FREE ART-FOR-WELLNESS GUIDE
Rough day? Start where you are.
5 tiny creative practices for the days when you're hurting, grieving, exhausted or overwhelmed.
Some days, even self-care feels like one more thing you don't have the energy for.
The Creative Pause meets you where you are—with gentle creative practices based on how much you have in you today: 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes... or no art at all.
No art experience needed. No pressure to make something beautiful. Just a little space to breathe, create and be exactly where you are.
Send Me 'THE CREATIVE PAUSE' Guide
Maybe today is one of those days.
Your body hurts.
You're missing someone.
You're exhausted before the day has really begun.
Your mind won't stop spinning.
Or maybe nothing dramatic happened at all—you simply don't have much left in you today.
You don't need to push through it. And you don't need to create a masterpiece to make room for what you're feeling.
The Creative Pause gives you a gentle place to begin.
GET THE FREE GUIDEStart with what you have today.
Some days you may only have two minutes.
Other days, you may want a little more space.
And some days, creating anything at all may feel like too much.
The Creative Pause helps you choose a gentle practice based on the energy you actually have — without pressure, perfection or needing to be “artistic.”
Inside, you’ll find options for:
2 minutes • 5 minutes • 10 minutes • 15 minutes • and no-art days
Then:
Open the guide. Ask yourself one question:
How much do I have in me today?
And let the guide meet you there.
What's Inside...
A little creative care for the hard days.
Inside your free 10-page The Creative Pause Guide, you'll find:
- Four gentle art-for-wellness practices designed for different energy levels
- Simple supply lists using things you may already have
- Clear, beginner-friendly instructions
- Expressive-art and mark-making ideas
- Gentle grounding and reflection
- A “I Can't Make Art Today” page with 30 ways to care for yourself
- Reminders throughout that there is no right or wrong way to create
No experience. No judgment. No perfection required.
You don't even have to finish.
GET 'THE CREATIVE PAUSE' FREEThis isn't about making good art.
It's about giving what you're carrying somewhere to go.
Create
Make a mark, choose a colour, scribble, paint or play.
Notice
Give yourself a moment to notice what you're carrying.
Come As You Are
No fixing yourself first. No pretending the hard thing isn't hard
I created this because I've needed it, too.
I'm Barb: artist, art teacher and wellness practitioner.
There have been seasons of my life filled with illness, pain, grief, loss and days when simply getting through the day took more than I thought I had.
During some of those hardest seasons, art became a place for what I couldn't always put into words.
A colour. A mark. A page. A few minutes.
Art didn't make the hard things disappear. But it helped me carry them differently. It helped me come back to myself.
And I want you to hear this clearly:
I don't share that to impress you.
I share to impress upon you, what's possible.
That's why I created The Creative Pause—so you don't have to know where to begin when you're already having a hard day.
The Creative Pause might be for you if...
You are navigating chronic illness or a health condition, pain, grief, loss, overwhelm or simply a difficult season...
You want a way to express what you're feeling without having to find the right words...
You haven't made art since you were a kid—or you're convinced you're “not artistic”...
You need something that works with the energy you actually have, rather than the energy you wish you had...
Or you simply want a gentler way to spend a few minutes with yourself.
You don't have to call yourself an artist.
Just come as you are.
I want to get 'The Creative Pause' guide
Your hard-day creative care can be this simple.
1. Tell me where to send it.
Enter your first name and email.
2. Open your free guide.
Keep it somewhere easy to find for the days you need it.
3. Ask one question.
How much do I have in me today?
4. Choose your practice.
Two minutes, five, ten, fifteen—or no art today.
That's it.
Your bad day doesn't need another demand.
Maybe it just needs somewhere to land.
Whether you have 2 minutes, 15 minutes or nothing at all, Bad Day Art will meet you there.
FREE • BEGINNER-FRIENDLY • CREATED FOR HARD DAYS
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Disclaimer
Everything I share is from my heart and lived experience, not as a medical or therapeutic professional. These offerings are here to inspire, not replace the care of doctors, therapists, or licensed counsellors. Please seek help from professionals you trust if you're navigating physical or emotional pain. 💖