Flora Bowley on Creativity, Connection & the Creative Revolution Tour

August 20, 2026

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There are some conversations that stay with you because of what was said - and others because of how they made you feel.

This conversation with Flora Bowley was both.

Flora is an artist, author, retreat facilitator, and creative guide whose work has helped shape the intuitive art movement. For more than two decades, she has been helping people reconnect with creativity as a path to courage, curiosity, self-expression, and aliveness. Her work blends intuitive painting, movement, embodiment, personal growth, and community in a way that feels less about “making good art” and more about remembering who you are when you stop trying to get everything right.

And now she’s taking that work on the road.

This fall, Flora is launching the Creative Revolution Tour, a 7,500-mile journey across seven cities designed to bring people together in person to create, connect, move, and remember what it feels like to be fully alive. The tour includes six one-day immersive workshops and one five-day retreat, with stops in Portland, Denver, Minneapolis, Rhinebeck, Hot Springs, Santa Fe, and Santa Barbara.

Connect with Flora Bowley

Visit her website: florabowley.com
Creative Revolution Tour: florabowley.com/we-are-the-revolution/
Follow along on Instagram: @florabowley

P.S. You may notice a few audio imperfections in this episode - we chose to keep the conversation as-is because we had so much fun, and there was just too much goodness to leave out.

What I loved most about this conversation is that it wasn’t really just about art.

It was about creativity as a way of living.

About community and letting go of perfection.

And it was about what happens when we stop waiting to feel ready and simply begin.

“Creativity should feel less like pressure and more like a big exhale.”

That was the line that opened our conversation, and I think it says so much about Flora’s work.

So many of us have learned to associate creativity with performance.

Is it good enough?

Does it look right?

Am I talented enough?

Would anyone else like it?

And Flora’s approach is almost the opposite.

Creativity can simply be a place to breathe.

A place to move, experiment, and reconnect with yourself.

You do not have to identify as an artist to be creative. In fact, the Creative Revolution Tour was intentionally designed to welcome both experienced artists and people who may not consider themselves creative at all. Flora’s invitation is to set perfectionism down and reconnect with curiosity, expression, and connection.

One of the ideas that came up again and again in our conversation was this:

“Creativity isn’t a luxury. It’s a lifeline.”

That is also one of the core messages behind the tour.

And when you hear Flora explain what she means, it becomes much bigger than painting.

Creativity can be:

dancing in your kitchen
drawing without looking at the page
making something with your hands
baking bread
taking photos on a walk
writing
moving your body
singing
experimenting with color
making something simply because it feels good

The point is not the finished product.

The point is what happens to you while you are making it.

Why in-person connection matters right now

One of the biggest reasons Flora created the Creative Revolution Tour is because she believes we are craving real connection.

Not another Zoom call.

Actual human connection.

Flora has spent years leading retreats around the world, and she has seen what happens when people step outside their normal routines, enter a shared space, and create alongside one another.

As she shared in our conversation, people often leave her retreats with friendships that continue long after the event is over.

That became part of the inspiration for bringing this work closer to people.

Instead of asking everyone to travel across the world for a week-long retreat, Flora decided to come to them.

The tour is meant to create a space where people can put down their phones, move their bodies, make things with their hands, connect with others, and experience what she calls the magic of creativity and community together.

Flora said:

“I want everyone to walk in the room and feel a sense of, ‘I belong here.’”

That line really stayed with me.

Because belonging does not happen by accident.

Flora has spent years learning how to create spaces that feel safe, welcoming, thoughtful, and human.

She even shared that she had hand-painted hundreds of name tags for the tour.

That tiny detail says so much about her approach.

It is not just an event.

It is an experience.

What is the Creative Revolution Tour?

The Flora Bowley Creative Revolution Tour 2026 is a seven-city, 7,500-mile journey across the United States. Each one-day workshop includes a mix of movement, writing, playful art-making, embodiment, mixed media exploration, and connection in community. The Rhinebeck stop at the Omega Institute is a five-day retreat.

The current tour schedule includes:

Portland, Oregon - September 19
Denver, Colorado - September 27
Minneapolis, Minnesota - October 4
Rhinebeck, New York - October 11–16
Hot Springs, Arkansas - October 24
Santa Fe, New Mexico - October 30
Santa Barbara, California - November 7

Flora also shared that scholarships are available because the goal is to make the experience more accessible to people who feel called to attend.

And perhaps the most important thing to know?

You do not need art experience.

This is not about showing up already knowing how to paint.

It is about showing up willing to play.

What happens when we let go of perfection?

This was one of my favorite parts of our conversation because I could immediately relate to it.

I tend to be a rule follower.

Give me instructions, and I will follow them.

So when I experienced Flora’s teaching firsthand, one of the most freeing parts was being encouraged to do things differently:

Make a mess
Try a color you would not normally choose
Turn the painting upside down
Let the paint drip
Trade with someone next to you
Close your eyes
Use your hands
See what happens

Flora explained that sometimes when we are trying too hard to “execute” a painting, we squeeze the life out of it.

That same idea applies to so many parts of life and business.

