Tag Archives: creativity

hope blooms

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These are flower photos I took and edited with my iPhone4S. I’m continually amazed at technology, at the way it not only links us to friends, family and people around the world, but also how it allows us to be creative in new and fascinating ways. Over the past few months I’ve been having some health problems and as a result the ability to connect and create with minimal exertion on sites like Facebook and Instagram has helped me feel like I’m at least somewhat still a part the “big picture” of my currently slightly diminished life.

As anyone who has been sick for a long time or suffers from a chronic illness can tell you, going to doctors, being poked and prodded and tested week after week, waiting for results and that elusive magic pill that will turn things around can be very isolating and discouraging. You feel like your body has betrayed you. You see the color and energy of life moving swiftly by all around you, without you, and sometimes you’re afraid. Afraid you won’t get well, afraid you will but you won’t be able to regain your footing and find your place again in the ongoing drama of daily life. But perhaps what you fear most is that it doesn’t matter either way. Because whether we are sick or well, productive or weary, sad or joyful, we all so want it to matter. We want to matter.

I’m happy that I can say I do feel better this month compared to last so perhaps there is a light at the end of this gloomy weight-loss-tummy-ache-tunnel. In the meantime I will keep my skinny butt moving toward that light with a little help from my docs, the love of a caring husband, the beauty of the flowers in my garden, a dash of patience, a sprinkle of hope, and last but not least…a pretty pink iPhone in the palm of my hand.

“Imagination is the true magic carpet.” ~ Norman Vincent Peale

teaser tuesday

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Teaser Tuesday asks you to : Grab your current read, Open to a random page, Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. I’m reading The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer. I don’t read a lot of mysteries or thrillers but sometimes I think it’s good to step out of your reading comfort zone and shake things up a bit. I’m really enjoying the read and when I went to his website I also enjoyed his snarky sense of humor! He has fake movie trailers and in one video he’s got family members reading some crummy reviews of the book. It’s totally hilarious, you gotta love a guy who can laugh at the critics! And if those are real reviews I certainly don’t agree with them. I plan to read more of his books, he’s an interesting guy and a good writer.

My teaser sentences are from page 44 where he writes, It’s so damn easy to judge. But Paulo knows from his niece, no matter how much you want someone back in your life, sometimes it’s the letting-them-back-in part that hurts the most. I reread that second sentence several times. It struck me how true it was, and not just about letting people back in, but about letting anything back into your life that you associate with heartache. Years ago, I had to stop painting because I was very ill. When I finally regained my health I didn’t go back into the spare bedroom where my easel was set up for many months. I thought it was because I was afraid I wouldn’t remember how to paint, that I may have lost the ability to be creative after going through so much physical and emotional hurt.

One afternoon, I finally got up the nerve to venture into my little studio. I opened a can of turpentine and squeezed a selection of oil colors onto my palette. Facing a blank white canvas, I breathed in the scent of my paints, dipped my paintbrush into a swirl of cadmium red, and promptly burst into gut wrenching sobs. It was at that moment that I realized it wasn’t the fear of not being able to paint that had kept me away from my art, it was the fear of losing it all over again if my health problems returned. I had grieved long and hard after first losing that part of me, did I really want to let it back in? So I agree with Mr. Meltzer, that simple little sentence says a whole lot about human nature and I imagine most of us can relate to in one way or another.

“breezy” wordless wednesday

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The website Illustration Friday gives people a topic every week and you illustrate it using any medium. It’s designed to jump start creativity at any and all skill levels. I started doing it because I was in a long term creative funk and it really helped get those juices flowing again. As my mom got sicker, and I got busier with my iStock photography, I stopped participating. Yesterday I felt like doing something just for fun and did another George collage. I’ve done a whole series about you-know-who on my Tales of George blog. Okay, no more words, this is Wordless Wednesday afterall 🙂

monday muse

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bookbabieposterartYou all know what a sucker I am for on-line generators and quizzes. Every time I find a fun new website I think that’s it, I must have seen them all and then I stumble on another…and another….and another. And I don’t spend all that much time on-line either, honest! As a matter of fact, last week I finally finished my feverish work on novel #3 and entered it in the ABNA contest. When I got up today I realized that this is the first day in many many months where I really feel like my time is my own. This weekend I even went to the craft store and bought stuff to make my future granddaughter a gift. I haven’t had the time , energy, or motivation to make something simply for the joy of creating in a long time and it really feels good. Anyhoo, the latest website. During Obama’s campaign a street artist named Shepard Fairey designed a poster (now somewhat controversial) that became very popular. I made the bookbabie poster at a neat website based on Fairey’s art called obamiconme. It’s free, no downloads, and after you set up an account it saves all your posters. Check it out, even if you didn’t vote for you-know-who, it’s still a lot of fun 😉