Morning Mindset: The Power of Play
In this 45‑minute YouTube morning‑mindset session, Christie Renee Hawkins opens with a devotional from 100 Days of Less Hustle and More Jesus that links joy, laughter, and God’s desire for a playful life. She then presents six reasons why artists should adopt a child‑like, playful mindset in their work: (1) Play unlocks inspiration and joy; (2) It grants permission to be a beginner and embrace mistakes; (3) Play relieves pressure and reduces stress; (4) It encourages exploration without expectations, including trying new tools like palette knives; (5) Play is essential for adult creative growth, building resilience and fostering a conversational relationship with the painting; (6) It frees the inner artist, reconnecting us with the child‑like wonder we once had. Throughout, Christie shares personal anecdotes—her own irises painting struggle, teaching kids’ art camps, and her “pivot” technique—illustrating each point. She offers practical tips (use music, switch projects, schedule dedicated play time, plan in a calendar) and frames painting as therapy and a spiritual practice. The talk concludes with a promotion of her “Tribe” membership, outlining pricing ($47 / month or $470 / year with a 14‑day guarantee), benefits (monthly new paintings, community support, replays, supply lists), and a call to join the evening class. The overall message is that integrating play into art nurtures joy, creativity, and personal well‑being, aligning with a faith‑based perspective on God’s design for a joyful, balanced life.
Chapters
Hey everyone, good morning. Hopefully everyone is doing well today. Um, we are going to start off this morning mindset talking about the importance of play, and obviously I especially mean, um, in your art, but I think also it's important for us to slow down And remember that life is not just one big to-do list, and that it is not only important for us to take time for ourselves and to play, but also that that is what God wants for us. He designed for us to have a life filled with joy. And, um, as I was preparing for this morning mindset I opened my devotional and I was like, I'm just going to look for something that kind of correlates, um, with the power of play, like how important play is. And for me, play equals joy. And so I'm reading from, um, 100 Days of Less Hustle and More Jesus. And, um, again, sometimes you just this is what I do on Sundays. I just flip it open. These, these are not daily devotionals. You can kind of go wherever you want. Um, so I just opened it up and started reading, and I thought how perfect this is for today's topic that I'm going over. So I'm going to share that devotional with you guys first, and then we are going to talk about the 6 reasons to make art like a kid again. And I don't mean kindergarten style, but I mean finding like the peace and joy in the creative process. I want you to create like you did when you were a child, when, you know, we didn't have the world bogging us down and we didn't have all the stresses that we have as adults, and we were free to just be little dreamers. Okay, so I want to kind of get you back in that, in that mindset when you sit down to paint, when you sit down to create. I want you to get lost in it. And we're going to talk about 6 ways and reasons, um, why you need to do that and how it's not only going help you as a person, um, but it's going to help you in your art as well. Because here's a just a little tip for you: if you're stressed out and you're letting your Type A take over and you're criticizing every brush stroke that you make and you're thinking about how it's going to turn out, you're setting yourself up for failure with that kind of mindset. So we want to walk in instead of expectations on ourselves and criticism We want to come in with joy and excitement and trusting the process and really just enjoying that creative time that we're getting together. So, um, let me know real quick before I jump into this devotional that you guys can still hear and see me okay. Um, in the comments I see just one person saying they're not getting sound and picture. Um, you can just log out and log back in and it will refresh it if that happens. Okay, so this devotional is called Lighten Up, and it says some studies suggest that 4-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day, which I totally believe, but 40-year-olds, less than 10. How about you? Proverbs 17:22 reminds us that a cheerful heart is good medicine, and that's evident in the lives of the people who laugh a lot. Being with folks who emanate the joy of Jesus remind us that it's okay and even vital to celebrate life every chance we get. If you aren't one of those, what's stopping you? How can you help yourself lighten up a little bit today? Hopefully we're going to tackle that tonight. Um, sure, we all have serious matters to tend to, but Jesus also invites us to let go of the worries of this world and become more like little children. Childlike faith delights our hearts and makes life lighter. Give it a try, you may be surprised at how wonderful it feels. And then just some of