Using Creativity To Make A Difference...

Sometimes, life events and disasters happen that make us feel completely overwhelmed. It is much easier, we tell ourselves, to hide from reality than to face something seemingly hopeless face on.

But Creativity whispers to our hearts that anything is possible, as long as we try.

Illustrator Kelly Light has found an incredibly Creative way to deal with the Gulf Oil DIsaster.  Artists from all over the world are donating tiny original paintings, drawings or digital prints to be sold to anyone who makes a $10.00 donation to two organizations helping to tackle this disaster. "Swan Song" (shown above) and "What Greed Can Do" (below) are two of the images that I will be sending in to Kelly for this cause.

INHALE:  Never give up hope.  Something beautiful or creative can come from almost any disaster or tragedy if we keep looking for possibilities.  Just look at the infinite variety of how different artists of all ages and walks of life have felt moved to contribute.  It may almost take your breath away!

EXHALE:  If you can draw, paint or doodle, consider creating a piece of artwork for this worthy cause.  If you prefer to appreciate art rather than create it yourself, browse through this blog and keep an eye out for an image that appeals to you.  Follow the blog, spread the word and make a difference.  The card I bought arrived in the mail a few days ago and now graces the wall of my office.  Remember that you can always use your Creativity to make the world a better and more beautiful place.

Creativity in Theatre...

Tonight, our family went to see the production of CATS at Erin’s high school, Harrison Trimble .  For the past few weeks, Erin and I have helped paint two young men in their leotards and part of the set.  We’ve had glimpses of the many hands that go into such a big production behind the scenes, but tonight, we got to see everything come together for the Friday night show.

I was blown away!

From the amazing set to the fabulous choreography put together by one of the Grade 12 students for the entire show, I felt a warm glow of pride swell to a tidal wave of astonishment as the night unfolded.

Kids that I have seen in a classroom setting as a substitute teacher astounded me with their acting, singing and dancing prowess on the stage.  If I found it incredible to see them shine, how much more pride and wonder did their regular teachers feel, especially those who have known these students since they were the age Erin is now in Grade 9?

One of the most amazing thing about turning Creativity loose among young people is that they haven’t lost their ability to dream big, to shoot for the stars and to take on something that a group of adults might think was impossible.

Thank you, all of you CATS, for reminding me how much fun it is to watch a dream take flight!

INHALE:  What have you wanted to be a part of but held yourself back?  What dream have you tucked away on a shelf as impossible or unattainable?  In a world that places so much emphasis on “all or nothing”, perhaps we need to learn how to take those forgotten dreams down, dust them off a bit and see if there isn’t a way to turn them loose on a world that could use more wonder in it...

EXHALE:  Make plans to put one of those dreams into action by taking baby steps.  If you love to sing, is there a choir or group that you could get involved with?  If you dreamed of being an artist, is there an evening course that you could dabble in rather than jumping right to a gallery show?  This is the time of year when brochures come out for summer camps and programs, so start taking a look at the possibilities and remember that when you shoot for the stars, you might just land on the moon.

Tonight it was a Jellicle moon. Bravo cast and crew at HTHS!!

Creativity in Business...

When I first began this adventure just over 6 months ago, I had visions of setting out a clear pattern to each day, imposing my Creativity on the world around me.  Instead of being the teacher, I became the student.  Creativity gently and persistently reminded me that I learned best when I kept myself open to possibilities, looked for opportunities instead of answers and just kept walking this journey to see where it would lead me.

Right after my last post, I received a call from an ad agency here in town who wanted to meet with me to look over my portfolio and quote on a job for a possible colouring book for one of their clients.  I stayed up printing things out, reorganizing my portfolio and booked the day off from supply teaching so that I could meet with them first thing in the morning.

Once I arrived at the agency, I discovered that most of the staff was French, so I just switched languages and did the rest of the interview “en français”.  To my slight disappointment, they’d received permission to use the Nova Scotia version of the colouring book and just needed me to redraw some items that were different between our two provinces on 4 inner pages and the cover.  It would have been easy to match the existing style of the book, but it wouldn’t have been something I would have wanted to show off.

