Creative Dalliances: Why Play Isn’t Just for Kids
When was the last time you tried something just for the fun of it? Probably far too long ago - it's all too easy with life's endless adulting for us to forget to take some time off for ourselves, isn't it
It's important to take a little bit of time away from your passion craft too sometimes - mastering any craft takes years of commitment, and in our effort to develop expertise it can feel a bit ‘workish' at times. Whilst it's good to feel we are making progress, we can get too focussed on achieving an end result - being productive - at the expense of enjoying the process of making.
Lately I have been reflecting on the importance of taking some creative play times which require little commitment or expectation of ourselves, just a little dip into something new for the sheer enjoyment of it. Permission too to be rubbish at it!
I’ve started calling these gentle adventures Creative Dalliances—and they’ve been doing wonders for my wellbeing, creative energy, and a sense of freedom.
Storytelling in the Woods: Feeding Our Imaginations
One of the most nourishing Creative Dalliances I’ve had recently was Tales from the Trails - a short series of creative writing workshops held in the woods at Craig Gwladus Country Park—a beautiful, leafy spot not far from where I live.
Tales on the Trails
The sessions were part of the Woodland Wellness: A Summer of Mindfulness programme, and were led by the incredible Owen Staton —a Welsh storyteller with a real gift for drawing you into other worlds. Owen is also the host of the Time Between Times Storytelling podcast, which I highly recommend if you enjoy myth, folklore, and ghosts stories from Wales and further afield.
Each session began with a live storytelling performance from Owen—a real treat. Whether you’re young or old, there’s something quite magical about hearing a well-told tale in the woods, and a physical performance really brings it all to life. It wasn’t just entertaining—it was imaginative and playful, and sparked so many ideas before we even picked up our pens.
After that, we moved into writing, using gentle prompts, time in nature, and quiet reflection. It was peaceful, inspiring, and left me feeling creatively recharged and energised. My inner child was absolutely bouncing with delight - grinning from ear to ear - while we wandered through the trees, dreaming up fairy stories amongst the ferns. There was a sense of lightness, imagination, and joy I hadn’t realised I’d been sorely missing.
Enter the Pirate Queen…
One of the prompts was facilitated with Story World (TM) cards - we each drew out a card from the deck which we had to then bring into a story. I drew the Pirate Queen (illustrated by Nicki Palin) which I was thrilled with - I found her truly inspiring - not just for the story telling exercise hand, but on a deeper and more reflective level.
She reminds me of a need for freedom and adventure that, over recent years of having to ‘put on the big girl pants’ and get on with the business of adulting, I’d neglected. Owen encouraged us to keep our cards closely with us all week, and look at it whenever we had the chance to throughout the day.
This card really resonated with me and I think it had, and continues to have, a profound and slowly transformative impact on my thoughts and feelings about my own creativity, but also more broadly at this stage of my life.
If you’re local to South Wales, do keep an eye out—Owen is also doing live storytelling performances this summer at Margam Park. It’s well worth going along, especially if you have children—or just a curious imagination.
You can also find Owen’s blogs, videos and audio stories here on his Substack channel —perfect for a slow walk, a quiet knitting session, or simply a moment of stillness in your day.
A Chapel, Some Paint, and another Creative Dalliance
Not long after the woodland writing sessions, I also joined a one-off acrylic painting workshop with Derek Windsor, a very talented local artist here in South Wales.
One of Derek Windsor’s artworks
One of Derek’s beautiful paintings - this one is in acrylics. It’s based on one of the lovely local woodland walks in our village, and really captures the spirit of the place.
The class was held in a characterful old Welsh chapel, which offered very welcome calling shelter on a very hot summer’s evening, adding to a calm and contemplative feel. We sat quietly in the old wooden pews, gently engrossed in our painting, each of us lost in colour and shape in our own quiet way.