the scripture to go along with that: He will yet fill your mouth with laughing and your lips with rejoicing. Job 8:21. Um, you have put more joy in my heart than they have then— if I can read— than they have when their grain and wine abound. Psalm 4:7. Proverbs 17:22: A merry heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones. And then Zephaniah 3:17 says: The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you by his love, and he will exalt over you with loud singing. I love that one. And then the prayer for today is: Lord, it's hard sometimes to imagine that you The God of the universe, delight in me. Help me to let go. Help me to lighten up and share your gift of laughter every single day. Um, so I just loved that, and I thought it was, um, so appropriate for, um, exactly what I was talking about today— how to get back to that childlike, um, side of ourselves, because it never left. We just covered it up with life and stress and being adults, but we still have time to incorporate that into our lives. And it's not— it doesn't have to be a choice of this or that. We are all— I work really hard, but I have fun really hard too. And, um, it's, it's okay to have a balance. So, um, I've got some notes over here. I'm just gonna, um, kind of go over really quick. Um, so we're talking about the 6 reasons of, um, why I want you to find that childlike, um, that creator inside of you. Number 1, um, when you play— and when I talk about play, we're talking about painting, and I mean really play, not just stress and follow each step I'm making and making sure you're doing it perfect. I mean, play, like, allow yourself to just have fun like you did when you were a little kid. Who else remembers, like, what my— and it may have just been me, but it was like my favorite part of the day when it was like the art part of the day. And when the teachers came around with a box of crayons or watercolors, I was like, this is the best part of the day. They're giving us the rainbow to play with. And that is still how I feel when I paint. Uh, that is how much painting brings joy into my life, um, and hopefully into yours. And I paint things that make me happy and joyful and filled with bright colors. And I feel like it is such a gift that we get to have, that, that God allowed us to be creative and He allowed us this vessel to invest our time in and our energy in because he knew what the outcome of that would be. He knew that it would bring us peace. He knew that it would bring us joy, and he wants that for us. So, um, I just love that. So number 1 is learning how to play in your creativity unlocks that and unlocks that inspiration. It brings joy when you let go of expectations and instead you treat your art like play, the ideas are going to start flowing more freely. You're not trying to impress anyone, you're just simply exploring. So I say this a lot— exploring, experimenting, playing. You're gonna hear me keep saying it because this, this is how you make good art, um, when you're not hard on yourselves. I want you to remember that no one has to see this if you don't want them to, right? This is yours. You're doing it in your mixed media pad or on your canvases or in your space, whatever that may be, um, and I want you to think about that when you are creating, that you're not doing this for anyone else. You're not doing it for me, you're not doing it for your spouse, your kids, your family. You're doing it for you. And if it ends up being something bigger than that and people really love it, or maybe they want to buy it, or they tell you great job, that— those are all bonuses, but that's not why you're doing it. You're not doing it for the world, you're doing it for you. And So just kind of, kind of remember that when you sit down to create. Some of your most authentic, and I will say some of your best work, will come when you stop trying to get it right. You let go of the rules and you focus on just having fun, and you start learning to accept your mistakes. Or if you make an ugly color, you're like, cool, now I know how to make a really great neutral, right? Now I know how to make a really good brown or a really good gray or whatever color you created. It doesn't mean it's bad. It means you learn something. Um, number 2, give yourself permission to be a beginner again. Kids don't worry about whether their art is good. So in addition to teaching adults over these last 12, 13 years, I also taught several kids art camps, several mommy and me classes, um, when I used to do in-person events. And again, I mean, this is— I see these kids come in and this is like the best day of their life, right? Like they're like, I'm coming in to paint. I'm so excited. And they're just like, they can't sit still. They've got their paintbrush and they're just waiting for me to please start. Please start. They can't wait to get paint on their paintbrush and put it on the canvas. They are filled with excitement. And I remember seeing that and that brought me so much joy. And I'm gonna say this. Guess how the moms were if it was a Mommy and Me class? They came in stressed out. Like, I get