Then the little voice of Creativity whispered in my ear as the person interviewing me went off to make me photocopies.  When she returned, I told her that I would be happy to quote on the 5 pages needed, but that for $200, I would also offer to redraw all of the pages and make it something unique to our province.  

I returned home and quickly spent the next hour redrawing one of the sample pages in my own style, scanned it in and sent it off to the agency so that she could submit it to their client along with the quote.

Today, I found out that I not only got the job, but they will get me to draw the whole book and I meet with them on Monday.

It pays to listen to that little whisper and not ignore it. It may have taken me half a year into this adventure, but I am learning.  Oh Boy... am I learning!  They’ve also asked me to quote on 2 other jobs...

INHALE:  Life has cycles and opportunities.  This past week has been a reminder of how much we need to respect that cycle instead of just expecting to impose our will on the world around us so that every day proceeds according to some inner plan.  The unexpected Snow Day yesterday was another reminder that plans sometimes have to change.  Substitute teaching at a new school today where I ended up jumping in to help a student teacher with her lesson instead of just sitting back and twiddling my thumbs was a reminder that there can be Creativity in unexpected opportunities.  The students were learning about travel vocabulary in French at a very basic level, so I drew a huge suitcase on the white board and asked them what they would take on a trip.  If they didn’t know the word in French, they had to look it up in the dictionary before I would draw it in.

EXHALE:  What possibilities and opportunities might have you overlooked in the past few days because they didn’t fit in to the little plan or template that you were carrying around in your head?  When our lives become too scheduled, then we miss out on unexpected moments and Creative opportunities.  So many business experts proclaim that when you find your passion, it can also become a business or a way to bring income into your life.  While I know that when a hobby become a source of income, it does take on a more businesslike edge to it and lose some of the fun, there is also something very powerful about loving what you do.

Never lose sight of opportunities to be Creative at play and at work.

Creativity In How We Share Our Faith...

I wish I’d brought my camera to church today!! 

It was a snowy Sunday and our Annual Meeting right after church, so some members of our congregation stayed home today, but we began a new unit in our BLAST rotation (Bible Learning Adventure STations) downstairs for the kids during church.

After they chose whether to put their offering in the “Helping Here At Home” or “Helping Around the World” boxes, we sat in a circle and introduced the passages from Matthew and Mark where Jesus said “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” 

We talked about what it would be like to leave everything you know behind and start over.

We talked about what it must have been like for the people of Haiti who had to race from their homes into the streets.  My best friend and her son described what it was like to run from their house while it was burning to the ground and starting over from scratch.

Then, we went into the kitchen and made huge fish shaped pizzas.  We spread sauce on flat bread that had been cut in the shapes of fish, sprinkles the cheese on our fish, used pepperoni to make scales on 3 out of the 4 fish and used sliced black olives for the eyes.

Not only was it a creative way to share the stories of our faith... it was DELICIOUS!

INHALE:  How do you pass on your faith to those around you, especially the next generation.  However you celebrate what you believe and where you draw strength from, fewer people are attending services in many different faiths around the world.  Worship is becoming an increasingly personal and private thing for many people, yet we cannot ignore the importance of gathering together to celebrate that there IS more to life than just the number of our days.

EXHALE: This week, as the world focusses on Valentine’s Day and LOVE, remember to find time for yourself as well.  How can you be Creative in celebrating what you believe?  Can you set up a space for yourself in which to meditate or pray? Can you hunt for books, prayers or music that inspires you?  Can you share your faith journey’s story with someone who has never heard the adventure before? Can you write a prayer of love for a planet that needs it?  Can you celebrate the blessings that you have by sharing your time and talents with others?  Be Creative as you follow in the footsteps of the One who sculpted the Universe.

Passing Creativity On...

Yes... I did break down and buy some new wool in Geneva!

I took today “off” from teaching since Erin’s exam had been rescheduled to this morning after Friday’s snowstorm.  It was great to be in my own home, download photos and finally get to show off the results of knitting in airports.

Here are the socks I’d been meaning to finish for ages.  Getting stuck for ages in airports is a wonderful incentive, great conversation starter and even had one “lapsed knitter” thinking about checking out some of the new yarns...

I also found the circular needles for this project easy to pack.  Here is a peek at the last of several baby blankets I’ve been working  on for staff members at schools I work in who are expecting babies soon.  It is basically just a larger version of my favourite dishcloth patterns but using baby yarn instead.  It was great to work on when the kids were watching a video or while I was talking to people.

