Art a Little More Robust-Creativity Archives

December 1, 2017

Starting Inspirational Fires

This is the blog post that almost wasn’t. And it is one of those twisty, turny journeys that needs a bit of backstory to make sense. Bear with me.

In July of this year, I felt drawn to create what I dubbed Inspiration Starters. Read about those HERE. I wrote creative ideas, with the intention of challenging myself, on 32 slips of paper and dropped them into a container. I randomly selected one of those Inspiration Starters a few days later. And then, totally forgot about them, as in, they passed from time and memory. Until this past week. Decorating for Christmas I opened the ceramic jar and thought, oh yeah!

I had 31 slips of paper left. December, with its 31 days, was about to begin. I decided what a great way to finish this Year of Inspiration, this time of living with a focus on creativity and treating others with kindness. I could draw a slip of paper each day, beginning December 1.

I was excited to draw the first folded slip today. When I played a similar game last year I was amazed by the synchronicities, the Divine guidance, the remarkable alignment of perfect conditions that appeared around each of those slips of paper. Drawing them randomly takes me out of the equation and opens my heart, spirit and creativity to a power greater than me.

What would I select? Honestly, I had created the Inspiration Starters five months ago. I had forgotten all that I came up with, which was good. I could be surprised.

I drew:

My first thought was, Well…even though this is Friday, and this Inspiration appears perfect, it won’t work this weekend. I have an out of town family birthday party tomorrow and an open house Sunday. There would be no get away this weekend.

My second thought was, This one is a miss. The timing was off. And, there was more to it than that.

I have been thinking much about a weekend get away lately, just me and a journal and a pen. As this year winds down, I feel drawn to go off by myself and think and dream and plan, a releasing of 2017 and an anticipation of 2018. I want time to commune with the Divine and meditate and go within. With that desire in mind, I asked the Divine to arrange the get away weekend, guiding me to the right place, at the right time, by way of signs, symbols and synchronicities.

To make it an even more fun and challenging quest, I asked EL-LE (my personal name for God, pronounced like the letter L), for a very specific sign. I would know it was all EL-LE’s doing in two ways: The weekend away, alone, would cost me nothing, or very little, allowing me to be open to all kinds of opportunities beyond simply staying in a hotel somewhere. And, I would know which place was the right one because it would have a particular symbol attached to it, that is significant to me.

Drawing that slip of paper today threw me. Nothing appeared to be in place for the weekend get away. It did indeed seem to be a miss, timing wise. I decided to keep a weekend away in mind during this month, and just see what unfolded. I left the slip of paper on my writing table in my studio.

I’ve had other things going on today. I’ve been busy and didn’t dwell on that Inspiration Starter. I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about this evening but I trusted the right thing would come along at the right time.

It did. And it connected back to the weekend get away paper that I drew.

As I was finishing my last task for the day, I was offered an amazing, and surprising, gift. This person, who wishes to remain unnamed, did not know that I have been asking EL-LE for a weekend away, or that I had drawn that slip of paper earlier in the day. I was gifted with a check, for a generous amount, and instructed to get away for a weekend, to have some time alone. I was told that the thought suddenly came to my gracious benefactor late today, seemingly out of the blue, accompanied by the urge to give me this gift.

I am undone. I am so grateful. A miss? No. The slip of paper I drew earlier was a wink from the Divine, a hint that it is almost time for that weekend get away I have been longing for. And as I hoped, as I trusted, all is being arranged.

I am looking at the end of the month for my special weekend. Or perhaps the first week in January. I have no doubts that I will know which weekend is perfect, and where to stay. I am being guided. I am involved in an ongoing conversation, an intimate dance, with the Divine.

The December creative game is underway. This must be why I completed my Christmas decorating early this season. I needed to be free. Something bigger is unfolding. I am going to finish out this incredible year by starting 31 fires that will ignite my passion, creativity and imagination. I am setting my heart aflame.