that part, right? Like, you're trying to get your kid there. Okay, we made it, we're good, they're not upset. Like, everything— like, I get it. I'm a mom of 3 girls. I totally get it. But when it came time to sit down and paint, the moms are trying to control everything that their kid is doing. And they're stressed out about, well, is theirs going to be good? And is mine and my daughter's going to be as good as the next person next to me? And you see it all over the mom's faces. They're focused on the outcome. They're focused on getting it right. And that's what this one is about. Like, kids come in and they're not focusing on getting it right. They're not worried about whether it's going to be good. They're doing it because it's fun. Right? So tap into that beginner's mindset. Go back, reverse all the negativity that we've managed to jam in our brains, um, as we became adults and we started becoming more fearful of making mistakes and, and started like telling ourselves that it's not important to have fun and like only when you have time, right? Let's change that mindset. I want you to tap into that beginner's mindset. Curiosity— I love this— is the most important skill you can have. Be curious, experiment, see what happens. You are allowed to make bad art. In fact, that's how most great art begins. Mistakes in painting are your friends, not your enemies. Okay, I want you to remember that mistakes are your friends, not your enemies when it comes to creating, because this is how you learn. So give yourself permission to play again. Give yourself permission to make mistakes. Um, number 3, playing relieves pressure. So we just talked about that in devotional. We all have things going on in our lives. We all have stress, but God wants us to take a break from that. And, and again, I mean, I truly believe this. I think that art is a gift that he gave us as a way of healing, as a way of slowing down, as a way of connecting with him. So that may mean turning on some peaceful music, turning on a praise and worship list, whatever music makes you happy. I listen to literally everything from Christian music from, you know, the '50s to now. Like, I mean, I listen to music all day long, and that is part of how I create, and that's part of what helps me get in that creative mindset. So when art feels stressful, it's time to shake it up. Okay, when it starts not being fun, then let's— don't, don't get in that place of like, oh, I'm not good at this, or I can't paint the clouds, or I'm not good at blending, I'm gonna quit. You don't need to quit. We just need to shift your mindset. Okay, so we just need to change your mindset, because when you're in that mindset and you're saying those things to yourself, that's all self-defeating. And we need to come in. We talked about this yesterday. You need to come in in a state of grace, in a state of grace for yourself to allow yourself to have fun and get lost in it. So I said this last night, but like when it starts feeling stressful, or you feel like you've done something and it's not good, don't say I'm not good at it. Say I'm not good at it yet. Yet is the important word there. So when art feels stressful, shake it up. I was talking to my master class about this because I started on a painting and I was painting irises. And, um, so I took an idea from a real photo, I traced that template on there. And this is why you'll hear me say I'm not the biggest fan of templates, and I definitely don't think people need them to create art. But I had created a template because I was trying to make a specific iris. I was using it as a technique to show them, and hated everything about it. I am so not that type of— like, I am not an inside the lines type of person. I don't like feeling boxed in. I don't like being told what I have to do. I don't want you to tell me to stay in the lines. And I had instead created this very intricate template for myself of this flower. I had made too many lines. I made too many— what do I want to say? Like structures within that, that, and I ended up not liking it. And I told them, I'm like, I, I'm sharing this with you just the way I shared it with them because I need everyone to understand, just because you're an artist— I've been painting my entire life— doesn't mean you don't hit hurdles. It doesn't mean you don't fail. It doesn't mean you don't mess up. But I know enough now to be able to look at that and say this— remember, play relieves pressure. When art starts feeling stressful, step away. And that's what I had to do. I was like, this is not bringing me joy. This painting is not making me happy. I don't want to do it anymore. And I had to look at it and I had to decide, okay, I can see where this is going. All right, I don't like the way my flower's looking, but I like where my leaves are going. But I'm not— right now I'm not in the mindset, I'm not in the mood to finish this painting. And I also told them that I work on multiple paintings at the same time. To keep playing, to keep that energy going, because you don't want to get stuck in that mindset. Like, I was there and that happens, but I