It's A Creative Life - You Will See

Finding Your SOUL — Your Sense Of Unique Life

There is something wonderfully empowering about finding your “soul”.

Sense Of Unique Life.

We begin our journey following directions. We are influenced by our parents, our peers, our responsibilities and all the noise that comes with simply surviving. We work our way through the skill tests, expectations and everyday pressures of life, often becoming very good at doing what needs to be done.

But somewhere inside us, another voice is waiting.

At first, it may be little more than a whisper:

“Hey…what about me?”

For a long time, that voice can be easy to ignore. Then, at some point, it is no longer quiet. It begins thrashing around inside you, demanding your attention and asking to be put to work.

Perhaps it is the desire to create. Perhaps it is the ability to notice beauty and want to preserve it. Perhaps it is a longing to share the world through your own eyes—even if those eyes did not initially know how to see what was waiting there.

That inner voice is not something to apologise for. It is part of who you are.

Don’t Wait for Permission

Whatever it is that you want to explore, try or create, please don’t wait for someone else to give you permission.

It is no one else’s decision. It is yours.

You may not be able to begin properly today, tomorrow or even next week. Life can be demanding, and sometimes there simply isn’t enough time, space or money to do everything we dream of doing.

But you can begin in snippets.

Write your ideas in a journal. Watch YouTube videos. Learn from people who inspire you. Collect colours, words, pictures and possibilities. Take a class when you can. Find quiet moments in which you can hear your own voice again.

Talk, walk, live and breathe a little more of who you are.

A small beginning still matters—no matter what age you are. Try something you have always wanted to do for yourself. You do not need to justify it to anyone.

Sometimes beginning simply means stepping outside, breathing in the sea air and giving your thoughts room to wander.

At the entrance to the beach sits a little boat made from weathered driftwood, with a tattered sail lifting in the coastal breeze. It looks as though it has returned from voyages across distant seas, carrying stories from every kind of weather.

Someone looked at the driftwood, old cloth and the open ocean—and saw more than discarded pieces. They saw possibility. They created something that now makes strangers pause, imagine and smile.

Creativity is often waiting in the most unexpected places. We simply need to slow down, look closely and allow ourselves to see it.

Learning to See

For me, that inner voice wants to throw paint and colour onto a canvas. It wants to cut, fold and make things with paper. Creativity gives me a powerful sense of touch, movement and connection.

My garden matters to me—the florals, the changing colours, the sights and the sounds. The birds singing matter. The sea and the Kāpiti Coast matter. A walk beside the water with my dad matters.

These moments remind me to stop and listen to life.

Creativity has taught me to notice what I once might have walked straight past. It has helped me see beauty differently and given me a way to preserve and share some of that beauty through my own eyes.

I have no formal qualifications in art. I am still learning every day. My paintings are not created because I believe I have mastered everything. They exist because this is something my heart wants me to do.

My art comes from the heart. It is an expression of who I am and what I want to share.

This colourful painting in progress is my expressive response to florals—the movement, energy and emotion I see within every bloom. It is not how the flower is expected to look; it is how the flower feels to me.

Nicky Bourke Colorful Garden 

Coming Soon to The Papercraft Studio

This expressive floral painting, A Garden Felt in Colour, will soon be available in my online Zazzle store.

Art does not have to live only on a canvas or poster. You will be able to enjoy this design on a tea towel, greeting card, kitchen apron, notebook and a variety of other products—either for your own home or as a colourful gift for someone special.

Follow my Online Zazzle Store (thepapercraftstudio) and this blog to be among the first to know when the collection arrives.

Shop my art worldwide:
https://www.zazzle.com/store/thepapercraftstudio

Creative Every Day

We all possess gifts, although they may not always arrive with an obvious name or purpose. We need time and space to discover them.

At this point in my life, encouraging other people to find the part of themselves that is uniquely theirs feels incredibly important. It may be one of the most powerful lessons I have learned so far.

Our lives are brief. We deserve the opportunity to explore what makes us feel most alive.

Right now, my creative mind is thinking about ways to help people enjoy a family picnic, create a beautiful moment for themselves, and celebrate the place they call home. I think about paintings, flowers, paper, table settings, gifts and useful objects that can carry a little art into everyday life.

Colorful Wildflowers Everyday At Home

Yes, I am also putting my art and products into the world because I want people to discover them. I am building a creative business around the things I genuinely love making.

If you like something I have created, you may choose to buy it. If it is not for you, there is absolutely no pressure. You can simply enjoy looking, reading or following the journey.

I am putting my work out there so it has the chance to be seen—and so the people who connect with it have the chance to find me.

I am enormously grateful to everyone who inspires me, supports me and encourages my creativity. I am also grateful to those who simply stop for a moment to look.

Becoming Who You Want to Be

Included with this post are a few of my newest paintings. They are part of my ongoing learning—colourful, imperfect, heartfelt and completely mine.

It's A Creative Life by Nicky Bourke 

They represent something much larger than paint on a surface.

One Beginning Leads to Another

These paintings represent giving myself permission to begin—and one of the loveliest things about beginning is that it rarely stays small. One creative step quietly leads to another.

My next dream is already taking shape: a home art studio planned for 2027. A dedicated place where paint can fly, paper can be cut and folded, ideas can remain spread out, and works in progress do not have to be packed away before they are ready.

My husband, Paul, will plan and build it for me. I will bring the colourful wish list, the creative ideas and probably far more requests for storage than any studio could possibly hold!

I would love you to be part of this next chapter. I’ll share the ideas, plans, decisions and building progress as we work towards creating a space where my art can continue to grow.

Perhaps you have your own creative corner—or dream of having one. What would be at the very top of your art-studio wish list? Follow along and share your ideas with me. Together, we may inspire one another to make room for the things that bring us alive.

So listen for the voice inside you. Notice what it keeps returning to. Give it a few quiet moments of your attention and ask yourself what it might be trying to tell you.

Start small if you need to—but start creating the life you want.

Your unique life does not need anyone else’s permission. It needs your attention.

No apologies for who you are—or for who you still want to become.

With love and creativity from Waikanae,

Nicky Bourke
Waikanae Paper Artist

Follow my creative journey, newest paintings and behind-the-scenes discoveries here on the blog and through Waikanae Paper Artist on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

Explore my art and products available worldwide through The Papercraft Studio:

https://www.zazzle.com/store/thepapercraftstudio