Time for Creativity

It has been a calm week without much happening. I am still looking for work so my time has been taken up with that. There aren't many jobs to apply for and online applications can take a great deal of time. I persevere onto a better life.

How has this impacted my creative life? I haven't been able to get into my studio all week. My brain is totally fried from being on the computer job hunting. Maybe my brain is fried because I haven't been in my studio. A creative outlet is so necessary for our well-being. Being creative releases stress and tension. It allows our mind to rest from concrete thoughts and just "be." That feeling that whatever I do will be right. There are no rules, no expectations, no set of directions that I must follow. It is just my muse - whatever I create is without judgement. Certainly someone else may look at what I have created and feel that it is wrong but that doesn't diminish my creativity. It is just one person's opinion of one piece of art. They do not know where I am coming from and I do not know where they are coming from.

My goal for the week is to be creative everyday - even if it is only for five minutes. I bought a blank journal last week. I think I will make it my Creativity Journal for my studio. A place where I can document my creative endeavors just as I do with my journal where I write my thoughts nearly every day.

What is your creative goal? For the day? For the week? For the month? For the year? For your life? It may seem like a big endeavor that requires lots of planning and expectations. It is your creative goal, it feeds your spirit, it is a piece of who you are. Live your creativity and your being will be better for it.

Enjoy!

Friends

The creative spirit has truly landed in my sewing studio! Over the last week, I have spent an amazing number of hours creating with thread, thread, and more thread. I've been inspired by the green leaves and flowers. I've been taking water soluble stabilizer and randomly stitching green backgrounds then removing the stabilizer with water. Next I put more stabilizer in a smaller hoop and "paint" flowers with more thread. Remove the stabilizer, gather the center of my thread flowers and attach them to the green background. Finally, I mount them onto stretched canvas. A great floral piece for the wall!

This brings a saying to mind, "Friends are flowers in the garden of life."

Isn't that so true? Think of a friend or two. They have been in your life for a long time, holding you up, much like the greenery I have been stitching. Even when I remove the stabilizer, the greenery stays beautiful and creates a new background for the finished piece. The flowers are layers of thread all connected to each other with thousands of stitches. Aren't our friends like that? Just when we feel alone, they are there in the background ready to support us even when we think all support is gone. Friends bring beauty into our lives. They bring us smiles when we least expect it and stick with us through everything. The photos above were taken by Latta Johnson. Latta is a friend who has taken up photography in retirement. Doesn't he have a wonderful eye? He has a wonderful eye for nature and captures it with his camera. I rarely miss an opportunity to let him know how much I appreciate his work.

Today, write a note or send a card to a friend. You don't have to write a long letter, just a message that let's them know that they bring beauty into your life. Today, let the flowers in your life know just how much you appreciate them. Have a wonderfully beautiful day!

Sunshine

It has truly been hot and humid, even for the south over the holiday weekend. I have been struck by the amount of sunshine we are having. Sunrise is early and sunset is the latest it will be all year.

How does this fit with creativity? As an artist who works in fabric and thread, the sun provides the best natural light for determining color and dimension. This has found me challenging decisions I had made on some fabric and thread combinations. True natural light provides a view that doesn't exist except when the sun is at its brightest. It is very striking to me because I have "natural light" bulbs throughout my home. These lights look better, make me feel better, and are more energy efficient. I've been working in my studio pulling new colors together and time will see what they bring as I work with them.

The sunshine has also encouraged me to be outside. Yes, the humidity is terrible, but I've learned that sitting on my porch with my laptop has allowed me to complete those activities that require the computer. Reading on the porch is always an excellent choice.

What decisions are you making about the sunshine? Have you decided to stay in the air conditioning with the blinds closed? Or have you embraced the natural vitamin D of the sun and benefited from the creative spark it can ignite? Can you creative something or write something that the sun is doing for you? Next winter when it is cold and dreary you will welcome the warmth of that piece or the words that you have written.

I wish you sunshine, creativity, and the warmth of being your creative self.