I have always thought of myself as a creative person. I like to do new things and think of new ways to approach things. I also have a little crafty side. I would love to be an artist but have this built in affliction where I don't consider it ART if I think I can do it. It is like I am somehow a snob against myself! Rob totally cracks up anytime we go to craft fairs around here. There is a particular artist who shows in our area who does work I KNOW I could duplicate easily. She does VERY well but I immediately think "that is not art, I could do it!" So I don't like it. Part of choosing Creativity as one of my virtues is to help bust down this little malady of mine.
When I chose the virtue of creativity, I immediately thought of my friend Jaye. I first met Jaye when I was 17 and she was 16. We were participating as AFS exchange students in Austria. My most vivid first memory of her and her creativity was when I visited her at her host family's house in Graz. When I walked into the room she shared with her host sisters I was totally blown away by all the cool stuff on her desk. She had more magic markers then I knew colors existing, and paints and pencils and papers of all shapes sizes and colors. I vaguely knew this stuff existed because we sent letters to each other and hers always came adorned with some surprising sticker, glitter, pop-up, something. I liked Jaye already but I think the site of this desk and all her supplies cemented our relationship for life. I wanted to know what cool interesting things she would do.
Fast forward to today and Jaye lives nearby, and although we almost never see each other I like knowing she and her creative lair are just a few minutes away. Today Jaye is an accomplished quilter among MANY other things and her award winning Quilts travel the globe to be shared and shown in Quilt shows. She also has a craft room in her house. This room is that desk from days gone by in Graz on steroids! Every nook holds some treasure. I am mesmerized every time I see it! This woman breaths creativity and I m lucky enough to know her!
And lucky readers of my blog, she has agreed to help shepherd me through the fields of creativity and will be joining us this week on our pursuit. She has even created a Bliss Initiative (Creative Prompt) for us and will be adding some of her creative flair during this and upcoming creativity weeks.
I think I have learned my lesson about having too many Bliss Initiatives and while I will provide several for inspiration and to provide you with options for playing I am not going to try and do everything this week! I will exercise my creativity in decorating and setting up my home as well as one or two of the following:
- Study - As usual I will be poking around the internet, and reading a book. This week I am not promising to read the entire book, particularly since the one I have chosen is meant to be helpful through out an entire year! I will be referring to "The Creativity Book: A Year's Worth of Inspiration and Guidance" by Eric Maisel. [An amusing side note; Eric has also written a book entitled "The Atheist's Way" so I have likely departed from my Christian book club offerings.]
- Creative Prompt - this is Jaye's Project. It is something she has been doing for quite a while and she has come up with a special creative prompt for us this week. This is from her Inspiration Page where she explains the idea of a Creative Prompt.
A creative prompt is given and we interpret that into a drawing, a doodle, a collage, a photo…any kind of creative work that suits you. We can design a quilt, make a sculpture from marble or Sculpey, mold something with clay, paint, or write anything we want in response to the prompt. There are no rules on medium or method. The idea is to develop a regular art practice.
Jaye created this special Creative Prompt for us. Check it out and play along. Feel free to explore what others have done in past weeks by going to the creative prompt list for 2009. If it furthers your creative goals consider trying out several or all of them!
- Field work - commit to being creative this week. When confronted with a challenge consider a different approach. Ask for help. Look for a new way to do the same things. Making the commitment to be creative can make all the difference. See what happens for you this week!
- Have some Fun - check out the fun creativity quizzes and puzzles at the Enchanted Mind or take up a new hobby. Getting your mind to think in a new way is creativity!
My 13 bliss virtues: joy, order, creativity, passion, whimsy, serenity, inquiry, community, romance, gratitude, moxie, humility, surprise
Thanks, Kath, for your kind words. The bio of our friendship was great! A lot of people like Danny Gregory's book, Creative License, to learn to give your yourself permission to be creative. I don't really have that problem, but the drawings in the book are really (if a bit intimidating!).
ReplyDeleteI encourage everyone to join the CPP to help with your creative endeavors. Everyone is very supportive.
Glad that Artquiltmaker.com is part of this project.