July 16, 2017

Inspiration Starters

Lately I’ve recalled with fondness the month I spent last year randomly drawing creative actions out of a glass pitcher. I selected a folded slip of paper each day during the month of June, in 2016. Those activities were fun, and they not only revved up my creativity, they also deepened my trust in the Divine’s guidance in my life.

This evening, after working most of the day, I was deciding what to write about when those folded slips of paper came to mind again. Yes. It was time to stop thinking about how much fun that exercise in creativity was, and take action again.

Of course, I changed the game up a bit. I cut 32 slips of paper and wrote out an inspirational activity on each one. Guided by this year’s theme of Inspiration, which includes Alan Rickman’s words about making life a bit more tender and art a bit more robust, and my greater health awareness, I chose to challenge myself.

Not every activity pushes me, but I attempted to come up with suggestions that take my creativity or compassion or health consciousness beyond where I am, currently. I included writing exercises…and challenges to submit my work for publication. Travel inspirations came to me along with designing, sketching and expressing tenderness in new ways. I won’t draw an activity every day. I’ll reach into my little ceramic jar, made by my younger daughter Adriel when she was a child, and “randomly” draw out a slip of paper when I feel drawn to.

Last year this type of creative play formed the foundation for this year’s theme. I learned so much about myself, about how life works for me, and about the constant guidance I receive from the Divine.

I am open to receive whatever comes from this experience this year…open and unattached to outcomes. The phrase I made up for these slips of paper seems apt. Fire starters are little pieces of wood that are soaked with a flammable solution that then ignites logs to create a bigger, hotter fire. May these inspiration starters ignite within me a creativity that burns brightly and feeds my artistic soul.

June 26, 2017

A Bohemian Lives Here

It has been a real estate day, from start to finish. And I don’t mind that. I enjoy helping people buy and sell homes. It is a privilege to walk alongside my clients.

A busy day doesn’t take away from a creative lifestyle however. I won’t let busyness be an excuse for not writing or not creating. I just have to be…well, creative…in my creativity!

Inspiration for a quick project came from an empty frame that I forgot I had. An empty frame is like a blank canvas to me. What could I create?

I wasn’t sure how to best use the frame, until I was looking up quotes late this evening, about the Bohemian lifestyle. I have come to realize a truth about myself. I am a Bohemian…which is a fancy word for hippie. I have always been drawn toward that free spirited, peace loving, world wandering, back to nature way of life. It has just taken me a while to fully embrace it all.

However, I am inhabiting that space now. From the clothes I am purchasing to the food I am eating (and growing) to the releasing of a way of life that no longer fits me, I am happy to acknowledge my Bohemian self.

I’ll write more about being Bohemian in a future blog post. Tonight, I was staying open to inspiration as I clicked through quotes about the Bohemian lifestyle. And there it was. The quote above, “A gypsy lives here” caught my interest. I flipped past the quote and then returned to study it. Suddenly I knew what I wanted to make, for my empty frame.

I gathered supplies to create with, including a page from a set of vintage encyclopedias. I carefully removed the page about gypsies to use as a background for free-hand letters that I printed across the page and then colored in with my Prismacolor pencils.

A Bohemian Lives Here

In a short time I had completed my simple art project and popped it into the frame. The saying, which I have dubbed Life Art, is already hanging on the wall of my bedroom. It makes me smile when I look at it. It tugs at my heart and soul.

“What if…you knew, really knew, that your heart pulls you toward mystery and wonder for a purpose, and that this is its job? Follow it just once and see… MR Gilman

I know. I really do know. I am following my heart…

May 23, 2017May 24, 2017

The TARDIS Doghouse

As the school year is completing, I visited each of my four younger grandchildren at their respective schools and brought lunch. Today it was Jonathan’s turn. His last day of school is Thursday.

As soon as we were seated in the cafeteria, this bright and creative boy informed me that he had gotten a low grade on a project he had just finished. He seemed genuinely surprised by his teacher’s assessment. As he shared his story, I was deeply touched, more than a little dismayed…and so glad that I chose this day to have lunch with Jonathan.

