Journey 232: My Case for Creativity

After a long day, I enjoyed puttering around in my Creative Space tonight, working further on transforming my office into a sanctuary for writing and reading, drawing and creating. I’ve yet to come up with the perfect name for this new space, but it will come to me at the right time. 

  
This evening my focus was on a vintage cosmetic case, also known as a train case or a vanity case, that I found in the garage at Bob’s house in Arkansas. It belonged to Greg’s mom, I’m sure, but somewhere along the way, Greg’s dad whisked it away to his domain. I was delighted to find it, several months ago, as I’ve seen similar cases in flea markets. It was covered in dust and cobwebs, but I brought it home, knowing I would use it somewhere. 

I’ve always intended for the case to be in my Creative Space, perhaps holding office supplies, or to house a vignette that changed with the seasons. Yet today, as I looked forward to cleaning it up tonight and using it, my intention turned more toward my artsy, creative side. 

  
Opening the case I found an assortment of fishing lures and hooks, and little bottles of suspicious looking murky liquids. Bob did more than move Leta’s cosmetic case to the garage. He turned it into a holding case for his extra fishing supplies…a bonus tackle box! I think his loving wife would have laughed about that and patted him affectionately on the cheek. I removed those items and stored them in a plastic container, to be sorted through later.

  
After a good cleaning, the cosmetic case was ready to become a holding case for supplies of a different sort. My drawing tablet fit within perfectly, turned horizontally. Next my writing journal for this year nestled in. I added two pieces of vintage brown pottery, that belonged to my grandmother, to hold my drawing pencils, sharpener and eraser. A strand of garland, with red and clear beads, wound around the case adds color. And next to the case is one of my favorite inspirational quotes, on a pretty canvas. 

  
The creative case has a new home on the corner of my writing table. In this beautiful space, whether I am working, writing, reading  or daydreaming, the case is easily visible. Greg’s mom used the case to hold cosmetics when she traveled. She used the contents of the case to enhance her beauty. Greg’s dad used the case to hold items meant to attract fish, lure them in. I will incorporate both of those previous uses in its current life. The cosmetic case is an item of beauty. And I desire to attract creative ideas to me, using the journal and art supplies tucked within, fishing for inspiration. I think Bob and Leta would be pleased. 

  

Day 146: Summer Vignette in Vintage Suitcase

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It may have been raining outside, but inside, I was creating a bit of summer for my first! I have a lovely, slightly battered vintage suitcase. It most likely was an inexpensive purchase. The exterior has heavy cardboard covered with thick, textured paper and metal edging. That paper covering is scratched and rubbed off in several places. The interior is covered in a thin beige and silvery blue paper that has faded to a delicate hue.

I love this suitcase. I like to imagine the journeys it has taken in its many years. It came to me by way of Greg’s family and someday I’ll pass it on to one of our children or grandchildren. For years it has sat in a closet, a container for old family photographs of the Moore Family. Recently I withdrew the suitcase from its hiding place, sorted through the photos and stored them in a plastic bin. I wanted to display the suitcase.

Today, perched atop my dresser in the bedroom, the open suitcase became the backdrop for a summer vignette. I love creating these little slices of life. A table top, a shelf, and now this suitcase, all become blank canvases that welcome my creativity. I get an image in my mind of what I want the completed vignette to look like and then I search for the right items to create that look.

I had purchased summery looking pitchers and containers recently at Michael’s, all on sale. I gathered those, a pile of vintage linens, and an assortment of greenery, a candle wreath, a candle and speckled eggs and laid them all out on the bed. I also had an adorable paper garland that I had purchased at The Fancy Flamingo Flea Market. It is made of old pages from a hymnal. Already, a theme was growing in my mind.

The vignette came together quickly. I love summer whites, so allowing the black suitcase with its faded interior paper to provide most of the color, I selected mostly white pieces and linens. The speckled eggs in the mesh container added additional color along with the greens and yellows of the candle ring. Stepping back, I liked where I was headed….but I needed something else. Then the perfect piece came to mind. I had the painting Greg had bought me at Cooper’s with the wonderful Rumi quote: “Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.” The muted greens, golds and hint of rust worked well with my other items. And the quote seemed so fitting.

Lastly, I dug through the box of old photos, looking for one that I remembered seeing, of Greg’s parents, Bob and Leta Moore, at the beach. Looking oh so young and happy, frolicking in the surf at the beach, this was such a perfect picture to complete the scene. This suitcase came to me through them. The garland with its folded hymnal banners made me think of Leta, who played the piano beautifully every Sunday at church.

Just as the vignette captures a bit of “summer”, so this snapshot captured a moment in the early summer of their lives.  Their fall and winter years must have seemed so far away at that time. I like looking at that picture and seeing their bright, shining faces. Leta journeyed through her fall years and left us far too soon. Bob, at 93, is very much in the winter of his life. He still has that mischievous smile even though he is so weary.  I look forward to showing him a picture of the decorated suitcase. I can already hear him snort as he laughs and mutters something about those young whippersnappers who didn’t know what they were doing. Ah, but they did so many things right, that young couple, not the least of which was to live and love well, and pass on that legacy to their children and grandchildren.

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