In case you need a reminder…
You are creative.
It’s easy to forget—amid everyday expectations and obligations—that creativity lives inside each and every one of us. Spoiler: it does. And honouring that creativity for even just a few moments is how we calm the mind, quiet the noise, and stretch out time.
Pick up a pencil, a brush, a marker. Draw a line, then another, and another. Connect your breath to your hand, your hand to the pen, the pen to the paper. Listen to the sound it makes. Watch how the lines appear. Feel how your body relaxes and notice how your thoughts soften.
Creativity is how we come home to ourselves.
Hey, I’m Joanne—artist, creative play coach, and the founder of CAMP. I help people reconnect with their creativity through workshops, classes, retreats, and a growing online community.
Whether you’re here for yourself or looking for something meaningful for your team, you’re in the right place.
This is the art of joyful living through creative play.
Where would you like to begin?
In case you need a reminder…
You are creative.
It’s easy to forget—amid everyday expectations and obligations—that creativity lives inside each and every one of us. Spoiler: it does. And honouring that creativity for even just a few moments is how we calm the mind, quiet the noise, and stretch out time.
Pick up a pencil, a brush, a marker. Draw a line, then another, and another. Connect your breath to your hand, your hand to the pen, the pen to the paper. Listen to the sound it makes. Watch how the lines appear. Feel how your body relaxes and notice how your thoughts soften.
Creativity is how we come home to ourselves.
Hey, I’m Joanne—artist, creative play coach, and the founder of CAMP. I help people reconnect with their creativity through workshops, classes, retreats, and a growing online community.
Whether you’re here for yourself or looking for something meaningful for your team, you’re in the right place.
This is the art of joyful living through creative play.
Where would you like to begin?
![: I did NOT want to get on this swing.I wasn’t afraid, I just wasn’t feeling it. It had been a long, hot day adventuring around Bali in October 2023, and I was tired and grumpy.[ Imagine being grumpy in Bali!? What the heck was my problem!? ]I said no at least 537 times. And then, with some cheering on by my friends and a healthy dose of self talk, I said yes.Arms out, face to the sky, high above the rice terraces. Pretty sure I giggled the entire time, and even sassed it up a bit for the photographers. Fast forward to April 2026…Try Everything by Shakira has been on repeat in my studio lately, because some weeks I need a reminder that showing up even when I’m not feeling it is still showing up, and that trying is the whole point. The swing is always worth it.This song is the “Something I’m Loving” from issue No. 2 of Sunday Sparks ✨—my weekly love note about creativity, noticing + play. Link in bio if you’d like it in your inbox every Sunday. 💕[ I couldn’t resist adding the clip of me with Lina, the fruit bat… I couldn’t wait to hold her! 🦇😂 Would you!? ]](https://scontent-yyz1-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.71878-15/670865295_829130573001518_7711386536624749537_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=107&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0xJUFMuYmVzdF9pbWFnZV91cmxnZW4uQzMifQ%3D%3D&_nc_ohc=6qOQBA1rUUQQ7kNvwHU84_3&_nc_oc=Adq6yDj0O6IYXzbPf0QLxeqnVXKpxGe-_7E_IzZ_55qxNTkKjQBtImnC7z2rN31Yjm4&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-yyz1-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=XYp2dWxiV_velq8JAmYd1w&_nc_tpa=Q5bMBQFt3zZsMary5cQKYqqw0e0o4soqh41KVAGwl9CFBQdeiAgEXWmzG_ifpMAl9cAbX_zV_E_JpoLN&oh=00_Af3msbX36vYty3zOiFyjrlVNnSHKeOV2WMjUnXMqDCINFQ&oe=69F27DBD)
![Last Wednesday was the first of my five-week Sketching Around Town classes. Three lovely ladies are joining me at various locations throughout Ottawa to learn the foundations of urban sketching—line confidence, drawing what you see, perspective, and watercolour. We started in IKEA’s cafeteria for an intro lesson, then I sent them off to find vignettes to sketch in situ. While they sketched that, I sketched this: hanging paper lanterns offering a warm glow on a rainy day, and on page one of my new, little sketchbook.[ If you’d like to receive a collection of Sparks like this one ✨ in your inbox every Sunday, the link to subscribe is in my bio ]](https://scontent-yyz1-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t39.30808-6/670523679_1549374000529270_591122459226539617_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=100&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0FST1VTRUxfSVRFTS5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=rumvYAHQ5SkQ7kNvwGodPao&_nc_oc=AdpNJVxvJK_gvXYb0E5qTAL43a_U_hUbLjbQak0pn7mwTFBAZfGXCUJsyLYtW6SF8iw&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-yyz1-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=XYp2dWxiV_velq8JAmYd1w&_nc_tpa=Q5bMBQGxN7UGeNQwU0WBpDytlnJyRWipanpiiFwR7nfR_BGMfFNbuOdzyNaMgT3vo0I8qhKu87pxuS3i&oh=00_Af3BYVKl5nPL5qTcvVAFmd-SCryIoZYtC6QMsjkJFXnbiQ&oe=69F28751)
![: Story Time 🐈 This is Bastion. He is my boyfriend’s cat, and is—by all accounts and historical evidence—evil. He has hissed at me, swatted at me, and years ago cornered me in the kitchen so effectively that I refused to visit unless he was tucked away in another room. For months. This is not an exaggeration. I was terrified of this cat.Since welcoming my son’s cat Mochi into our home + hearts in December 2024, something has shifted in me—I freaking LOVE cats now! And yes, even this one. Bastion is coming around, too. Slowly. On his terms. As cats do. He tolerates my cuddles, and even purrs sometimes—especially when his Dad is within reach.Yes, he still swats and hisses, but now I simply chuckle and tell him I love him 🧡[ If you’d like to receive a little Spark ✨ in your inbox every Sunday, the link to subscribe is in my bio ]](https://scontent-yyz1-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t39.30808-6/668160025_1544174701049200_4674072301613851978_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=108&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiRkVFRC5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=W34gk3tj6AQQ7kNvwHosUJ9&_nc_oc=AdpYiRLsKVTxneIVfZKf7XDLFiyuPXyNwrK7DUvokZknUivwrYks95PqCfh8G8KHcF0&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-yyz1-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=XYp2dWxiV_velq8JAmYd1w&_nc_tpa=Q5bMBQENxG294KnfFkKHhdGNPto1hyDSdfpe_4ttmfRMhawbmjXKOELCOLOjgr4WnGhq-EmQ6KhCEGxr&oh=00_Af254FDn2MXf93QdCrn0AX84f-h74MXVnz2pPs5YeBzpaQ&oe=69F25970)
