I’m not an artist, I’m not a creative, I’m a time traveler.

Day 17 of taking myself to Creative Camp, which is starting to feel like a mixed media house of mirrors now; the days are talking / gossiping with each other. And it’s hard to know where exactly I am.

I’m telling you the story in September…

Looking back on living it in August…

When I made art destined for October…

To help me remember how I felt in July…

So I’d be inspired to keep on creating in November, December, January and long into the future…

See what I mean? Time traveler.

By day, I’m a creative director who just a few months ago felt like I wasn’t creating enough – off the clock and off the beaten path. So I started this experiment to help me.

I remember knowing that the art Future Me needed to make was on the other side of this experiment.

Camp is building me a Creative Time Machine to allow me to collage my creativity across time so I can pass messages to myself. And that’s exactly what I’m doing tonight. My first Creative Camp after hours.

I pull my prompt (quietly):

Draw.
Architecture.
Limit.

The “Limit” twist feels like a gift from Past Me. Limit, aka Contain, is about creative constraints – one ingredient, one medium, one color, etc. Tonight, that simplicity feels like a cozy, comforting treat after a long day.

I limit myself to ONE tool – a pencil – and then I cozy up with a library book of drawing inspo, a mug of something yummy, and a scary movie I can only get away with watching when the house is asleep. I’m inspired to draw a lil’ Halloween town. That satisfies the Architecture prompt.

This is fun, I should do this more often, I think to myself.

And my eyes twinkle as I imagine Future Me turning this sketch into cozy season decor (YES YOU BETTER BELIEVE I HAVE TUBS ON TUBS ON TUBS OF TECHNICOLOR HOLIDAY CRAFTS I DID IT MYSELFED O’ER THE AGES).

This may be the moment I realize Creative Camp is coming into cozy season with me. Both in the form of the art I’ll be bringing with me.

My camp log from this day reads:

“May Creative Camp inspire me to keep drawing all season(s) long. When cozy season comes I’ll have something to look back on that will hopefully inspire me to keep creating.”

Past Me is a sentimental dork and Current Me loves me for it.

Creative Camp is also coming into cozy season because, frankly there’s more story to tell.

At first I thought that losing step with myself in the storytelling meant I had failed. I’m not reporting on camp as it’s happening now. Time has passed and that means different versions of me are collaborating on each episode now.

That’s exactly how it should be: a collage built by Creative Time Machine, patched together with layers of insight, memories, observations I’ve been carrying with me for decades really.

When Past Me designed this experiment she didn’t realize that yet but she trusted this version of me to decide for us.

So as I conclude Day 17, I am expectantly passing another Future Me the gift of a creative baton.

Hey RKA! Here’s some lines to fill in when a blank page feels too intimidating.

Here’s a reminder from Past Me that we are creative time travelers and the future needs us.

See you in cozy season, little creation.

See you, too?

Welcome to camp.