When we see someone being Creative, it can inspire us to try something ourselves.  This is how so many people learned crafts and other creative trades over the years, by watching someone else practice in front of them.

I bought a craft book about sewing for Bethany as a Christmas present that has fascinated her for weeks.  While I was away, she started one of the projects with her grandmother, but yesterday showed me a picture of some felt hearts and asked if I could help her make one.

Ah the memories!  My mom had a huge stash of felt and used to let us play with the scraps to sew into all kinds of shapes.  I took Bethany down to my felt stash and we pulled out a few colours that she liked and cut out the shapes together.  Step by step, I walked her through things as I knit beside her on the couch.  As I showed her how to do the blanket stitch about the outside edge, I had a sudden flashback to my own childhood and all of the times my mother or grandmother had shown me how to do something.

Here’s to those who help to pass Creativity on!

INHALE: The wonderful thing about the Internet is that you can find all kinds of helpful clips out there on YouTube or other websites to help you learn how to do something, but there is still something unique about sitting down with another person, especially someone more skilled in an area that you want to improve in, and learning from them.  Being shown how to do something is a very powerful way of learning that stays with us in a different way from book knowledge.  To “learn by doing” makes a skill or Creative act your own.

EXHALE: There are many skills that are becoming “lost arts” these days.  So many children don’t know how to sew a button on when it falls off clothing, sand or carve a piece of wood into a shape, cook a meal from scratch, knit, nail, crochet, saw, fix or sew.  What used to be learned from family or through earning badges is being replaced by gaming and computer skills.  There needs to be room for both in our lives.  What skills do you have, what Creative passions can you share with someone from a younger generation?  If you don’t have anyone to share with right now, think back to some of the earliest crafts you enjoyed and revisit them.  Get out some felt or popsicle sticks and just see what you can put together as you rediscover that sense of Creative Play from your childhood.

Creativity in Taste...

I am sitting in a home that is not my own, having finally convinced my niece and nephew to settle down and go to sleep. Today, I wrestled with DVDs and TVs that were not familiar to me, European washing machines to help with laundry and ovens to try to bake cookies with nephew. Everything feels slightly different and yet the same.

What defines the familiar in sensations, sights and tastes that make us say “HOME”? Is it the smell of a favourite recipe baking that takes us back to our childhood, the feel of a certain pillow, blanket or toy, the sight of certain stars to anchor us in space?


Tonight is both a celebration and a shout-out to one person’s creativity as I sip a glass of my favourite wine in the world... one that can only be purchased in Provence near where my brother and sister-in-law have a house and from where they were able to buy bottles to keep here in Geneva.


“à mon père” (accents probably disappeared) means “To My Father” in French. This full-bodied red wine is produced in the Cotes du Ventoux region of France by a son who took over his father’s vineyards and began experimenting with artisanal wines. This one is actually made from a type of grape that was going extinct and was dedicated to his father and the generations that made wine before him. It is an earthy, rich wine that takes me back to sun drenched valleys, sitting by a pool looking down into a French valley and spending time with family. To true craftsmanship and Creativity, I lift my glass. Tears flowed as I sipped this, thinking of my own father, missing my husband who also thinks this is one of the tastiest wines on our planet (and he usually sticks to beer) and celebrating how one person’s creativity in one area can create something to savour.


SCEA Château Blanc, propriétaire récoltant* 84220 Roussillon, France * Tel 04 90 05 64 56


Cheers!

INHALE Today’s post is dedicated to those who pour their Creativity into tastes that we enjoy. In a world where the emphasis is on fast and cheap or convenient, we need to speak up and reclaim the idea that tastes can nourish our souls as well as our bodies. Think of the favourite dishes from your childhood that make you feel loved, the smells and tastes that recreate a holiday you enjoyed or food that is so beautifully crafted that it becomes an experience on more than one level. Creativity can leap out to us in so many ways if we just watch for it or go looking.

EXHALE Think about a food or taste that evokes a Creative response in you. How could you bring a little bit of that into your life this week? When so much of society seems to place an emphasis on QUANTITY rather than Quality, it is important to remember that feeding our eyes and souls is as important as filling our bellies, especially when so many people in our world go hungry every day.

