Life of Love with Julie Hilsen

Forgot How To Play? Bad Art: The Key to Joy and Your Inner Child

• Julie Hilsen • Season 3 • Episode 35

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Did you forget how to play? Today we (Julie + transformational coach/author Susan Hensley) crack open joyful creativity for busy grown-ups—no “talent” or fancy supplies required. Learn the 3-minute, two-crayon reset to unstick your day, process big feelings, and reconnect with your inner child—then ride that creative spark into real-life courage, clarity, and flow. 🌞

What you’ll learn

  • A zero-pressure art ritual (3 minutes, 2 crayons) to get out of your head and into your heart
  • Why “Dare to be bad” flips perfectionism into freedom
  • Using art journaling to move emotions through (rage-crayons welcome!)
  • Tiny swaps to replace doom-scrolling with presence + play
  • Gentle ways to save meaningful scraps (cards, fabric) inside your journal for soul-anchored memory keeping
  • How short daily play boosts resilience, decision-making, and joy

About our guest

Susan Hensley—transformational coach, creative guide, TEDx speaker (“Dare to Be Bad”), and author of Art for Your Sanity—helps people navigate life transitions with heart, curiosity, and simple creative practices. Visit: susan-hensley.com (free starter PDF). Book available wherever you buy books.

Support the show

Link to Support this Channel: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2153284/supporters/new
Julie's Book: https://amzn.to/3K2ZS05
Julie's Website for more information, comments or requests: https://lifeofloveandjoy.com
I receive a small commission when you purchase from these links.

Julie Hilsen:

Hello dear friends and welcome to Life of Love where we explore what our life of love looks like each week and honor this

Susan Hensley:

thank you Julie. I'm so so happy to be here and that was beautiful. Thank you.

Julie Hilsen:

well, Susan Hensley, your transformational coach and author, a creative guide, and you're here to help us unleash our joy

Susan Hensley:

Well, thank you. I'm honored to be here. And I thought that was a beautiful intention because what I'm trying to

Julie Hilsen:

Yeah, I think that was a really fun part for me this morning. I shared with you in our pre-interview that I did a quick

Susan Hensley:

Hahaha!

Julie Hilsen:

uncovered like I found beautiful little artwork that my kids did like I found one that my son Blake did it was when he

Susan Hensley:

wow. Yeah, that is an adventure.

Julie Hilsen:

like paper for art. So it's sitting right there. I'm like, Julie, it's freaking sitting right there. You have no excuse.

Susan Hensley:

I love seeing that. And also the way you describe it, it's sort of like that signal or sign, right? You're cleaning out

Julie Hilsen:

So. you

Susan Hensley:

And I love what you did. you share how you felt doing it and after? Because I see how you light up. mean, you have a lot

Julie Hilsen:

Thank you. Yeah. Yeah, well, what I like about is, I like the chalk and pastels because you can smear it. But I like

Susan Hensley:

Yeah.

Julie Hilsen:

It's not a plan. don't, I don't, I'm not a huge artist where I had a plan out exactly how it's gonna look. It's just like a

Susan Hensley:

Yeah. Yeah! Right. And you're doing it for you, right? The book and the... Well, exactly. mean, but you've tapped

Julie Hilsen:

Yeah, yeah, I'm not going to send this to my mom or anything, you know, like. Sure.

Susan Hensley:

make things I put up on my walls, but I found the play of it, the release, the few minutes while I was having coffee,

Julie Hilsen:

you

Susan Hensley:

job and all the things you're trying to do, right? We've talked about pets. We've just, there's a lot that's asked of

Julie Hilsen:

Mm-hmm.

Susan Hensley:

going and we try so much to control where we're going, know, envision to plan. And I think there's a place for all

Julie Hilsen:

That's lovely and I mean it did bring me back to childhood with them. I don't know if you remember the Crayola

Susan Hensley:

yeah. Mm-hmm.

Julie Hilsen:

I used to have the carousel. It was a plastic, like lazy Susan, and you could organize and you could put your markers in

Susan Hensley:

⁓ yeah. Yeah!

Julie Hilsen:

that freshness of a possibility, you know, just tapping into possibility of what could be. And that's, that's what I

Susan Hensley:

Right, right. Yeah. Yeah, you touch on so many interesting things there. I want to look to the last one. People

Julie Hilsen:

Mm-hmm. you

Susan Hensley:

10 and 20 minutes, but taking even three and four, and it's how I started art journaling, I would be making breakfast

Julie Hilsen:

Yeah.

