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In Love With Creativity

Friday, May 30th, 2008 by Alyice

It’s amazing how many times we tell ourselves, “I just don’t have enough time to…” and then buy into that statement instead of changing the way we think or the way we do things so that we have the time for the things that constantly beckon us. Maybe we’re afraid that we’ll change our lives to fit that one thing in and discover we liked the idea of that thing more than the actual doing. Maybe we’re afraid that the changes we make to make room for that thing will do more harm than good or maybe we’ve simply forgotten what it means to take care of “me.”

It’s easy to allow the pressures and busyness of everyday life to rob us of doing things that make us happy. And it’s easy to put our own needs on the backburner for the greater good of our children, our spouse, our relationships, our work, our business, and even our church. Heck, it’s even easy to allow preconceived notions of how things ought to be to rule over what should be. But it’s that kind of martyr-like thinking that can destroy us and everything around us.

We need time for ourselves. We need time to relax, to breathe, to think, and to do absolutely nothing. And we need time to do something for ourselves without guilt or shame or feelings of selfishness.

And that’s why I am in love with the idea of creativity!

Creativity is about stepping outside the obvious and using one’s imagination. It’s about letting go of the reality around you and taking pleasure in the impossibilities. It’s about being one with yourself instead of trying to be one hundred things to a hundred different people. And, for me, it’s about relaxation and meditation.

Whenever I feel stressed or overwhelmed, I now take a break and pick up a paint brush, some molding paste, and a recycled jar. I cannot tell you how relaxing it feels to simply be in the moment—to forget about time, duties, hurts, worries, and the hassles of everyday life and just be. Whether it’s five minutes or an hour, I just concentrate on the project at hand and when I’m done, I feel so much better.

Your creative muse may come in one of many forms: art, gardening, crocheting, sewing, woodworking, writing or even photography. My hope for you, today, is that as you think about the things that constantly beckon you, you’ll slow down long enough to make room for them, too.

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Tornado Season

Friday, May 30th, 2008 by Alyice

Last night we had our first official tornado warning for our hometown and we weren’t happy but then again who is ever really happy when a tornado comes roaring through their hometown?

Usually the tornados in our state don’t get this close and it’s one of the reasons I like living here, but last night was a different story. We’ve had severe thunderstorm warnings, on and off, for the past few weeks then last night a severe thunderstorm began making its way towards us. The news had been reporting tornado warnings on and off all night, but nothing near us.

Then we saw our city name flash across the television screen and heard the word: Tornado. We were in disbelief. We’ve never experienced a tornado before and didn’t want to experience one now. But no sooner did we see our city name flash on the screen did we hear it: the warning siren.

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It was time to make our way to the basement. We grabbed our shoes, closed the doors to each room (don’t even know why I did that), grabbed our caged animal friends, and walked down to the basement where we commenced to turn on the radio and await the news that the tornado had passed. There was only one problem, we didn’t have any batteries in the radio so as my husband and I made our way back upstairs I stopped to look outside the kitchen window and pray.

The winds grew so strong that the trees no longer appeared to be dancing in the wind but moving about with anger and rage, the sky grew darker, the seconds between each sound of thunder and the actual lighting grew closer together, we felt the rumbles in the ground, and the house began to shake. For the first time in my life I was afraid that a tornado would touch down on our home, in our city.

I thought about my prayer and realized I wasn’t praying with all my heart, I had allowed the surrealism of the moment to take hold. So I stopped praying. Looked outside the kitchen window again and prayed again. I prayed that the tornado would not harm us. I prayed for protection of my family by naming each member one by one. I prayed for our home, and I prayed that the tornado would dissipate.

Then I made my way back downstairs where I heard my husband say, “this is going to be a long night” and my son say, “it’s going to be a boring night—we don’t even have a television down here to pass the time.” I glanced over at my daughter and smiled as she sat Indian style on the floor, blanket surrounding her, and earplugs in her ears. She was watching a movie on her iPod and oblivious to what was taking place around her.

Fifteen minutes later we were notified that it was okay to leave the basement. A half hour later my daughter received a phone call from her friend: “Are you okay? Were you scared? If we make it through this night alive do you want to hang out tomorrow?”

Until next time…

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Create Art For The Right Reasons

Sunday, May 25th, 2008 by Alyice

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I love creating and it doesn’t matter if anyone else likes what I create or not because right now I am not creating to please someone else’s idea of art but rather creating to learn and grow as an artist and to relearn what it means to absolutely be in the moment. But I also have a dirty little secret: If I start a project with the intention of selling it, I almost never like it and I rarely complete the piece.

Linda Cain, Artist

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I couldn’t put my finger on the cause until today. After interviewing Linda Cain and listening to her talk about the importance of staying true to one’s self when it comes to creating, I realized that every time I sat down to create something with the intention of selling it, I hit panic mode. I began thinking, “What if they don’t like it? What if it doesn’t sell? What if they ridicule the piece?” You see, I was going about it all wrong!

Linda believes that “when it comes to art, it’s important to remember that it’s your time and your money; do what YOU like. (Of course commission pieces are different.)…Save yourself time and energy and just do what makes YOU happy if you can. If others truly don’t like your art, there’s nothing you can do about it anyway.”

When it came to creating with the intent to sell, I was truly creating for all the wrong reasons. I was creating to meet someone else’s expectations, not my own. I was creating with some preconceived notion that what I create has to be a certain style or look a certain way for the public to be interested enough to buy. I was creating with the wrong person in mind.

And that’s when it hit me: For gifts, for personal use, or for sales, create what feels right first and foremost. It is funny how you know things in your head but it takes awhile for your soul to catch up.

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