Traveling Creatively...

I am all packed and ready to get on a variety of planes tomorrow to head from Moncton, New Brunswick to Geneva, Switzerland.  “Aunty Dragon” is needed to look after my niece and nephew for a week while by brother and sister-in-law are away on business, so between the two families, we are getting me there on a combination of airline points.

I will be waiting in one airport for almost 7 hours, so I have already planned how to travel creatively.

My small carryon bag has my iPod touch, my sketchbook, my journal, my old gameboy colour with Pokemon Blue in it (nostalgia gaming) and a pair of socks that I have been meaning to finish for a while now but got distracted by other projects.

My suitcase is full of craft supplies to do with my wonderful dragonlets over there, graph paper to chart a magazine design in cross stitch that I will need to stitch when I get home, two big sketchbooks, watercolour pencils, a manuscript to read over and a knitting project that I have been hoarding for quite some time now.

Now I just need to find enough hours in each day!

INHALE:  Traveling isn’t always easy, even though we can now fly around the globe in shorter times than ever before.  There can be waits, delays, turbulence and unplanned events.  Learning how to travel creatively can go a long way towards reducing stress.  Having things to do and read can make the hours go much more quickly.  I love writing long journal entries or working on projects while sitting in an airport because I so seldom get that time to just focus on one task.  Maybe I should learn how to carry some of that traveling creativity back over into my everyday life!

EXHALE:  Traveling teaches us a lot about ourselves and the incredible world around us.  Drop by a travel agency and pick out brochures that intrigue you.  Clip out photographs from magazines, the internet or articles in magazines that show places where you’d love to visit.  Make a list of your top ten destinations in the world and then start saving or planning for a trip somewhere. We have our coin jar ready for our next big family trip and you can bet that our children keep an eye on how often we add to it!  When we take it to the bank and add to the trip account, they learn that dreams can come true bit by bit if you just plan for it!

In Awe...

Every now and then, a movie comes along that makes you believe in something beyond your own reality.  The first experience I had with that was, as a child, seeing the original Star Wars movie in 1977.  I left the theater in awe and desperately wanting a lightsabre of my own!

There have been other movies where I walked out feeling that same incredible disorientation of not returning to my own reality right away... Lord of the Rings , Narnia , Terminator , the Passion of Christ  , some of the Star Trek movies and, of course, Titanic .

Seeing Avatar  today was even more profound.  I truly felt as if I had set foot on Pandora and experienced another culture, another way of looking at the world... one that was far more in harmony with their planet than ours.

This was not just a movie... it was an EPIC... and I believed!

To James Cameron , I tip my hat for the 3rd time in my life.  This movie not only pushed the boundaries of what has been possible up until now, it reminded me and scores of movie goers that the STORY matters.  Just as he used a make-believe love story to bring home the tragedy of the Titanic’s sinking in a way that moved people to the core, this time he has crafted a story of how love can trancend even species and how the greedy, human “consumer” way of putting profit above all else is NOT the best for any species or any planet.  If there is a world like Pandora out there, I hope that humans never discover it!

Like J.K Rowling , Stephenie Meyer , George Lucas , C.S. Lewis , Tolkein or any great storyteller, James Cameron has overseen something truly unique and original.  It is SO powerful when someone puts their creativity out there for the world to enjoy... it changes us on a level that lingers with us for the rest of our lives.

To the many, many talented people who worked on creating this movie to bring it to life, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  You have reminded me of why I always wanted to draw pictures or tell stories.  It is like holding a rainbow or lightning in your hand when you see the finished project... it takes your breath away and just leaves you saying...

“WOW!”

INHALE:  I still feel out of breath from today’s experience.  When I close my eyes, I can see some of the best scenes play out against my eyelids.  I have already downloaded James Horner’s incredible soundtrack to my iPod and I can’t wait to see the film again with Nick. He had to go back to work today, but he will be my excuse to see it again at least one more time on the big screen.