Susan Hensley:

Buy it again and keep it nearby and just see if you can replace once a day, maybe one time you would reach for your

Julie Hilsen:

Yes.

Susan Hensley:

It's a really interesting exercise to just observe yourself. I mean, there isn't a right or wrong. It's just an

Julie Hilsen:

And no judgment, like we're holding compassion, but yeah, what's serving you and what feeds you and what's depleting?

Susan Hensley:

Yeah. Yeah! Yeah. Exactly. Yeah, for anyone who's made that commitment, playing with art, shoot you there immediately

Julie Hilsen:

For not being, yeah, yeah. Yes, yes, yes.

Susan Hensley:

is it gives us enough separation to catch that cycle. If you will, we were talking a little bit about this and just to

Julie Hilsen:

Yes, yes, yes. Okay, so that was that leads to my next thing I want to talk to you about. So if you haven't been in the

Susan Hensley:

Yeah. So many of us feel that way. I feel that way. I don't view myself as a creative person. And what's interesting, so I

Julie Hilsen:

you Yeah, yeah.

Susan Hensley:

The only thing you need to do is keep your hand in motion for three minutes. It's like, can people do that? Yes. Right.

Julie Hilsen:

Right, right. And even if you don't have art supplies in your house, next time you got to eat, just borrow a couple

Susan Hensley:

⁓ absolutely, I tell people that all the time. Yeah, no, I tell people that all the time, yeah.

Julie Hilsen:

And it's such a metaphor for for us because we're creative beings like we that's part of our God spark is to be

Susan Hensley:

Absolutely.

Julie Hilsen:

So yeah, this is, it's a great metaphor. And if this is really hard to take two crayons and fill up a piece of paper in

Susan Hensley:

Yeah. You know, gosh, that's just made me think of as I was listening to you, something that popped into my head. I was

Julie Hilsen:

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Susan Hensley:

Where do I want an insight as to how I should be doing something or should be behaving?

Julie Hilsen:

Yeah, and that freedom, it doesn't really matter. Nobody's gonna look at you and say, well, you did that the wrong

Susan Hensley:

Right. Right, exactly. Yeah, it's just, it's an interesting and fun way to start to observe beliefs or routines,

Julie Hilsen:

Right, right. So if you're willing to see, and I think this information comes at a time where, you know, it'll hit you or

Susan Hensley:

Sure.

Julie Hilsen:

Yeah, we have talked about it, how the creativity can lead to personal growth and illuminate blocks that you may have in

Susan Hensley:

Okay.

Julie Hilsen:

There's a whole city zombie apocalypse, dark, know, zombie walking dead type situation. And it was a Lego commercial

Susan Hensley:

Yeah

Julie Hilsen:

bouquets and like the people started putting the Legos together and they started getting light in their eyes and their skin

Susan Hensley:

Yeah.

Julie Hilsen:

This is something really important. I thought that was interesting timing.

Susan Hensley:

Yeah, I'm have to search that commercial for sure. Yeah, it's interesting because it's not fringe, right? We're

Julie Hilsen:

Mm-hmm.

Susan Hensley:

with watercolors, it's a great way to process it, because the emotions there and versus suppressing it or telling

Julie Hilsen:

Mm-hmm.

Susan Hensley:

go immediately to gratitude or there's another way to look at this. And it was just too fast. And I wasn't allowing the

Julie Hilsen:

Right, we're gonna process those emotions one way or the other, whether we're projecting it on somebody or being short

Susan Hensley:

Exactly. Hmm

Julie Hilsen:

hypnotic state and and they talk about this they talk about you know they went back because they never dealt with this

Susan Hensley:

Yeah.

Julie Hilsen:

They avoided this. And so you're really feeding your soul's ascension by looking at the dark side of your feelings and

Susan Hensley:

No!

Julie Hilsen:

highest light and love to get through it but getting through it is your mission.

Susan Hensley:

Exactly. Not running from it. And one thing I've noticed is I'll go back and reflect sometimes my art journal. And I

Julie Hilsen:

So how many years have you been consecutively art journaling? I'm just curious how far you can go back.

Susan Hensley:

So I can go back, let's see, now eight years.