The assignment was to build a doghouse out of foam board and paint it. In my family we have many Whovians…fans of the long running British TV show, Doctor Who. Jonathan came up with the clever idea of creating a TARDIS doghouse, making his project taller, and thinner, and painting it the bright blue that is characteristic of the Doctor’s traveling time and space machine.

Jonathan’s doghouse hints that it just might be bigger on the inside…a classic Doctor Who reference…and he even added the light atop the roof.

Listening to Jonathan as he described his project, I was impressed. However, his teacher was not. He is not familiar with Doctor Who, or the TARDIS. Giving Jonathan low marks, he said this 5th grade boy didn’t do the project in the right way, that he didn’t measure and cut correctly. In short, he told Jonathan he messed up, made a mistake, failed.

I understand that Jonathan might not have followed directions exactly. And his project didn’t look like everyone else’s. However, he chose to think outside the box and create something unique…and meaningful to him. He expressed creativity when perhaps following directions was the real assignment.

I am so proud of my grandson!

We spent the rest of lunchtime discussing creativity and expressing ideas and chatting about Doctor Who. I shared with Jonathan that sometimes people don’t understand those who think creatively but that doesn’t mean we have to conform. I’m not trying to turn my grandson into a rebel. However I wanted him to know it is okay to be different, create something different, and have a vision. I love his ideas.

Fortunately, another teacher, a Whovian, recognized his project for what it was and expressed delight with it. Jonathan’s teacher raised the creativity score, but did not change the overall grade. My heart felt this boy’s pain at not being recognized for his work. When he invited me to pop up to his classroom after lunch to see the TARDIS doghouse, I was thrilled.

In the empty classroom, a row of doghouses lined a shelf. They all looked exactly the same…square boxes with peaked roofs…except for one bright blue taller thinner doghouse that really stood out. What an extraordinary project, from an original thinker.

After much praise and many hugs, I left Jonathan with his teacher. Had the teacher not been in the presence of children when Jonathan joined his classmates, I would have had a few words with him. Nothing raises my ire like unfairness toward children. My words would have been civil, however, I would have loved to have asked him some questions.

Like…

Why is it more important to teach kids to always follow the rules rather than express creativity? Why not encourage, rather than condemn? And why not acknowledge that there are many ways to create a doghouse, other than making them all identical? Jonathan did measure. And his measurements were exactly right for the creation he had in mind.

I hope Jonathan will keep being his shining, creative, unique self. He will always be graded on his performances, by someone. I want him to know there is so much more to life and living joyfully and freely, beyond receiving marks, or grades, or scores on a piece of paper.

I think his TARDIS doghouse is beautiful and amazing, just like him. And I know a certain faithful Doctor Who companion who would absolutely love it…just as I do.

April 8, 2017April 9, 2017

Pickin’ on the Ranch

I love junk shows and I have been excited about a type of show new to the Joplin area that premiered this weekend. On this warm, gorgeous spring day, I collected my daughter-in-law Megan and grandchildren Joey, Oliver and Aubrey to check out the Pickin’ on the Ranch event in Carthage, MO.

Picking is the act of selecting items for the purpose of reselling them. This profitable hobby has been made popular by the long running reality TV show, American Pickers. Picking is typically done among vast collections of junk and vintage items that people have stored in their houses, garages or barns.

Today’s spring pickers market kicked off the first such event at the picturesque Civil War Ranch in Carthage. The barns, outbuildings and open grassy areas provided the perfect backdrop for vendors to display their pickings.

This was a fun show to attend. And apparently we weren’t the only ones curious about a pickers market. The venue was packed. As we wandered through barns and booths I enjoyed looking at the many items for sale. These shows inspire my creativity and ignite my imagination. I am always impressed with how clever people are, as they repurpose vintage finds into new items.

There was live music on site, food wagons to ease hunger and thirst, and celebrities from HGTV signing autographs. The atmosphere was friendly and casual. And there was even an animal adoption area where people could hold and pet dogs and puppies and perhaps take home a faithful companion as a found treasure.