EXHALE: The next time you have an idea that you are afraid to bring to life, remember that the first step in any magic, in any change, in anything becoming possible, is that you must say YES to the idea.  Then you must do all of the hard workto bring that idea to life!  Don’t be afraid of the work involved... of the sweat... of the way it will make you feel vulnerable.  You may be the only one that can bring a certain vision to life for the world to enjoy.  What dreams, stories, images have been hiding inside you, longing to be born but held prisoner by your own fears?  Writing a few of them down may be the first step in saying YES to something incredible.

Savouring Creativity and Snowstorms...

It was a WILD weekend of snow and rain and wind and flickering power and then more snow.  It is only just ending, but instead of worrying, we took it all in stride and stayed indoors.

We played games as a family, took the tree down, tidied rooms in preparation for getting back to a routine this week, made our turkey carcass into soup and I wrote up some thank you cards to the many people who helped my family while I was away at my father’s funeral.

A New Year stretches before us full of creative possibilities, but we have to look for them, embrace them and take advantage of even the smallest moments.

I also have to learn not to be such a perfectionist!  Bethany’s scarf is done and I’ll take a picture of it tomorrow as soon as my camera recharges fully.  I took it along to New Year’s Eve celebrations at a friend’s house and left it in sleep mode rather than off, so it ran down.

Erin’s scarf is on it’s 3rd try because I was trying to find a pattern for her red wool that was different from her sister’s, but Yarn Harlot’s single row scarf  has probably ruined me for most other scarf patterns. Sigh!  Finally, Erin gave me this look tonight that said “Will you just make up your mind and knit something!  School goes back on Wednesday and there is WAY too much snow out there now not to have a funky scarf!” (or at least that’s what I interpreted the look to say... it was during one of the intense battle scenes of the 3rd Lord of the Rings movie, so I can’t be sure I interpreted teenager glare right!

Mother Nature throws us all some challenges now and then.  I must admit that even though Winter can last a bit too long sometimes in my part of the world, I love the fact that snowstorms can force us to just take a break from the business of life and stay in one place.  Unlike tornadoes, droughts, hurricanes or mudslides, they aren’t that life threatening... just cold.  Maybe we need to impose that kind of escapes for ourselves even when it isn’t due to a storm.

INHALE:  I am sure that most of us now have a few new calendars hanging up in the house.  I sat down to fill our Master calendar in the kitchen with all the appointments that have been piling up on bits of paper until I hung the new one and found myself getting very tense.  So I got up and went looking for the beautiful gift my sister sent me, the Pathways to Peace calendar from Ministry of the Arts .  Instead of places to write things, there are suggestions for each day filling up the squares.  It is going to hang in my bedroom so that each day, I can look at the beautiful artwork and take those inspirational challenges or quotes with me into the day.

EXHALE:  Find a colour of pen that you like and take a look at the month that stretches now before you.  Where can you carve out some time for yourself? Time to spend with someone special? Time to indulge in a creative pastime that always seems to fall to the wayside because of chores and commitments.  THIS is the year when you need to plan moments for yourself, even 15 minutes at a time.  THIS is the year to embrace those opportunities, no matter how fleeting, whenever they present themselves. Go ahead and mark out your time now before the month fills up too quickly.  You will feel SO much better for it.  I know that I do!

Creativity in Chaos and Quiet..

It’s been a busy time in our household.  I am now substitute teaching 3 to 5 days a week until Christmas because of the 3 day a week position and other days that had been booked way ahead that I’d accepted.  It is also volleyball season, so our whole family jumped in the van right after school on Friday and drove up to Bathurst , just over 2 hours away, to stay overnight before yesterday’s huge tournament.  Erin’s team played an exhausting 13 games in the 9 hours of the tournament (winning 9 and loosing 4) going right down to a 15 point tiebreaker for 3rd place when both teams were literally falling down with exhaustion.  Along the way they overcame some real challenges, played some truly beautiful volleyball and gave all the parents a lot to cheer for.  I manages to knit scarves without too many changes in tension... though the metal needles got a little slippery when my palms got sweaty!  I discovered that creating amid chaos and noise not only helps keep me calm, it gives me something to show for all those hours on the court side.

My mom was at a retreat all day yesterday entitled Making Way for Advent  where she got to think, create and celebrate fellowship in far less noise.  It was an event that I really wanted to attend, but I’d already missed 2 weekends of tournaments while teaching in Toronto and being at the cross stitch retreat a few weekends ago.

