Adulting is a lot of work, but it's also weirdly hard to take a break from it. Remember those wide-open Saturdays when you were a kid when your main job was to play? When was the last time you let yourself play like that?
I didn't play much as an adult until I became a photographer, but once I figured out how to unlock that side of myself, I resolved to do it as often as possible. There's just something about the act of using your imagination to create that feels like playing pretend. And spending some time playing makes it easier to do all the adulting a grown-up life requires. Here's how I use art to play.
All images copyright Kate Miller-Wilson.
I Experiment and Take Risks
Remember being a kid and looking at all your paints and just squeezing a dollop of green onto the picture to see what happens? Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. But it's always fun to try something out. Experimenting is part of being a child artist, and it's part of that kind of play as an adult, too.
As a photographer, I take a lot of chances in the name of growth. I shoot large format film, which is expensive and slow. It would be easy to get too worried about losing time and money with a shot that doesn't work out, but I try really hard to embrace failure and chance. I do crazy things like shocking film with electricity to see what happens. The random results of experimentation make art feel joyful and free.
One of the things about adulting is that we don't get to take a lot of risks (they always come with worry). Art is a great way to let go of that sense of responsibility and weight. Next time you're creating something, why not try some technique you've never used before?
Experimentation comes with the chance that what we made might not turn out like what we envisioned. When we were kids, it was okay for our art not to "turn out." I try to always keep that in mind: a failed experiment is just a chance to try again.
I Let My Imagination Run Wild
We hear a lot about the importance of imagination when we're kids, but that becomes less of a thing as we get older. Art is different than the rest of the grown-up world, though. Creating, whether it's writing, painting, music, photography, or anything else, is all about using your imagination. It's one of the few places adults get to have that kind of freedom.
I like making photographs that are fantastical without the use of AI or photo manipulation. It's tricky because the real world doesn't always look magical, and that challenge is fun for me. Letting my imagination run free gives me a creative challenge that's energizing.
To really put your art outside the box, think, "What if I...?" Don't limit yourself to what's possible with the tools you have. Once you have the idea, you can almost always find a way to create it. The idea itself is the point.
I Play Pretend With Friends
I loved playing dolls with my sister as a kid — that shared, made-up reality. There's just something so wonderful about playing pretend with siblings or friends, and we really don't get to do much of that as adults in regular life. My art is the only way I get to do that.
I get together with friends who also shoot film photography, and we do photoshoots where we end up in the strangest situations (standing in a river draped in fabric or climbing trees or dressing up in old-fashioned clothes). It's so much fun to share something we both love.
Even if you're not into fantastical photoshoots, creating with friends is a special kind of play. You can collaborate on a piece together, have a craft night where everyone works on projects, or pick a theme and have everyone make art related to it. There are no wrong answers as long as everyone is having fun.
Related: Invite Guests to Get Creative With 15 Clever Craft Party Ideas
I Let Go of the Stress I'm Feeling
One of the lesser-known characteristics of play is that it can be stress-relieving. When kids are anxious, they use play to relax and help process the emotions they're feeling. Somehow, along the way, we forget that we have that option, but art is a good way to get back to that.
I need artistic play in my life to help me cope with my anxiety and deal with daily stress. When I'm making photos, I'm not thinking about the latest conflict with my teenager or the national news. I'm immersed in what I'm doing — I'm only creating.
For me, that's looking at the world through my camera, but for you, that might mean picking up a paintbrush or pencil to create art about your day. It could be writing a story or journaling about ideas. It's all about shifting your focus to the world you're creating instead of the world that's stressing you out.
Art Is the Ultimate Form of Play
Creating art as a grown-up is the ultimate form of play. In fact, it's possible that all the play we did as kids helped prepare us to make better art as adults. After all, these are skills we've been using all our lives.