As much as I enjoyed looking at junk and vintage items and crafts, what I cherished most was watching my grandkids take in their first pickers market. They surprised me a couple of weeks ago by showing interest in the event when I mentioned it to them. As the spring pickers market approached, they continued to be excited about it and anticipated attending as well. I was delighted to take them and Megan along this morning. It was a fun outing.

The kids were great shoppers. They each had an allotted amount to spend and made careful decisions about their purchases. I was proud of how polite they were to vendors and pleased with how interested they were in what was going on.

Joey helped to keep an eye on his younger siblings, so we didn’t lose anyone in the crowds. He was called a “good man” by a vendor for retrieving an item that had fallen off of a display table and setting it up again correctly.

Aubrey found lots to capture her interest, including these red lockers. I told her that her daddy had such a set of lockers when he was a boy, and that he stowed his police gear in them, items that he purchased or made in anticipation of his future career. Aubrey wanted to show that she could fit within those lockers too.

Oliver made me laugh. The others were walking just a bit ahead of us when he asked to walk into a booth. “Sure, go ahead!” I said. “You’d better come in with me and keep an eye on me,” he quipped. “I think my mom would want you to keep an eye on me.” Amused by his honesty, I was happy to follow him around the booth, keeping an eye on him. He didn’t touch a thing!

This first pickers market was a great success. I anticipate that the event will continue to grow and evolve into a highly anticipated yearly event. We didn’t make any huge purchases, but we all left with something special. I found a metal pendant and love the sentiment engraved on it…”the journey awakens the soul”.

What a perfect expression of the day, and of my life.

March 8, 2017

Solgave Threads

I love how life and events unfold, and how connections are formed. I don’t usually understand all the whys and hows along the way, but I recognize when something extraordinary is occurring. The fun part of the journey is following these new paths that appear, unconcerned about the ultimate destinations, open instead to the opportunities for growth and inspiration.

I connected with Jared Ritter on Facebook, appreciating his fresh views about life and the journey. As I learned more about him through his social media posts and musings, I realized our connections actually preceded Facebook. I went to school with Jared’s uncle. His extended family and I lived in the same small Missouri town.

Jared embraces an international lifestyle, spending time in the US, Norway and Sweden. He captured my interest initially by way of his thoughtful insights and his sincere desire to make a difference in the world. Most recently I have been captivated by the launch of his company, Solgave Clothing ~ The Common Threads.

Today, Jared graciously shared information about his company, which is forming organically, in real time, as an artistic expression of his journey. I learned that Solgave Clothing has four foundational categories…Recovery, Mindfulness, Activism and Nature…and eventually there will be shirts in all categories.

The designs are simple, and inspirational, based on musings, stories and real life experiences. Jared and his wife began with a vision that included using animals and nature to facilitate healing. That work became the catalyst for Solgave Clothing and a line of apparel that told stories and connected with people who care about others, care about animals and the environment, and desire to create change in the world.

Another Solgave design, based on a John Muir quote.

Jared says, “Our shirts are American made, no sweat shops were involved. We care about the planet, we care about all the animals on it, we care about inspiring hope for the hopeless, and want people struggling to never give up.”

The shirts are extremely well made and incredibly soft.

I know. I received my first Solgave shirt Monday, and I love it.

I selected the I Am A Dreamer t shirt, in a fitted women’s style, charcoal gray in color. I wore it all day today, with a little black jacket thrown over it when the day was cooler. People complimented me on my shirt, everywhere I went.

Not only did the soft material feel good, I felt good wearing the shirt. The sentiment of being a dreamer is perfect for me…I am a dreamer, and I embrace that about myself. However, I feel good wearing a shirt that supports and encourages the dreams of another as well. I love Jared’s vision for Solgave. And his clothing and his dream both inspire me. I believe in his principles and I am thrilled to be a part of his community.

You can be a part of this vision, and this community, too. My grandson Dayan has already selected his shirt, and two more designs have fired my imagination. I’m excited to watch this journey unfold and I hope to spot others soon, wearing a Solgave shirt.

Check out Solgave Clothing’s website HERE