Julie Hilsen:

Wow, so you have them all lined up and do you date everyone at the, do you have dates on them?

Susan Hensley:

I do. One thing I notice is I will go back a couple times to different pages and sometimes I'll add a border, sometimes

Julie Hilsen:

Mm-hmm.

Susan Hensley:

with the art and the images, it gives me almost a better understanding than the writing, just because my writing when

Julie Hilsen:

than the writing.

Susan Hensley:

that picture or that image of that woman say jumping off a cliff or a long and winding path. I can, the image brings back

Julie Hilsen:

Yeah, well, I you know there is channeling you can channel through artwork so it could be your channeling your higher

Susan Hensley:

absolutely. Yeah, I firmly believe that. Yeah.

Julie Hilsen:

Yeah, that's beautiful. It's so beautiful. Thank you for sharing that. That's, I could see why or how there'd be patterns

Susan Hensley:

Yeah. Absolutely.

Julie Hilsen:

colors and the shapes and and you also say you can use stickers if you you can slap a sticker and do your design around the

Susan Hensley:

absolutely. Yeah. You can use, so I want so many things. I realize people like some guidance, but I try not to be

Julie Hilsen:

Yeah, what came to me when you're saying this is, you know, if you have a favorite dress, or like a nightie that doesn't

Susan Hensley:

Exactly.

Julie Hilsen:

and we've gotten so stark in our decorations.

Susan Hensley:

We have, no, they are, so I love the idea about a favorite piece of clothing. I mean, really, it's interesting,

Julie Hilsen:

Yes, It might, you might even be able to tap into past lifetimes. You know, maybe that, that color, like you said, that

Susan Hensley:

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Now I think that's a great word. Yeah, I find it can be a way to sort of get into flow and to

Julie Hilsen:

And yet the episode we recorded yesterday was about the woman who went across the country hugging and we were talking

Susan Hensley:

BOOM! Hmm Well, that is, that's lovely. Yeah, I always, one of the things I suggest in the book and in my trainings

Julie Hilsen:

Yes, I love it. And we're coming up on our time. So I want to I want to get to the nitty gritty. And then I want to also

Susan Hensley:

I'm sure. Hahaha

Julie Hilsen:

Do something just to make it ugly. Who cares?

Susan Hensley:

It's interesting that the TEDx and it's interesting what resonates in some of the comments I'm getting there. We're

Julie Hilsen:

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Susan Hensley:

freeing though when you actually turn it on its head and you're like I'm gonna spend three to ten minutes to create

Julie Hilsen:

Mm-hmm.

Susan Hensley:

mesmerized by it. It's really, it's really interesting. And yeah, people's reactions to that, that Ted talk

Julie Hilsen:

Yeah, right, right. You don't want to be bad at work on purpose. It reminds me of that movie Office Space.

Susan Hensley:

This is like the best kind of bad. It's that freedom to just see what comes up without that internal critic saying,

Julie Hilsen:

Yeah, well congratulations on that. That's amazing. ⁓ so I want to direct people to your website so they can learn about

Susan Hensley:

no, it's been a joy. It really has. Thank you. And my website's pretty simple. It's just susan-hensley.com. There's a free

Julie Hilsen:

Mm-hmm.

Susan Hensley:

comments or questions that come in, but it's been a really fun tool to go with my my I help people I do a lot of

Julie Hilsen:

Oh, it sure is.

Susan Hensley:

and help us envision a future that we can't yet even imagine is really great.

Julie Hilsen:

Right, because when you get down to it, our thoughts and our feelings create our future. So explore what could be and...

Susan Hensley:

Exactly.

Julie Hilsen:

every day's a chance to live the life of your dreams. So that's, you know, that's my tagline, go get it, you know, like,

Susan Hensley:

Absolutely. It is. It's freeing you. It can be both scary, because it's scary to be free, right? That's why sometimes an

Julie Hilsen:

Yes, and we're here to support everyone. So please, you know, lean on us if you're feeling scared or just try to jump

Susan Hensley:

YEAH

Julie Hilsen:

get into your heart. You know, that's why I do the intention before my podcast, because I'm freaking scared to go come

Susan Hensley:

Yeah, that's true. Thank No, that's wonderful. my pleasure. It's wonderful. And thank you again for having me. I

Julie Hilsen:

Thank you.