The Beauty of a Wandering Mind

Anya Baboyedova

1/30/20264 min read

I take a bath once a week. Aside from daily showers, it is a ritual that started more than twenty years ago to help me relax and cope with the stresses of the corporate management world. Taking a bath was also my meditation during my first year of motherhood - the most demanding year, both physically and mentally, of raising my trio. Aside from its self-care benefits, what I have also learnt about taking a bath is its ability to clear the mind and let creativity flow in. Nearly all my ArtFull Notes begin in my bath tub, including this one.

When we lived in France, I couldn’t find a yoga studio that I liked and began running instead to stay fit. I had never liked running, but jogging on Promenade des Anglais in Nice was a beautiful sight and I grew to enjoy it. Running didn’t just keep me fit, though. Over time, I noticed something else. I had recently launched my new translation company. It was not turning profit so I was looking for new ideas. They came during my runs. I essentially wrote my business plan while running. My profits quadrupled over the next two years.

I had read some time ago that creativity flows in when your mind is idle. Letting your mind wander and paying attention to the ideas that come forward is key. The challenge is to let it wander or to notice when it wanders.

My practice of noticing things began about five years ago. My children started daily pre-school and my mornings opened up for the first time. I began reading more. I started writing again. Eventually, I began painting again. I was learning to pay attention, to notice things.

Creativity is not something that strikes us. Creativity is an unseen world all around us. We just need to tap into it. I have been able to do it while taking a bath, running, and knitting - daily activities during which my mind gets quiet and new ideas start coming in.

I encourage you to approach some of the activities you do during the day with the same mindset. Notice what happens when you disconnect from the exterior noise (no active watching or listening) while:

Taking a bath or a long shower

Running, walking or biking in nature (away from city noise)

Making the bed or folding clothes
Washing dishes by hand or loading the dishwasher without rushing
Knitting, crocheting or making collage.

Pay attention to the thoughts and ideas that come forward. Don’t brush them away, grab them. I keep my phone next to my bath tub to write down the thoughts that start floating in. Think of these ideas as sparrows. Those little birds that land on your windowsill for a few seconds and then fly away. Before they do, be sure to catch them.

As January began to unfold in my painting studio, I decided to take it easy and not rush into creating new work. One morning, when my trio was at home sick and playing beautifully together, I spread my new order of jute, grabbed three colors that spoke to me and began drawing. A painting drew itself in about two hours including the drying time between the layers and the stretching of the canvas onto the bars. It may seem like it was a strike of creativity, but behind those two hours of work were myriad moments when thoughts were floating in and paid attention to.

Keeping a balance between my work as a painter and my role as a mother continues to be at the core of my life as an artist. My children turned eleven years old this month and thoughts on parenting were at the top of my mind. I thought about starting to share few insights that has guided my experience as a mother.

I also took up knitting again and was teaching my kids how to make basic stitches. Why not share a few simple knitting patterns that I had knitted in the past - for babies, kids and adults?

We cooked a lot as a family this month too. Eating around the world over the last two decades allowed us to enjoy simple, yet delicious recipes that have become staples in our family’s kitchen. All this thinking led to my decision to document and share more on @anyababoyedova.

So, besides my ArtFull Notes, personal stories and landscapes that I have documented thus far, I will now be sharing other things that catch my curious eye: inspirational insights, weekly motivations, knitting moments, favorite interiors, places to eat, food to savour, books to read, thoughts on parenting, and so on. Should you be curious about such things, be sure to follow me along via this link.

January seems to be the month when nature slows down and rests. Tuning ourselves into silence, when the phone is put away and the world is turned off for an hour or two, allows our mind to wander. All we need to do is tap into it.

From Italy with love,

Anya.

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ArtFull Notes is a human-written monthly publication by Anya Baboyedova filled with art, creative inspiration, personal notes, studio updates and new work announcements.