shifted. Okay, that's when you pivot. Anyone remember the Friends episode of Chandler and Ross taking the couch upstairs? Pivot, pivot. When you start feeling that stress come in and taking over your joy, then it's time to pivot. Change what's— change what's going on, change the narrative. It doesn't mean you're terrible. It doesn't mean you shouldn't do art. You just need to do something loose and freeing. Let go. Maybe just mixing colors, maybe just painting brush strokes in your mixed media pad. You don't have to paint something, but just paint. So again, be curious, play, make it about that instead of about making about something. And that's what I had to do. I had other paintings I was working on And I was like, let me just jump over here. I don't want to do anything structured. Like, if you follow me at all, you know most of my art is not super structured. I like loose, bold brush strokes. And I was like, I need to do some of that. I need to just get messy and paint some flowers. And then guess what? I was in a really good mood again, and I was like, I'm fine with like letting that go. Maybe I'll work on that next week, maybe next month, maybe next year. It's okay. It doesn't matter. So I'm trying to like remind you to let's take the pressure off and relieve that pressure instead with, um, getting the vibe right. So I talk about good vibes only, positive vibes only. This is a huge part of TRIBE, and it's a huge part of why so many TRIBE sisters stay as long as they do, years and years of being members, because that is what it is all about. Is about joy and positivity and good vibes. When, when you come into Tribe, I want this to be a safe haven for you. I want this to be a place where you're like, I can't wait to go in there and see what my Tribe sisters are doing and go cheer some people on. And I'm gonna post my work and they're gonna cheer me on, and we're all just in there lifting each other up. And when someone struggles like I was struggling, and if they share that, then guess what? The rest of us are right there to be like, hey, it's okay, this happens. So you're not alone in this journey, and, um, we just need to get back to that, that joyfulness. So turn on some music, splatter some paint, doodle, draw, make it fun. Um, and I wrote in my notes, I said that my most fun art and the art I tend to be the happiest with is created from emotion, letting loose and getting lost in the art, not trying to be a certain way. And that's what that— when I was working on that irises painting, that's what I was like. I'm trying to like fit in this mold. I'm trying to fit in this structure of like these lines that I drew on there, and it didn't make me happy. And, and so I started like, okay, what I create from emotion, whether that's happy emotion, whether it's stress that I have in my life, then I bring it to my canvas And it doesn't mean sadness has to come out of my stress. It doesn't mean this needs to be a depressing painting. I do the opposite. If I'm really sad, then if I'm really emotional, if I've got a lot of stress going on in my life, I'm like, I gotta go paint. I gotta, I gotta stop thinking about whatever is going on in the world, and I'm going to come over here and I'm going to make pretty things. I'm going to make beautiful things. And that, that to me, like, that's the joy of art, that it can do that for us, and that God can make beautiful things out of hot messes, right? God can make beautiful things out of hot messes. He can use our emotion and we can channel it through painting and creating, and something beautiful can come out of it. And for me, when I look— and I know, like, I can look at the paintings in my studio I can, for most of them, if they meant something to me, I can tell you what happened that day, what I was going through, why I painted that, all of that. That, that is what art is for me, is getting to that place where you can just really let go and get lost in the creating. Um, number 4, see, I was only on point 3, y'all. I'm a rambler. Number 4, explore without expectations. Try something new without worrying about how it will turn out. New tools, new colors, new techniques. Again, we talked about this yesterday in the master class. Right now my master class students are working on creating their originals, and this week this is what they have to do. And I'm like, this is your week of play, this is your week of experimenting, putting things on a canvas that may or may not work out. Try new things. Experimentation is how you grow, it's how you stay creatively curious. And how will you know if you like something if you've never tried it? Um, a lot of people out there— I was like this before I used the palette knife. That was not something that I was taught in art school. That was something I learned later in life as an adult from another artist, and I loved her style of painting, and I was like, how do you paint like that? And then guess what? She offered classes, and I learned how to paint like that, and I fell in love with palette knife. And now it's a huge part of like my creative process. But I would have never known that if I wasn't