Creating space to create

+ new writing retreat dates & festival news

I recall listening to Robin Sharma talk about how to be more creative on a podcast, and one of the things he suggested was creating a dedicated space. Part of this has to do with association - when you create a space, even if it's just that you sit in a certain chair to write and have tea every day for 10 minutes, you are more likely to sit and write. I have lived between rented accommodation for many years, moving every couple of years for a long while. When I bought my house in Drumnadrochit, I shared an old cottage with my two teenage boys and Margot and I also ran my business from an office in the living room. I am not complaining; it was beautiful, but I have never had a dedicated space for creativity.

I just made the best of it and was mostly photographing outdoors anyway. But art - well, that was done only after I cleared my paperwork away, covered my desk, got all my paints out, and went to find water containers and all other things needed. Often, the motivation to paint waned before I even got started. Writing was mostly outdoors or transient through the house on settees as and when.

Apart from my life being really busy for many years, I can now see why I wasn’t writing or painting as much as I am now. I had compartmentalized it and put it into the future, when life was calmer, with less stress and full-on work, and I had more space in the house

But the funny thing is that no one tells you that when the kids leave home, there’s more space, work is less demanding, creativity doesn’t magically appear. Time gets filled, and it is down to a conscious decision to find ways to be creative. A big part of it is remembering at all times that creativity is well-being, so it is more important than you realise. So whenever the thought pops into your head that reading, writing, painting, sewing, woodwork is “just a luxury” please remember these words:

“Creativity is essential for your mental and physical health, enjoyment of life and feeling fulfilled and happy. When you are fulfilled and happy, everyone around you benefits”

My new outlook is protecting my well-being and practising self-care wildly and often. My body has given me no choice but to protect my peace and calm, and I know that one way I can do this is through art, writing, and photography. It comes first.

When I bought my house on the Isle of Harris, it had a good-sized second bedroom with twin beds in case my boys wanted to come home, a tiny office filled with a camera kit, books, stocks, and paperwork, and my porch, which I converted into an art space last year. I made shelves out of my old roof beams where I could lay out my paints, and I used old drawers left in the house to hold paper and sketchbooks. I hung inspiration around the porch. I began painting again, with all my art supplies easily on hand. Then it grew and filled with canvases that were half finished and had nowhere to dry and a huge number of watercolours that were asking to be mounted and framed - but with no clean area to do so. My little porch space had helped me start painting, but it was now too small.

Then, a friend said to me recently, “It's your house; use it as you want to, but use it for you” I suddenly realised that I was lucky enough to have a house to myself. I had worked really hard to buy it, and here I was, limiting myself again, trying to be nice to others. And “others” weren’t even asking.

January 2025

So, I decided to change everything around to give me more art space. I switched my small office into a small single bedroom so that my boys could stay if they wanted to. My porch has become a mounting, framing, and postage room, with delightful light and the joy of watching the sheep stroll down the road in front of me.

The once large spare bedroom has decorators wrapping on the floor to protect the new carpet, a small office area, and a large painting space. My plan is to use the spare large boards left over from the gallery build to lean against the walls and use them as massive painting boards, and I have seen a system where you can hang canvases up against these boards to paint on. I also have a smaller inks and watercolour desk to sit at, and I have salvaged some gifted art storage to organise things better. I can now find things and am excited about the space.

If you don’t have the luxury of so many rooms to yourself, there are plenty of ways to create space in your own home - such as dedicating a particular part of a room or even a particular spot. I put a writing desk in my living room when I moved in and only use it to write (you can read about my writing the space here ) - it became, by association, a place to think and write first thing in the morning, with a candle. But I suggest that if you do have an entire spare room in your house that rarely sees the light of day or just stores “stuff” - have a good declutter and make it a beautiful creative space for yourself.

Some ideas for adding calmness to your space that helps creativity flow when you enter the space:

Music: Have a Spotify list of music that you like to create to and a speaker set up.

Candles or soft lighting: To help you feel calm and relaxed, add softer lighting and candles.

Surround the space with inspiration: Stick up images and clippings that inspire you. Words to soothe and motivate or colour boards to help. I will share mine when they are up!

I wish you all the best in considering how you can create a space for your own creativity.

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Writing Retreat dates released

In other news, I decided to re-run the writing retreat with Sean Tucker in our very own hideaway with it’s own beach in South Wales. The last one booked out within 4 hours, so this time, I am planning well ahead!

It is very hard to put into words exactly the feeling I had during the last writing retreat, but it felt like it was everything I have wanted to achieve - space and time for everyone to explore on their own if they chose to, wonderfully heart opening sessions together as a group, relaxation through sound baths and movement sessions, healthy home cooked food as one big family, chats in the kitchen with tea, sea swims on the doorstep, a bonfire on the beach with mulled wine and some amazing transformations. Most of all, we helped and supported a group of talented people to go further with their writing.

I must emphasize again that you do not need to “be a writer” - you can just come along to explore, begin to journal, put words with your photographs, or just experience the time with us. On another note, you must love, or at least like, dogs, as Skye, my whippet has decided to join us and will probably want to curl up with you in a cosy corner for the afternoon.

I am not running any other retreats in 2025, apart from an art retreat with Ellis O’Connor (there is one space left ) and the festival—see below. So it would be amazing to see you in 2026 in Wales.

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Festival Details online

My creative festival is in its third year, and this year, it will be held on the Isle of Harris from October 5th to 9th. There are a few spaces left if you would like to join us for 3 days of talks, classes, outdoor trips and social evenings. It is one of the highlights of my year and it is so wonderful to see people making friends and finding community through creativity. We have some amazing people giving talks from incredible local artists such as John Maher, Alister Benn and Mhairi Law. There are outdoor trips to the local beaches, and this year, we have a community exhibition, a private Harris Distillery drinks reception, a Ceilidh dance and additional workshops for those staying longer.

These workshops are open to all now that they have been sent to festival participants - so if you are local or in the area on holiday and want to take part, you can go ahead and book. Here is the link to the extra workshops

I would love it if you would join us this year!

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Turmeric Smoothie Recipe

I have been trying to incorporate turmeric into my diet lately. Having brought back some lovely turmeric from India, I settled on adding a small sprinkling to most dishes I cook ( you can sneak a little bit into most things like stews, curries, chilli, etc.) and a morning smoothie.

Tumeric is such a good spice. It is a fabulous anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. It can also help with digestive problems, fight cancer and arthritis, and lower cholesterol.

It may sound like an odd mix of ingredients, but it tastes amazing. I go through phases of having it every morning because breakfast baffles me - I either don’t feel like eating or don’t know what to eat. The curse of listening to too much dietary advice online!

It is simple: gather ingredients together the night before or have them sitting in a container together so they are easy to find first thing. And the quantities don’t have to be exact. Just mix it all up in a blender. I have a Breville Blend Active, which is nice and small, and you can use it for one portion at a time. You can also blend in the same jug you can drink out of if you are heading out with the smoothie, which is handy and saves washing up! If I am home, which I usually am, I drink from a ridiculously large wine glass to make it feel special.

• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/8 teaspoon ginger

• 1 tablespoon raw cashews

• 1/2 teaspoon honey or pure maple syrup

• protein powder

• 1/2 courgettes peeled and chopped

• 1 cup almond milk

• 1 banana (frozen or fresh )

  Thank you for reading, and I hope you can make your own creative space or Tumeric Smoothie!

  Wishing you all the very best, Margaret