Don’t misunderstand.  There is nothing wrong with any parent or person putting themselves first now and then to follow their dreams, conduct business or indulge in something they really need.  Being a parent or being in a relationship with a partner (or both) means that you have to find the balance between the needs of self and the needs of the other(s). It means finding ways of being Creative whether you are in chaos or quiet.  It means knowing that there can be a certain peace or satisfaction found in almost any moment of our lives if we start looking for them.

Just make your choices and go with them instead of looking over your shoulder or wondering what could have been.

Inhaling Creativity is teaching me to live in each moment more fully.

INHALE:  I think that we need both Chaos and Quiet in which to create... just not at the same time.  Anyone who has ever spent time at an event where people are being Creative knows that people with energy can get a little noisy.  That energy can pump us up and push us on to new heights of inspiration and exhilaration when we understand that almost anything is possible.  Quiet moments on the other hand, allow us to get in touch with our inner selves, recharge our batteries, sort through our supplies, organize our thoughts or creating spaces and dreams of next projects or possibilities.  Nature reminds us all the time that both stages are part of the circle.  As the Fall meanders slowly into Winter here and prepares for a sleep, I know that on the other side of the world, the frenzy of Spring is leading into the warmth of summer.

EXHALE:  Many of us prefer one part of this cycle more than the other, even though both are necessary.  Maybe I’ve been studying too many plant life cycles for the Biology class I am supervising with the diploid(2N) and haploid (N) stages of things, but it really rings true for me.  Divide a page in your book in half and label the two sections QUIET and CHAOS.  In each area, write down, doodle, collage or identify the things you like about each stage.  What Creative acts do you like to do in chaos with others or what creative things do you like to do that involve chaos?  What do you enjoy about having quiet time in which to create?  Do some creative things lend themselves to being done in both quiet and chaos?  Like discovering that you can actually enjoy using a colour you didn’t think you liked, you may find that there are quiet a few things about being Creative in Chaos or Quiet that you didn’t expect you enjoyed as much as you do!

Improvisational Creativity...

I'm home from a wonderful weekend of fellowship and cross stitch, but I did learn that sometimes, you have to improvise your creativity when you don't have all the pieces you need.

I’d fully intended to give away the Perforated Paper Castle ornament that I taught in Toronto, but the more people asked to see it and exclaimed over it, the more I decided it needed to stay on MY tree.  Stitchers will be able to get that pattern after December 1st on PatternsOnline.com , so hang in there!  Luckily, Jeannie had brought along some colours of perforated paper for me to play with.  Unfortunately, after a full day of teaching, picking up Bethany from volleyball practice, Nick from school and then rushing to get to retreat in bad weather, I forgot the sheets of blank graph paper that I usually bring along with me...

So I made my own.

Next year, I will remember to put that on my packing list, slow down and check what I have before I race out the door or end up bringing an entire ream of graph paper along just so I don't have to make grids like this again. At least I know I can make one without a computer!

FIrst, I sketched out the letters for JOY and stitched them in overdyed threads on the white paper.  Then, I flipped the paper over, borrowed a pencil from Mom and began to figure out how to create a geometric snowflake shape around the word.

I am not the most math gifted person.  There was much erasing and slightly colourful language used when I realized that I couldn't get things to work out PERFECTLY... but I took my own posts about perfection to heart.  So what if I had to fudge things a tiny bit near the end... I know where the glitch is, but I'm not going to point it out!   Eventually,  the snowflake shape was ready for me to cut out.  I LOVE perforated paper!!!

When I flipped the design to the right side, I discovered that one section had a bit too much white space for my liking, so I added a holly button from the shop.  I also thought it might be nice to add some braid and beads to catch the lights from the tree.

Then I made my own cording for the top then hung it on the tree for the ornament exchange!!

INHALE:  If we wait for the perfect moment when we have all our supplies around us and everything is just right, then we will have far less moments in which to be creative.  This is what I was trying to find more of during my year long adventure... ways of just jumping into the deep end and mucking about to see what I could come up with.  No, I didn't have everything I needed or hoped to have with me, but the Creativity didn't need them.  It just needed me to be willing to try and work with what I had on hand.  How many missed moments go by because we tell ourselves "Wait, I'm not ready!!" ??