willing to try and risk and see how things went with that. So don't be scared to try new things, exploring without expectations. Not everything needs a purpose or a plan. Sometimes just the joy that it brings you when you make a scrape, when you do a brushstroke on your canvas. That's enough. Um, number 5, play isn't just for kids. It's a vital part of your creative growth. Adults need play too. It is going to lower our stress. Anyone have stress out there? Raise your hands. I know we all do, right? It's going to build resilience and it's going to reconnect us with ourselves. You are going to like, when you come in with the right mindset, again, gotta come in with the right mindset. You're gonna start finding the joy and the peace that painting can bring you. Play helps our brains make unexpected connections, which is exactly what creativity thrives on. I call this— this is the way I explain that point— I call this like a conversation with your painting. It's an ebb and flow of responding to what you see happening with each brushstroke. And I know some of my tribe sisters will, will speak to this when I'm painting with them during our live sessions. And I do, and I'm like, oh, did you see that? Like, I like the way that looks like. I'll change my mind in mid-painting. I may have had a plan, especially with them, like if I'm teaching them a step by step, and I'm like, here's what I did in the original. But I'm not like feeling that right now. I want to change it up a little bit. And that it's like an ebb and flow. It's a conversation with your painting. You do something on the painting and then you're like, oh, look at that. Your brain is literally so focused on this, this creation, this give and take, that the rest of the world silences. Does anyone else need a little silencing of the rest of the world? Um, this is why painting is so good. So reframe play as productive in its own beautiful way. We talk about this progress over perfection, painting without fear, painting without limits, right? And here's what I want everyone to realize: when, when you allow yourself to get to this point, and instead of coming into stress or coming into painting and feeling stressful or anxious, or I have to get this right, or am I good enough to do this— let's shut all that down. You're making a playdate with yourself. You are coming to rest and play and put colors on canvas and see what happens. And then when you leave after you've had this— whether it's for some of you that maybe you have to take 30-minute chunks of time— that was me for a long time when the girls were younger, and I would just carve out those little times in the day. Or in the evenings instead of just scrolling on Facebook or watching Netflix for 3 hours? What if instead you took that time and you took some quiet time for yourself and you went and got paints and you went and sat down and you just played? Think of how much better you're going to feel when you walk away from that, how much better you're going to be for your family, for your spouse, for your friends. Because as women, we tend to just keep doing, doing, doing, doing, doing. We've got to stop long enough to slow down and refill and fuel ourselves back up so that we can continue to pour into others. So I want us to start reframing— like, painting is not selfish. Taking time for yourself to create is not selfish. It's actually going to help you. It literally is therapy for some people. It's therapy for me. I know it's therapy for several of the women in my group, um, who are going through really tough moments in their life, and this is their safe haven, this space, and allowing yourself time to slow down and be in that space. Um, and the sixth and final reason, um, is to allow yourself that inner artist to be free inside of you. Um, and I love this, like, what would— in my notes I have, what would the 10-year-old version of yourself tell you today? Right. For me, I would say probably more like the 6-year-old version of Christy would be like, let's just sit down and paint. It's so fun. And part of what we do in Honduras is teach kids art. And I love the girls especially. I mean, the boys, some of them want to do it with me, but the girls love it, and we sit down and we paint flowers together, and we do watercolor, and we do that, and they, they're so excited. It's so fun. They're like, Christy, let's do this. Christy, let's do this. I'm like, okay, let's do it. It's not organized. It may be chaotic. That's not the point, right? We're not taking them to, you know, an art exhibition at the end of this, but we need to, we need to be more like the kids in Honduras, right? We need to come with that like hunger and that like excitement for creating something, because it's going to allow you to loosen up. How many of you feel tense and tight all the time? Let's start putting some peace in there. And then just wrapping up, you know, art is a gift that we give ourselves, but sometimes we take it for granted. And sometimes the things that we take for granted, we just push off to the side, and we just keep letting them go. Remember to carve out that time. This