What If Art Could Tell You What You Already Know?
- Drica Lobo
- Aug 12
- 4 min read
Hey, hello there, friend!
Have you ever created something and only afterward realized that you were trying to tell yourself something?
Maybe it was something you wrote in your journal, a photograph you couldn't stop looking at, a song you kept playing, or, in my case, a painting that somehow knew what I was feeling before I had the words to explain it.
I've been thinking a lot about this lately, especially as I continue exploring creativity, intuition, flow, and all the mysterious ways our inner world finds its way into the things we make.
We tend to think that we need to understand ourselves first and then create from that understanding, but after all these years of painting, I'm starting to believe that sometimes it happens exactly the other way around.
We create first, and the understanding catches up.
I've experienced this so many times in my own work. I usually become obsessed with a particular shape, color, subject, or idea without really knowing why. Then, I'll paint it again and again, follow the curiosity, allow myself to explore it, and then somewhere along the way, I realize that what I've been creating has been reflecting something happening inside of me all along.
It's one of the reasons I believe creativity is so much bigger than making something beautiful.
Creativity can be information.
It can show us where our attention wants to go, what we're avoiding, what we're curious about, what we're longing for, and sometimes even what we're ready to become.
And the fascinating part is that you don't have to consider yourself an artist to experience this.
A few months ago, I had artist and art therapist Leah Guzman on the Decoding the Flow podcast, and we had such a beautiful conversation about creativity, art therapy, intuition, and using art as a way of connecting with ourselves.
Leah has been working in the art therapy world for more than 20 years, and what I love about her approach is that the goal isn't necessarily to create a masterpiece. It's about what can happen while you're creating it.
A few weeks after our conversation, Leah invited me to teach a workshop inside her Creative Soul Society membership.
I created Color Your Life: Denim Edition, and many of you joined me as we painted our jackets together. It was my first time teaching a class like that online to such a large community, and yes, I was nervous, but it turned into such a fun experience.
So when Leah reached out again and invited me to become an affiliate for her upcoming Creative Soul Retreat, I wanted to share it with you because it feels so connected to everything we've been talking about here.
From August 24–26, Leah is hosting a three-day online experience called The Art Journey to Heal Your Heart and Reconnect With Your Truest Self.
And before you think, But Drica, I don't know how to paint, that's actually the point.
You don't need to know how to paint.
You don't need to call yourself creative.
You don't need to make anything worthy of hanging on your wall.
The invitation is simply to create and pay attention to what comes up.
Over the three days, Leah will guide you through different creative exercises exploring body awareness and emotions, animal symbolism and the subconscious, and finally a Focus Wheel exercise designed to help you find clarity around what you want and where you're going next.
And I find that fascinating because sometimes we spend so much time trying to think our way into clarity.
We make lists., analyze. We may ask everyone what they think, and even try to predict the right decision before we've even taken the first step.
Meanwhile, there might be another part of us saying: Can you just give me a crayon for a second? I have something to show you ;)
Maybe that's why creating can feel so freeing.
For a little while, we stop demanding answers and give ourselves permission to explore.
And sometimes, somewhere between choosing a color, drawing a shape, writing a sentence, moving our bodies, or following an idea that doesn't quite make sense yet, something becomes clear.
Only because we finally gave it somewhere to appear, instead of forcing it.
The Creative Soul Retreat happens August 24, 25, and 26 at 5 PM PST / 8 PM EST, and the three-day experience is only $7.
Full transparency: I'm an affiliate for this retreat, which means if you decide to join through my link, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. I'm sharing it because I've personally worked with Leah, I've taught inside her community, and I believe this experience beautifully complements so many of the conversations we're already having around creativity, intuition, and learning how to listen to ourselves.
Whether you decide to join us or simply take this idea with you into your week, I want to leave you with a question:
What might your creativity be trying to tell you that your thinking mind hasn't figured out yet?
Maybe you don't need to know the answer before you begin, you may just need to make something and see what shows up.
Color Your Life
Drica
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