to allow daily time for my art and as a result, I feel as though I have practiced ‘extreme art’. The additional skills, as well as being awfully useful as I can now teach more techniques than ever, have released all manner of wonderful chemicals to my brain perfectly complementing those endorphins I get from taking long walks each day.

Additionally this year, I have learned a lot about myself and found ‘where I actually belong’ in the world. As well as being a daughter, a wife and a mum, I feel that maybe life has been like a vinyl record rather than a treadmill and I have finally found my groove. You may well laugh at my cheesy metaphor, (I did) but we tend to see life as a series of milestones, we are conditioned that way. Maybe it’s meant to be a round of possibilities that show themselves at different stages of our life and while we shouldn’t constantly flit from one thing to another : we can settle into something more than once, and we don’t have to be in just one groove forever.

Teaching how creativity can give us the tools we need to maintain a healthy wellbeing is my groove. Journaling has been crucial to developing my own sense of healthy wellbeing is something we take for granted, yet It is in fact a provision we must make for ourselves and it needs checking daily. As an Artist, I take it for granted that creativity is good for the soul, but not everyone sees themselves as creative so how do we encourage exploration of that? Everyone possesses creativity, maybe not in an obvious way, but we all have the ability to mark make, make creative noise or move creatively and we should allow ourselves to do this as much as we give ourselves the time to eat, work and sleep.

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June 12, 2024

Finding my way

I struggled to title this post, each title I gave it, I deleted immediately as it was a bad cliche and I winced while reading it back. In a nutshell, and I feel a little emotional while writing this, I have spent some years since completing my Masters in Art & Design and Post Grad Cert in Higher Ed Practice developing my love for teaching art. I have had the pleasure of nurturing learning journeys of students from young to not so young, but who are still as inspired and passionate about learning creativity as each other.
At the heart of everything I do runs a thread of environmental concerns and an interest in how being actively creative can strengthen mental health and general wellbeing.

As I have moved away from teaching in formal education but still find joy in thinking of ideas and planning for learning, (which I know some people find strange, that I enjoy planning lessons, I enjoy marking too but thats another story) I have spent some time collating the many lessons and workshops I have taught in various settings and built a portfolio of workshops, lessons and activities which I will sell to art teachers, tutors and lecturers on my new relaunched Etsy Shop, Studio Sam Humphreys . This, along with my private teaching and tuition is how I have found and will complete my new teaching pathway. Exciting times.

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Tag: creativity