Following the Creative Process: Letting Go of the Plan

If thinking isn't always enough to create change, what do we do instead? One possibility is learning to follow the creative process rather than trying to control it.

Many of us begin creating with a plan in mind. We decide ahead of time what our visual journal entry will look like. We think about it, sketch it out in our minds, and get caught up in the details. We become hyper-focused on the imagined outcome, with tunnel vision that pulls us away from the creative experience itself.

When this happens, the final image may feel like it is lacking. We may feel frustrated or confused, wondering why it is "not coming out" the way we hoped. But something different begins to happen when we stop trying to lead the creative process and instead become curious and follow it.

Following the Creative Process Instead of Leading It

Letting go and becoming curious is not always easy. Most of us have been taught to lead, not follow the creative process. We plan, analyze, fix, and control. We look at our visual journals as something that needs to look right, be correct, or be perfect. The artwork begins to feel separate from us—something to think about, overthink, explain, and evaluate. But following the art asks something different of us.

We become critical and say: "This doesn't look right."

Instead, we can become curious and dialogue with the art:

• What do you want?

• Where do you want to go?

• What do you need?

• What are you feeling?

  
  

These questions invite us into a relationship with the artwork. Rather than forcing the image into a predetermined outcome, we begin paying attention to what is emerging. Curiosity replaces control, and witnessing replaces judgment. Instead of trying to create meaning, we allow meaning to emerge through the expressive arts process.

The Art as Relationship

Expressive arts pioneers Pat Allen and Sean McNiff both invite us to relate to the artwork differently. Rather than treating it as something to evaluate or interpret, they encourage us to enter into a relationship with it.

Pat Allen describes the importance of witnessing the image before deciding what it means. She encourages us to slow down, pay attention, and trust that the image has something to reveal if we remain present with it. When we become stuck, she suggests asking the image, "What do you want?" rather than asking ourselves what we should do next. In doing so, we begin following the image instead of leading it.

Sean McNiff takes this relationship one step further by inviting us into dialogue with the image. Instead of talking about the artwork, he encourages us to talk with it. Questions such as "What are you feeling?" and "What do you need?" allow the image to have a voice. Rather than analyzing the artwork from a distance, we enter into conversation with it.

Whether we understand this as intuition, imagination, inner wisdom, creativity, or something more mysterious, the practice remains the same.

We slow down.

We pay attention.

We listen before deciding.

Sometimes the artwork asks for an unexpected mark. Sometimes it wants a color we had no intention of using. Sometimes it asks us to cover up something we worked hard to create. Other times it asks us to stop completely. Whatever the next step may be, we don't have to force it. We simply learn to notice, listen, and respond.

What Following the Art Might Look Like

Following the art may look like allowing your hand to reach for the color that keeps drawing your attention instead of the one you originally planned.

It may look like discovering that the "mistake" becomes the most meaningful part of the page.

It may look like abandoning your original idea because another image begins to emerge.

Or it may simply be sitting quietly with the artwork because nothing feels ready to happen yet.

These moments ask us to tolerate uncertainty, let perfectionism take a different seat, and allow the image to have a say in what happens next.

Try It Yourself

Prompt: Think about a situation, emotional reaction, body sensation, or relational experience that seems to repeat in your life. It might leave you feeling frustrated, discouraged, overwhelmed, disconnected, anxious, or stuck. Choose something that leaves you saying:

• "Here I am again."

• "Here we go again."

• "When will this ever stop?"

• "Why does this keep happening?"

Visual Art Response

Sit quietly with that experience for at least one minute. Set you timer.

Notice any thoughts, emotions, images, or body sensations that begin to emerge.

Create an image that represents the experience.

If drawing feels overwhelming, collage is an excellent alternative. Gather images from magazines, newspapers, or printed photographs and allow yourself to respond intuitively rather than searching for the "right" image.

Follow the Art

When the image feels complete—for now—sit quietly with it.

Describe what you notice before deciding what it means.

Then begin to dialogue with the image. 

Ask:

• What are you feeling?

• What do you need?

• What are you trying to show me?

• Where do you want to go next?

Write whatever comes.

Then ask one final question: Do you want to continue?

If the answer is yes, follow where the image leads. Perhaps it wants another drawing, writing, movement, or sound. Rather than deciding for the artwork, allow the artwork to guide the next step.

For Clinicians: Helping Clients Follow the Art

Helping clients follow the art begins with our own willingness to follow the art. This means slowing down, becoming curious, trusting the client's process, and allowing the image to unfold. It also means resisting the urge to interpret, fix, praise the product, or rush toward meaning.

The goal is not to move the client quickly back into talking about the issue they are exploring. Stay with the image. Resist the urge to return immediately to the client's story. The image has become part of the story. Spend time with it.

Allow silence. Trust that something is still happening.

You might ask one or more of the following:

• What stood out to you during this process?

• What surprised you?

• What did you notice happening in your body?

• If the image could speak, what would it say?

• What does the image need?

• Does it want to continue?

• What does the image feel?

Sometimes the most meaningful intervention is not another interpretation or question.

Sometimes it is simply giving the image enough time to speak.

Following the art requires us to remain curious, stay present, and trust that the creative process often knows where it needs to go before we do.

An Invitation

If you're an adult living in Texas and are interested in expressive arts therapy or visual journaling as part of your healing journey, I invite you to contact me for a free 15-minute consultation. Together, we can explore whether this approach is the right fit for your needs.

If you're a counselor, therapist, or graduate student interested in learning more about intermodal Expressive Arts Therapy, CREATE Therapy Institute offers post-graduate education designed to help clinicians develop confidence in following the creative process with clients. I'd be happy to answer your questions about upcoming trainings and the REAT educational pathway. Feel free to contact me

Resources:

Allen, P. B. (2005). Art is a spiritual path: Engaging the sacred through the practice of art and writing. Shambhala.

Shaun McNiff, S. (1992). Art as medicine: Creating a therapy of the imagination. Shambhala.

Shaun McNiff, S. (2004). Art heals: How creativity cures the soul. Shambhala.