My DGH and I just got back from a week long "staycation." And it was horrible. Not even 24 hours into our getaway, does a flash flood run through our neighborhood and decide to party in our basement. The entire…
June is National Migraine Awareness Month, and June 29th is specifically set aside for Chronic Migraine Awareness. (We even get our own ribbon! Pretty cool.) So in honor of that, I thought I'd post a couple acrylic pieces I painted…
(Thank you all for being so patient with me during these last handful of weeks. I know I haven’t been as present lately/posting as much. I’ve been really sick. But I think I finally turned a corner!)
You might recognize John Cleese’s name. If you ever got a massive cramp around your ribs from laughter while watching Monty Python, you should thank this guy. He’s one of the co-founders.
Creativity can be the lurking monster in the closet–too intimidating for us to tackle, especially if we don’t believe we’re capable. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the words “I’m not creative enough to do ____.” I can’t tell you how many times I have stood in front of a canvas or a blank computer screen and wondered I could muster up the creativity for the next project.
In a Video Arts lecture in 1991, Cleese explained that creativity is not a talent. It’s not something you can be prolific at, like slam dunking a basketball or winning a chocolate competitions with your AMAZE-BALLS chocolate pudding. And Cleese had the sources to show creativity is completely unrelated to IQ. (So if you’ve always used the excuse “I’m just not smart enough to be creative”… Well, that excuse doesn’t work anymore (: )
Creative people are notorious for getting wrapped up in their work. Especially when we love what we do. I know I’ve missed coffee dates and meals when in the middle of writing an exciting scene or am almost done with a painting. The worst is when I put off going to the bathroom because I’m on a roll. How sad is that? (Yes, there were a couple close calls. But I’m a grown childless woman. Accidents don’t happen at my stage in life.)
After a while of being sucked in, we may notice our work has become a little stagnant. Our paintings don’t have the unique perspective as they used to. Our novels don’t have the voice or plot lines we strive for.
We pull our heads out of our work to figure out what the crap is going on. And we realize we’ve become so wrapped up in creating perfect scenery we forgot to actually go visit some scenery. Or we tried so hard to perfect that snappy line of dialogue we haven’t entered dialogue with another person in a long time.
Our brains need space to play, especially as creative people. We forget to splash in puddles, squish mud between our fingers, listen to the waves crashing, or even try a new flavor of tea. We need to experience life in order to be inspired by it. Without playtime, our creative work can become colorless and rote.
Which is why I’m taking a road trip.
Following my last post on facing the fear of the blank/white page, I thought it fitting to giveaway this chalkboard sign:
I tried to make this one a little more gender neutral. I promise to make a more masculine sign! I will succeed! Again, this is free to whomever wants it. I have a slightly bigger size, so holler if you want that one. (Well, maybe not literally. Sound doesn’t travel through my computer pixels as of this decade. Unless you record it. But I digress.)
Creativity is not about being right or wrong.
I've been loving this chalkboard trend. I decided to make a couple of my own with some favorite quotes. If you like the quote, feel free to download it and use it! (I also have a slightly bigger version, if…