CREATE Playlist

When I want to create something, which is often, I gather my paint brushes, acrylics, watercolor pallets, canvas...then, I turn on my spotify to set the creative mood. If you are a creative like me, or just want to create, it can be hard to settle into making something when you have work, to-dos, chores pounding down the door of your thoughts. Music changes the atmosphere of my spaces and takes me into creativity. Here is what’s been on rotation for me lately:

Better Than I Used To Be - Mat Kearney
River and Roads - The Head and The Heart
Therapy - Brooke Fraser
Still Rolling Stones - Lauren Daigle
Intro - The XX
Comes and Goes (In Waves)
At the Table - Josh Garrels
Fear Not - Kristene Dimarco
Four - Sleeping At Last
Young Blood - Noah Kahan
Not Today - Hillsong United
Something Just Like This - The Chainsmokers and Coldplay
Step Out - Jose Gonzalez

Two of my favorites on my list right now are:
Sticks and Stone - Kings Kaleidoscope
It begins one way: simple, focused, clean.
Then, it changes into chaos of cymbals and horns and crashes.

The song feels important, important because of what’s being created through it. It ends in a raw yelling of “paint the beauty we split!” The anthem part of the song draws a clear line between art and struggle, but there is a deeper meaning to this song that draws me in. The Beauty is Jesus’ love on the cross and I split His beauty with my sin. So, I call on Him to paint the beauty within me as I paint on canvas and page.

Awakening - Amanda Lindsey Cook
I connected instantly with Amanda Lindsey’s words in this song. The calmness of the opening gives breathing space, allowing me to reflect on, not only what I am making, but why I am making it. Awakening is a clear crossover story of going from one place to another and art helps me find the path on that road. Here are a few words to the song that I love:

This is my awakening
That while my heart was fast asleep
You were resurrecting me
I thought that I would never breathe
I thought the pain would never leave
But You're redeeming everything

I honestly could get creative anywhere if I have my playlist. From airplanes, to crowded coffee shops, I can escape into my art journals. I am an extreme introvert with the power of intense focus. Chaos could be happening all around me but if I have headphones I can block it all out. Typically you can find me sitting at my kitchen table or in my backyard painting abstractly. Not only are these songs escape for me but they ooze creativity themselves. I feel inspired by them, and I hope you do, too.

Get out there and create!

Tag @globalpassion and @onmissionwithmarissa in your creative endeavors on Instagram to let us know what you’re working on.