When we grip too tightly, we can lose the very thing that made the idea exciting in the first place.

One of Flora’s reminders was essentially this:

When we release a little control, that is often when the most interesting and authentic things happen.

And isn’t that true beyond art?

Sometimes the breakthrough comes when we stop forcing the outcome.

How Flora reconnects with her own creativity

I especially wanted to ask Flora what she does when she feels creatively disconnected.

Because even someone who has built an entire career around creativity experiences that.

Her answer was refreshingly simple.

She starts.

Not after she feels inspired.

Not after the perfect idea arrives.

She starts first.

One of the things Flora loves to do is take a sketchbook out into the world and draw from life.

She also practices blind contour drawing, where you draw what you are looking at without looking down at the page.

The result? Not perfection!

And that is exactly the point.

She also shared a few other ways she reconnects with creativity:

going on inspiration walks and photographing colors, textures, shapes, and shadows
putting on music and simply beginning to paint
experimenting without trying to create a finished piece
using her non-dominant hand
pouring or dripping paint
closing her eyes and letting her body guide the movement of the pen
changing the goal from “make something good” to “play and see what happens”

One of my favorite things she said was:

“The inspiration comes from being in motion.”

That feels like such a useful reminder whether you are making art, starting a business, writing something, or trying to figure out your next move.

Action often creates clarity.

Creativity can be much bigger than art

We also talked about how narrow our definition of creativity can become.

We hear the word “artist” and immediately think:

Painter or musician.

And if we do not do those things, we decide creativity must not apply to us.

But creativity can show up in so many different forms.

It can be how you cook, style a space, how you make something from nothing.

Flora described creativity as part of being human - something people have always used to connect with themselves, one another, and something bigger than themselves.

And I think that is such an important reframing.

You may not need to “become more creative.”

You may just need to remember that you already are.

The business behind Flora Bowley’s creative work

Because Hey Julie Simon is a podcast about the women behind the businesses, I also wanted to talk with Flora about how this creative life became a sustainable business.

And I loved how practical her answer was.

She did not quit everything overnight and announce that she would become a full-time artist.

She slowly created room for the work.

Early in her career, Flora built a simple formula around earning enough money in fewer hours so she could protect time for painting.

She worked as a waitress, became a massage therapist, and taught yoga.

Over time, as painting began generating more income, she slowly let those other jobs go.

That gradual transition gave her art time to become stronger before it also had to support her financially.

There is such a valuable business lesson in that.

You do not always have to leap.

Sometimes you can build the bridge while you are still standing on solid ground.

Flora also made an important point for creative entrepreneurs: turning your creative work into a commercial product too early can sometimes add pressure before you have found your voice.

Her advice was to give yourself space to develop the work first.

Then, if people want to buy it, great.

The business lesson that may matter most: be more of yourself

When I asked Flora what advice she would give someone starting something of their own, her answer came back to authenticity.

Over the years, her interests have included painting, bodywork, yoga, music, movement, personal growth, healing, connection, and teaching.

At first, those things may not have looked like one business.

Eventually, they became exactly that.

Her retreats and programs became powerful because they were not copied from someone else’s formula.

They were a collection of the things Flora genuinely cared about.

That is what made them different.

Her advice was essentially:

Look at the parts of yourself that may not seem connected yet.

Your unique business may live in the overlap.

I love that.

Because sometimes the thing that feels “too random” about you is actually the thing that makes your work impossible to duplicate.

Let your business evolve with you

Flora also talked about something every longtime business owner eventually has to face:

You change.

Which means your work may need to change too.

She does not want to create the exact same thing forever simply because it worked once.

She wants to stay connected to what feels alive now.

The Creative Revolution Tour is a great example of that.

It is a new expression of work she has been doing for decades.

Same values, new container.

That is such an important reminder for anyone building something for the long haul.

You are allowed to evolve, change your mind, try something new.

You are allowed to turn the painting upside down.

A few of my favorite takeaways from this conversation

If you are building something creative - or simply trying to reconnect with yourself - these are the ideas I hope you carry with you:

You do not need to feel inspired before you begin.
Creativity can be a practice, not a performance.
Perfectionism often loosens when we give ourselves permission to play.
Connection can be part of the creative process.
You do not have to call yourself an artist to create.
The things that make you different may be exactly what make your work valuable.
You can build a business slowly and intentionally.
Your work is allowed to evolve as you do.
Sometimes the next step is simply to put something in motion.

About Flora Bowley

Flora Bowley is an artist, author, retreat facilitator, and creative guide known for her work in intuitive painting and creative exploration. She is the author of four books - Brave Intuitive Painting, Creative Revolution, Fresh Paint, and The Art of Aliveness - and the founder of FREE FLO, her global creative community.

Her work integrates intuitive painting, movement, embodiment, breathwork, personal growth, and community to help people reconnect with their creativity and themselves.

You can learn more about Flora, her work, and the Creative Revolution Tour at florabowley.com.

Listen to this episode of Hey Julie Simon

If you have been feeling creatively stuck, disconnected from yourself, or like you are waiting for some magical wave of inspiration before you begin, I hope this conversation gives you permission to start smaller.