Don’t edit your soul: eclectic creativity

Written By Helen Wells

When I started working as an artist I thought that it was important to be known for one thing, to have one definite signature style, that perhaps having multiple creative interests at once was evidence of a lack of focus, a lack of commitment, that it was a form of indecision. I was wrong. I’ve discovered that the more I follow my diverse curiosities, the more I let them overlap and combine, the more personal and rewarding my art making becomes. Your art doesn’t have to be just one thing.

“Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.”

Quote Source: Anne Rice in the Foreword to The Metamorphosis and Other Stories by Franz Kafka. Translation to English by Willa and Edwin Muir,  1995 Schocken Books, New York

Don’t water it down. Don’t make it logical. Don’t edit your soul.

A web of ideas, not a straight line

Our art is a web of ideas, influences, and obsessions entwined and weaved together. I’m always gathering fragments, following multiple ideas at once, and trusting that, the connections will reveal themselves.

Over time, I’ve realised that my numerous inspirations, ideas and techniques aren’t separate at all, they’re just waiting to be woven together. Seemingly unrelated ideas often merge in surprising ways, creating something richer and more personal than I could have planned. Creativity is found in the connections. It thrives in the in-between places, in the surprising combinations, in the moments when you say, What if I put this with that?

Painting in progress

Shapes and ideas in older sketchbooks

Paintings in progress

Interesting colour combinations

Notes to myself

A pile of sketchbooks

Sketchbook pages from 2021

Old sketchbook pages


Embracing diverse fascinations

We each have a distinct visual language, a distinct set of interests, shaped by our experiences, influences, and life. The magic happens when we allow these curiosities to run free, to overlap, mix and combine. When we embrace all the disparate pieces of our art, of ourselves, of our obsessions, of our small and large love affairs…we build a body of work that is undeniably ours.

Finding combinations and correlations

For me, a sketchbook is more than a place to experiment, it’s where I notice and gather all the loose threads of my creativity, unedited, unfiltered. It is where I pursue, unpick and unpack my varied obsessions and fascinations.

It’s a personal space to explore without pressure. A place to see how different ideas interact. A place to let patterns emerge naturally. Over time, I’ve found that the act of collecting, curating, and layering ideas in my sketchbook has allowed me to know more about myself as an artist. Gathering and noticing. Gathering and noticing. Gathering and noticing.

We are the makers of our own music

Even when ideas seem scattered, they’re never truly separate. We are the conductors of the orchestra and the makers of the music. Some ideas rise to the surface, while others linger quietly, waiting for the right moment, some combine to make a compelling harmony.

Loose ends and messy pieces

The beauty of an eclectic approach is that it allows for unexpected connections, ones we might never have discovered if we had tried to force everything into a rigid or logical framework. So, embrace the loose ends. Trust that the disparate threads of your creativity will find their way together in time if they need to. Don’t edit your soul.

Your unique artistic voice isn’t found in how neatly everything aligns, it’s in how you weave together all the messy pieces that make you, you.

Artists and books mentioned in the video



Helen Wells
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