Welcome to Creative Fuel.
A space to explore the intersection of creativity and our everyday lives.
My name is Anna Brones and I am a writer, artist (usually I’m cutting pieces of paper), and educator. In 2019 I started writing a monthly newsletter called Creative Fuel. I wanted to explore the topic of creativity, and it also was a way to keep more regular contact with people who liked and supported my work.
Eventually, in March 2020 that newsletter morphed into a weekly virtual creativity workshop, open to anyone who needed a little dose of creativity or wanted to set aside an hour to make art with like-minded people. It became an important creative life line during months of pandemic and shutdown.
A few other things have come under the Creative Fuel umbrella too. Those weekly free workshops continue now, and have also expanded into Creative Fuel Collective, a platform devoted to creativity offering creative community through regular workshops and programming (taught by myself and a cohort of other creatives and artists). The Creative Fuel podcast was also born, an audio exploration of the intersection of creativity and our everyday lives.
This newsletter is the overarching umbrella for all of that. It is a place to explore all facets of creativity. Which is to say, this is a place of curiosity, it is a place of exploration, it is a place of inspiration.
When you’re a working artist, as I am, it’s easy to feel that you need to fit your work into a box. But of course, most of us who engage with art and creativity in our everyday lives know very well that we don’t just fit into one box. After all, that’s how it is to be human. We all contain multitudes.
And so will this newsletter. It will most often be creativity focused, but we’ll probably end up on some other tangents too. If you ask me, we can find a link between creativity and most parts of the human experience.
“But I’m not creative.” -a common response
These words are always prohibited when I teach classes and workshops. We all have the capacity for creativity, and we all need creativity in our everyday lives. So even if you don’t self-identify as an artist or as a creative, there’s space for you here.
Supporting Creative Fuel
This publication is reader-supported, and your subscription helps to:
Produce this newsletter, which includes essays, art, interviews, reading recommendations, and beyond.
Production of the podcast. Gale Straub (my co-producer and podcast extraordinaire) and I are currently scheming on Creative Fuel Season 2.
Support artists
And beyond! The thing about creativity is you never *really* know where you are going to end up. Navigating along that journey is part of the fun, and being a part of this community means that you also get to have a role in supporting that.
Paid subscription perks
The regular newsletter goes out to everyone, and subscribers get the heartwarming satisfaction of supporting creativity. Don’t you feel better already?
Ok, in more practical terms, paid subscribers also get access to:
Additional creative prompts
My winter digital Advent calendar, 24 Days of Making, Doing, and Being at the end of the year
“I want to take a workshop.”
Great! Head over to Creative Fuel Collective to see what’s on offer this month. You can also explore my personal workshops and retreats here.
“Do you take commissions? Would you like to write a book for the enormous publishing company that I am an executive editor for? Can I hire you to teach a workshop for my company so that we don’t just feel like corporate cogs and can find some enjoyment in life? Can I underwrite 10 seasons of the podcast?”
Yes, yes, yes, and yes. Feel free to get in touch by emailing info[at]annabrones[dot]com.