EXHALE: Find another crafter that you trust.  Decide to try this challenge together and see what happens.  Set a date when the two of you can get together for some uninterrupted creativity time.  Mark it on the calendar and then get ready with this homework before hand.  Each of you should choose a variety of interesting craft items or items related to the hobby you both enjoy.  Limit it to less than 10.  Put the items in a bag that you cannot see through.  When you get together, exchange bags, settle down and see what each of you can create with these mystery items within an agreed upon time limit.  It doesn't have to be perfect or beautiful or even something you keep.  You just have to be wiling to try... and laugh... and enjoy each other's company while you see where your Creativity takes you.  I can't wait to see what some of you come up with!

Creative Retreating...

I am getting excited!  Despite the forecast calling for a bit of snow overnight, I am mostly packed for the cross stitch retreat up at Camp Wildwood this weekend.  I can’t wait to sneak off with my Mom for a weekend of roughing it and also getting away from it all.

Don’t worry if you don’t hear from me. My laptop is staying behind but the camera is coming.

You see, for most of my cross stitch designing career, this is the weekend that I get to go away and NOT be a designer.  Ok... you can’t really shut that off, but I get to go stitch OTHER people’s designs, hang with stitchers who really know me or just PLAY to invent a one of a kind ornament for the exchange.  I can nap if I want to, go for a walk if I want to, journal and sketch or just sit and stitch for ages with some of the nicest people on this planet in a beautiful main lodge while someone else cooks all my meals.

Can you see why I am getting excited?

No phone

No kids

No husband

No laundry

No computer

Ahhhhhhh!

I’ve packed WAY more projects than I will have time to get to and I always get a bit cold because I pull my mattress down onto the floor. At 6’5” in my bare feet, WAY too much of me hangs over the edge on their bunk beds!

Wheee! 24 hours from now, I will be away from it all for the weekend.  I can’t wait!

INHALE:  Retreats are great if you can find one to attend.  It can be hard to put yourself first and leave other responsibilities behind, but we usually come back from such a retreat feeling SO recharged and reinspired. Don’t be afraid to be a little selfish now and then.  If you always put yourself last and do for others, you forget to take care of the person in whose skin you actually live!  Love yourself enough to make time for yourself!

EXHALE:  Maybe you can’t take part in a retreat, but you can still block time off for yourself. Open a blank page in your book and write down something you’d love to do if you had each of the following time segments available.  Now pick ONE of them that you would MOST like to do and schedule it into your calendar sometime in the next 2 weeks. Go ahead... you deserve it!

If I had an extra 30 minutes to myself, I would:

If I had an extra hour to myself, I would:

If I had an extra 3 hours to myself, I would:

If I had an extra morning to myself, I would:

If I had an extra day to myself, I would:

If I had an extra weekend to myself, I would:

Tearing Down to Create Again...

Today, one of the Creative women I admire most took the courageous step of announcing that she was closing down her cross stitch design business.   Sometimes you have to end something in order to create something new.

Teresa and I met through cross stitch just over a decade ago, but we quickly formed a friendship that went beyond just working in the same industry.  As cross stitch began to falter, she and I began to act as sounding boards for each other and talk about if and how we could take our Creativity in other directions.

Four years ago, we went to Dragon*Con in Atlanta to see if we wanted to transition into Fantasy artwork on the con circuit.  She also helped paint me green for my She-Hulk adventure as mentioned in yesterday’s post.  Last February, we went to the SCBWI conference in New York together to see if children’s book illustration would offer new possibilities.

The joy of having her as a friend is that we share some of the same hopes and insecurities, interests and insights as well as quests and questions.  While we have very different styles, we both feel called to continue to share our Creativity with the world... we’re just still trying to find the next way to do that!

I do know that the past 5 years would have been a lot more scary and stressful without her encouragement, support and sense of humour.

I stayed home today to take care of Bethany who is still running a fe er.  I also got up the courage to tackle a demolition of my own.  A year ago, I overhauled my Dragon Dreams website to reflect the change my artwork was taking as I honoured the 98 published cross stitch designs that I had created, but also tried to showcase the different directions I was heading in.  Then I created a separate website for illustration once I got feedback that Art Directors don’t have time to sift through intensive sites looking for your artwork.