is what I tell my tribe. And I created a planner for tribe members to help them plan their time, because if we don't plan it, or at least me anyways, if I don't put it in my calendar, it's not going to happen. I have to block off the time that I want to create, especially for me, obviously, as teaching at UVA. I have to give myself enough time, but I also block in time that's just Christi painting time. That's just me. I'm doing this and I don't know if I'm going to share it with anyone. I'm just doing it to do it. Um, so making sure that you don't take it for granted. Um, let that inner child inside of you run wild with color, with glitter, with texture. It's all about fun. There are no limits, there are no rules, there are no judgment. I want you to just fall in love with playing and experimenting and seeing what happens. Every time you create from that playful place, you heal and you nourish that creative spirit inside of you. But in addition to that, you're also building confidence every single time you do that, and you're reminding yourself. We've got to mind our mind. You've got to keep reminding yourself. It's not a one and done. You can't listen to this one time and be like, I'm good for the rest of my life, kind of like reading the Bible. Um, you gotta stay in it. You gotta keep reminding yourself of that. If that negativity starts creeping back in and you start hearing those old sayings of like, oh, you're not good enough, this isn't good, you should just quit, why are you even trying, this is more stressful than fun. If any of those thoughts start creeping in, you know, you know you need to pivot, right? All right, so remember that today. Um, I hope that you are liking these morning mindset lessons and, um, loving the classes that we're doing at night. So this is what it, what it looks like, but I love this one because these are— if you're just like, like I was talking about, if like you're just in a negative mindset, if you're just like not having a great day, this is such a good one to just like pull out because it's a quick read. It's not a, oh, I have to take 30 minutes and read it. Like, we just need to remember to stay connected to him, and that can happen at any point during your day. It doesn't have to be a specific time. You don't have to go to church to do that. Um, you can connect with him anytime that you want to. So I love this one because it's a quick read. It's just enough to like recenter you and like change your way of thinking. So I highly recommend that. Okay, so let's go over everything that is included. Um, this is just a quick overview of everything that's included in your Tribe Sister membership. Okay, so there are two ways that you can sign up to become a Tribe Sister, you can do $47 a month. Um, with that, we have a 14-day money-back guarantee. Um, so if you jump in and you test some things out and you browse around and you talk to the ladies and you just feel like it's not for you, we have a 14-day money-back guarantee. But I seriously doubt you're going to feel that way. Um, you can cancel at any time with the $47 a month plan, so you're in no long-term commitment. Or If you are hearing about this and you're like, oh my gosh, this is what I need in my life, like I'm ready, this is what I'm going to do, I'm, I'm finally going to carve out that time for myself, I'm going to stop saying I'm going to do it and I'm actually going to do it. You can jump in with the 1-year contract for $470, and that obviously gives you a little bit more of a deal and it equates to you getting 2 months for free. So you have 2 options, $47 a month. Or $470 for the year. Um, and then let me jump back over to this page. So what we do inside of Tribe— I explained this last night— but anytime you see new paintings on the Social Easel page, anything new that I'm doing, all my new paintings are for my Tribe sisters. Um, so unless I'm doing an outside workshop, which is also technically for them, um, any new painting that I do is going to be in Tribe, and they get 2 new paintings every single month with me. You get our amazing community, and I really can't say enough about it. We're going to be sharing some stories, our stories, on Instagram and Facebook. Um, also some posts just sharing from the ladies in the community, um, and so you can hear it from them, not me, um, what this community is all about. So I hope you guys join me tonight. Again, everything's been emailed out to you. We email out a reminder 15 minutes early with the link. And then if you miss anything, if you came in late to this and you want to go back to the beginning, all of that is on the hub page, um, and that is ready for you. I'm going to drop that link here really quick and then I will jump off. I thought I had it pulled up already. I'm gonna have to go grab it. Okay, dropping that hub page link here again. Um, this is like, you only have to go to this one link and everything's going to be there. The replays, the supply list, all that good stuff. So hope you guys are excited to paint. Come in with the right mindset, come ready to play, and I will see you this evening. Bye.
