Finding Space - my 2026 Word of the Year

As I write this blog post it's the Spring Equinox 2026.

For a while, I have thought of this as a much more apt beginning of the year than Jan 1st.

For me, today is MY New Year’s Day.

And this is the reason I have waited until now to choose and reveal my Word of the Year

Space.

Over the past few years, I’ve built, explored, stretched, and grown in so many ways. My work, my creativity, my ideas, everything feels as it it has all expanded and bloomed.

Somewhere along the way, I began to feel that subtle sense of everything being just a little too full. Too scheduled. Too defined. Too known. This is the reason I changed direction last year and chose two words for the season Restore and Replenish, towards the end of 2025. These two little words have served me very well and guided me into a much more restful autumn and winter.

In early 2026 Space came into awareness. I had been mulling this word over for a while. It became even more apparent that this is just what I needed and I gave myself the gift of space as I took off to Cornwall for my second solo art retreat.

This gave me valuable time to think about how I can embed or integrate Space into all areas of life. How can I make space in my days, my life, my inner world, my social life, my head? What feels too full? Where am I craving space?

I've already had a few thoughts and ideas and have already started to implement some of them. Let me share them with you:

1. Physical & Environmental Space

• Decluttering surroundings: Letting go of unnecessary things in my home (books and clothes), studio (old work and materials I no longer use) creates room for clarity and flow.

• Keeping my studio tidy: always making sure when I leave, I am thinking of future me and how nice it will be to come back to a tidy space.

• Spending time in nature: Open landscapes, rivers, forests, or gardens give us a sense of expansiveness. Wild swimming or quiet walks are especially powerful for me.

2. Personal & emotional space

• Boundaries: Protecting my energy by learning to say “no” to things that drain me, and “yes” to things that honour my creative and personal growth.This is a constant challenge. I am determined to keep my diary clutter free this year. Keep me accountable, please!

• Pause and reflect: By building intentional space into my daily schedule. For me this looks like space to breathe, think, and just be, for example, 50 long slow breaths while sitting still.

• Emotional processing: Allowing feelings to arise without rushing to resolve them and giving myself space to feel them fully with self-compassion. This includes my work as an art therapist which can be emotionally demanding. I need to practice more self-compassion.

3. Creative Space

• Room to experiment: I recently gave myself the gift of space on my art retreat (I will write about this soon). Funnily enough I ended up exploring 'spaces between things' as I became fascinated with pebbles on the beach. Following an abstract landscape course at Newlyn School of Art, I want to see if I can explore ways to leave space in my art.

• Ideas can breathe: I want to avoid overloading myself with tasks and to-do lists which will hopefully give my brain the space to incubate my ideas.

• Embracing slow creation: This one is going to be a challenge! Instead of pushing for volume or speed, I'm going to try to focus on space in my process.

4. Space as inner & spiritual

• Mental clarity: I've started to begin the day by setting the alarm half an hour earlier and will use this time to meditate, breathe or journal.

• Gentle rituals: My weekly yoga class.

I would love to know what your Word of the Year is this year?

Please leave me comment below and let me know.