There was something deeply soothing about that time spent there—soft light filtering through tall windows, the hum of gentle conversation with the occasional giggle too, and the freedom to simply play without judgement.
If you ever get the chance to take a workshop with Derek, I’d highly recommend it. He creates such a welcoming, and safe space to explore and experiment, no matter your skill level.
Why Adults Need to Play Too
We often think of play as something for children—but it’s just as important for adults. Especially those of us juggling work, family, deadlines, and never-ending to-do lists. We may not realise that curiosity, experimentation, and creative mess-making are still ‘allowed’ at our age and, sadly, some of us have forgetten how to play.
There is many a wise word spoken in old sayings, and you’ll probably be familiar with this one:
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”
There is compelling evidence to support this, and how play impacts positively access many areas of our lives. I’ve covered a few points below, but this is by no means exhaustive, nor intended as an academic paper!
Stress Relief and Emotional Resilience: Play provides a naturally restorative break from daily pressures. It reduces levels of cortisol—the stress hormone—and helps build emotional resilience and coping capacity.
Boosts Creativity and Brain Function: Play isn’t just fun—it ignites the imagination. It helps break entrenched thinking patterns, enhances problem‑solving, and enables the kind of loosened thinking that enables creative breakthroughs.
Well‑being, Satisfaction & Health: Researchers have found strong links between adult playfulness and life satisfaction, overall well‑being, and even physical health. Playful adults tend to lead more active lives, feel more content, and recover better emotionally from challenges.
Emotional Intelligence & Relationships: Adults who play also demonstrate higher emotional intelligence, resilience, and relationship quality—implying that play has a role in enhancing social connection and self-awareness.
The Play and Productivity Paradox: A funny thing is, when you take productivity out of the picture, suspend expectations and take a more playful approach, ironically this can enhance productivity! The importance of play in being productive and combatting inertia has been evidenced by a number of studies, and is covered by Ali Abdaal in the opening chapter of his Feel Good Productivity book.
Clearly play is not a luxury—it’s part of what keeps us emotionally and creatively well, and also supports our creative work.
Creative Dalliances feed our creative imagination
Play isn’t frivolous. It’s fundamentally nourishing. It helps us reconnect—with ourselves, with our creativity, and with the world around us. It lifts the yoke of expectation, breaths fresh air into our imaginations, and reminds us why we love to make in the first place.
Playful creative dalliances can often be the first domino in a line of ideas which seep and creep into our main creative practices. For me, that’s knitting.
Creative inspirations
After those woodland sessions, I found ideas slipping into my sketchbook—mossy textures, snippets of story, shifting shapes of leaves and branches, twisting trees start to suggest cable stitch patterns . Nothing forced. Just quiet inspiration bubbling up from a playful place. Maybe, eventually, this may manifest into a future knitting design or few.
It’s not the first time nature has inspired my knitting. It reminded me of a few of my nature-inspired knitting designs - here’s a little selection:
Nature is clearly a recurring theme in my designs, but these recent creative dalliances will give that inspiration new layers—adding subtle texture, story, and emotional resonance to future designs.
A Gentle Invitation
So here’s a gentle nudge: if you’ve been feeling a bit stuck, creatively flat, or simply in need of a change of pace… give yourself permission for a little Creative Dalliance -or a few- and see how that makes you feel.
It could be a pottery taster session, a collage afternoon, a go at watercolours, or even a knitting sampling experiment. Just an hour or two where you don’t have to achieve anything except enjoy the process of making and trying out new things. And if you’re feel really stuck for ideas, just go and fondle some yarn or other creative supplies you may have hiding in your stash.
And give yourself permission for things to turn out a bit rubbish! You don’t have to be good. You don’t have to stick with it - it’s not got to be cast in stone! You just have to make a date, tell your inner critic to ‘bog off’, be curious and play - you might be surprised by where your curiosity takes you.
So go on—let your inner child have a little wander - what will your next Creative Dalliance be?
Happy Creating!
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