Woolgathering: A creative practice
“And I wandered among them, through thistle and thorn, with no task more exceptional than to rescue a fleeting thought, as a tuft of wool, from the comb of the wind.”
Photo by Simone Schot on Unsplash
Hello, friend! I’m glad you’ve wandered here. I have also found myself wandering and gathering and as an artist, I have come to understand how valuable those things are to the creative process. I truly believe that we all have the capacity and the innate gift for creativity. And I often wish that was something that was valued and recognized in each of us.
I am a voracious reader, and back in June of 2025, I read Woolgathering by Patti Smith. At the time, I really loved the whimsical and poetic way she described her childhood wanderings and dreamings, and it has stuck with me ever since.
wool·gath·er·ing
the act of gathering loose tufts of wool caught on shrubs and fences from passing sheep
indulgence in aimless thought or dreamy imagining
“I was not at all sure what a woolgatherer was but it sounded a worthy calling and seemed a good job for me.”
This act of woolgathering is something I am taking into my practice of making art. For me, it means setting aside time for frivolity, for joy, for fun! But, let’s back up a bit to understand the origin of the term “woolgathering” and why I think it is so useful as a framework for creativity.
The literal meaning of woolgathering refers to something people did and still do today: gather bits of wool left behind by sheep on hedgerows and fences. Overtime this term evolved to mean something quite different, implying an aimless indulgence in fantasy or daydreams. Perhaps it appeared to those who did not engage in the work of gathering wool tufts, that it seemed like a fruitless and unproductive endeavor. However, if one gathers enough small tufts of wool, then eventually you'll have enough to knit a sweater. In other words you’ll have enough raw material to make something.
Woolgathering as a concept feels like a beautiful metaphor for the creative process. As creative beings, the "wool" we gather are the little bits of inspiration; the things that spark joy that we like or find interesting just because. There doesn’t need to be a reason and it may look like nonsense to those that don’t understand. But to me woolgathering is not foolish or purposeless. It is the most purposeful and mindful thing you can do to crack open your creativity.
I also find the term “woolgathering” so evocative because for me it describes this feeling I have right before an idea comes into focus. It’s kind of a woolliness and fuzziness in my brain. It’s like I’ve gathered all these inputs and they are floating around in there amorphously, and then either time or the next right sensory input felts these bits of wool into a recognizable shape. Like clouds shifting with the wind to form a castle in the sky or a winged horse.
Paying attention to the world and the things that spark joy, make us feel, and make us wonder allows us to become filters. We gather and process so we can then move with intention to create. This does not mean we know what the outcome will be at the start. It's about staying open and staying curious, and most importantly being willing to play.
So, what are you curious about? What excites you? What do you find fun, beautiful, special, interesting, silly, whimsical, evocative, sad, wondrous, etc? Whatever the answers to those questions are, those are things that are worth making time for because they fill your cup. There is meaning and purpose in them and no one but you gets to say what that is. That’s your creativity.