đď¸ In-person monoprint postcards and souvenir sketchbook workshop this Sunday, 10/12/2025
When the world feels overwhelming, creativity can be a grounding force. Today Iâm sharing ways to touch into fall creativity as a tool for gratitude within our experiences â to buoy our energies for whatever is ahead.
Summer energy
I think a lot about the different energies that come with each seasonal shift. Of course, creativity can be accessed anytime, but I find fall and spring to be especially creative times. In the spring, weâre emerging from cozy winter restfulness. In the fall, weâre transitioning from summerâs active relaxation.
Your summer might have looked like many things. Maybe you took a vacation. Maybe you didnât, but found your social life fuller in the evenings â BBQs that took advantage of those long summer hours, outdoor concerts, spontaneous adventures.
For me, my summer was beautifully local: filled with out-of-town visitors, which meant playing tourist in my own city. Yes, I did take my quinquennial drive down Lombard St., and the stomach-turning Filbert St. For only my second time, I walked halfway across the Golden Gate Bridge. I enjoyed some free concerts and went on museum visits (I wrote about my Ruth Asawa experience in my last post.)
Summer gives us permission to explore and play. To say yes to things. To let our schedules be a little looser, our routines a little more flexible.
Fall energy
The hours have been long in the summer, and now, as the light shifts, it brings our bodies closer to home. Closer to reflection. Closer to taking action on ideas that may have been percolating during all that active relaxation. Thereâs also that ânew school yearâ energy that comes with fall. I still get that feeling every year with new learnings and projects ahead, perhaps ingrained from 20 early years in the education system.
Have you noticed that fall is full of creative moments built into the calendar? Halloween, the most creative-centric holiday, with plenty of opportunities to create make-believe. And then November and December can bring about kitchen creativity and holiday decorating or crafting.
Making the transition intentional: ideas for creative harvesting
Before we dive headfirst into the fall creative calendar, we can pause and gather up what summer gave us.
Think of it as creative harvesting. Just like farmers bring in crops before the first frost, we need to bring in our experiences, observations, and inspirations before they blur or fade from memory.
This is why I love practices like journal-keeping and sketching as practical tools for an active, creative life.
The images you see throughout this post are from my own summer souvenirs. Spending time creating the artwork was an active gratitude exercise for those experiences. This doesnât need to be as elaborate as making a series of postcards like I did.
Summer reflection questions
The experiences you collect and observations you make can become the raw material for your creative work.
What moments do I want to remember? (Try looking through your photos or calendar to spark the memory of those experiences)
What did I notice or learn about myself?
What ideas came to me that I want to explore further?
What made me feel most alive or present?
Summer souvenir ideas
Creating something can be a nice way to make experiences tangible and memorable later on.
Make a handwritten and decorated memory list
Turn your list into a haiku
Create a drawing dedicated to one experience as a souvenir
Send a pen pal note to someone you visited or visited you
Make a playlist
Free music in San Francisco | Left: Mexican Institute of Sound @ Transameria Redwood Park | Right: Sleater-Kinney @ Stern Grove
Your fall creative energy ahead
Itâs also worth looking at whatâs on your creative plate this fall. Taking stock now means you can be more intentional about where your energy goes.
Is there anything creative youâre trying to finish this year?
Is there anything you want to start?
What events or dates on the calendar might require some of your creative energy?
What creative practices help you feel most grounded when things get overwhelming?
Hands-on creative memory-keeping
đď¸ Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025
đArch Art Supplies
For some hands-on memory-keeping techniques, Iâm teaching a workshop on October 12th: Inked Monoprint Postcards and Souvenir Sketchbooks.
Weâll explore drawing and printmaking concepts for capturing memories and creating small, meaningful keepsakes. Theyâre the same techniques Iâve been sharing in this blog post. No experience necessary!