I’ve limped along since then feeling very fragmented and slightly confused at how to make things better.  Today, I realized that the only way to rework the site was to start over from the very beginning, look at what works, get rid of what doesn’t and focus on what truly needs to be covered by the website while making it an informative place to visit.

I am in the middle of the destruction and rebuilding process, but I am actually pleased at how well it is turning out. I'll post on my blogs as soon as the new site is uploaded.

INHALE: Sometimes we have to rebuild from the ashes as friends of ours have done with their house, shut down a business to start in a new direction, crumple up a drawing that isn’t working or go back to the beginning and start over.  Any Creative person, crafter or artist has experienced this more than once.  I’m not sure it ever gets any easier, but I am finally learning to trust that something even better may come from drastic measures.

EXHALE:  I tried to explore today's topic in a fun way.  Find a few magazines for images or inspirational photos.  Instead of trimming them carefully with scissors, rip and tear them out then glue them into your book so that they overlap and create a collage background (you can leave white spaces).  Next, write some words over the images or around them that add to your Creative inspiration.  If this seems too time-consuming for your hectic day, try a simpler exhale: crumple a plain piece of paper and then smooth it out again then draw or write a message to yourself on the less than perfect paper as a reminder that we often set ridiculous standards for ourselves.

Surrounded by Creativity...

It’s been hard to blog, even though I had to add Internet access to the room in order to get Teresa’s files up here safely and ask her the occasional question as she gets over the nasty flu that kept her from coming to the show in Toronto.  While everyone REALLY misses her, they are a wee bit glad that she kept her germs at her house!

I’d forgotten what a huge city Toronto is compared to Moncton.  I’d also forgotten just how small the CN tower makes me feel!

This festival is the most INCREDIBLE experience because you are literally surrounded by Creativity for the whole day!  I’ve seen the most amazing beaded, knitted and quilted outfits that I’ve been longing to go up and touch, half drying or half completed class projects being carried carefully by their creators as they head to their next adventure and enough craft supplies to send me into fits of “I need to have that!”  I’ve been good actually... I’ve also been teaching most of the time!  The only purchase that I did justify yesterday between classes and my lecture was this yarn.  It’s been REALLY cold here in Toronto and the taxi showed up just early enough in Moncton that I forgot to grab one of my scarves to bring with me. Yeah... that sounds like a convincing excuse...

Despite having to juggle things, change things and adapt, all of my presentations have gone well so far.  I’ve spent time with amazing, creative people and also had fun just playing.  Yesterday was the joint “Tiny Dragon” class where Teresa and I both designed little dragons over one to “torture” them with. 

One creative stitcher even brought along some of my Gemstone Dragons that she’d stitched OVER ONE  backstitched with BLENDING FILAMENT!

They looked amazing and I felt so honoured that someone loved those dragons enough to work on them that small.

I did a lecture called The Perfection Trap that reminded stitchers not to point out all their mistakes to others or strive for impossible standards and then went on to teach my Hoarding Your Creativity class.  What fun we had!! I’d made a bunch of Inspiration tags before leaving home with the ShrinkyDinks film (I just LOVED this stuff as a kid!). If you haven’t played with it recently, go find some at a craft store and tuck it away for a day when you want to play.

That was really what made the last class go by so quickly.  I was inspiring them and sharing why it was important for Creative people to have a book or box in which to hoard things they find that spark their creativity from quotes to scraps, images to ideas and photos to textures.  Everyone got so caught up in playing on that deep level that children know instinctively that the time just flew by. Before we knew it, we were cleaning up and I was heading back to the hotel to snip more floss and chase beads around on the carpet. That’s another entry.

INHALE:  We sometimes forget how important it is to surround ourselves with other creative people.  They may not all create the same things that you do, the same types of objects or crafts that you like, but when you are with other creative people, it recharges you in a special way because you don’t feel as alone.  We cannot create in a vacuum.

EXHALE: Whatever craft you love most or whatever creativity you have just discovered, find out if there is a gathering, a special day, a class or a retreat that you could attend in the next few months so that you could take a large block of time to spend not only doing something creative but also surround yourself with other creative people.  I know that even though this festival can be tiring, it is also way more INSPIRING!!