When the World Feels Unsettled

Lately, I’ve felt the world shift under my feet. There’s an atmosphere of unrest in the air, and it’s been hard not to absorb that heaviness.

Here in the UK and around the world, events in the news have left me uneasy. It feels like the ground beneath us is shaky, that so much is changing, and not always for the better.

That sense of unsettledness seeps into my art. I sit down with the intention of creating something meaningful, but my thoughts scatter. I can’t find the focus for “better” work, for pieces that demand patience and precision. Instead, I turn to my art journal — my playbook, my safe space.

In its pages, I don’t have to pretend to be calm or polished. I can scribble, tear across the paper, make marks that look chaotic. Some days I just let the pencil move until a face appears, as if my emotions have taken shape without asking permission. Other times, it’s nothing more than restless lines, but even that feels like release.

What I love about this practice is that it doesn’t ask me to be perfect. It doesn’t judge the anger or frustration that sometimes pours out. And yet, from these raw marks, new ideas often emerge. Scribbles turn into textures I might later use. Messy portraits spark something unexpected. It’s a reminder that creativity doesn’t only bloom in calm seasons — it can also rise out of unsettled ones.

If you’ve been feeling restless, distracted, or even overwhelmed by the weight of the world, you’re not alone.

Maybe your version of an art journal isn’t paint or pencil — maybe it’s a notebook, a kitchen experiment, or a garden patch. Whatever it is, giving your emotions somewhere safe to land can open up space for clarity and even surprising sparks of inspiration.

Because sometimes, when the world feels unsteady, the act of creating — however small or imperfect — is the most grounding thing we can do.

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