CREATE AND RECHARGE, CON'T

This is a topic that's life-long.  We are always recharged by creating.  Today I worked in the yard, weeded, clipped, rearranged, 

stepped back and admired.  A modest achievement, but the cool early September air and the bending and squatting made me feel good.  I am recharged for the evening.  

On August 2nd, I promised to come back to the creative women who submitted their ideas to the Stampington publication, In Her Studio. Here are more tidbits.

• Taking breaks is vital.  Pet the cat, walk the dog, gaze out the window or make tea.  Not a break to fold the laundry or clean the bathroom; those are chores, not breaks.  
• You can work on more than one thing at a time, one medium at a time, as a way to get unstuck and keep the joy going. 
• It's only paint, or wood, or yarn as my knitting teacher says.  Believe in yourself.  Give yourself permission to start over or let it sit, or begin something else.  
• Just have fun.  We are creating for ourselves (even if we exhibit or sell).  Don't compare yourself with others.
• You don't need expensive materials; just find what works best for you.
• Begin with the intention to be authentic to yourself every time you create
• A personal style is OK, but it has to keep evolving and growing.  Otherwise, we can stagnate.  
• Giving your creation is a way to express messages of love.

Finally, for today, and this is more than a tidbit, "I have come to realize that no matter your art form, there will always be someone a step ahead and with much more skill; but, if you put 100 percent into your work and you are completely satisfied, nobody can take that away from you." @oliviastewardillustration 

Let's have fun creating.                           Nina Naomi

CREATE AND RECHARGE

Many of us recharge by doing something creative.  I have the nicest craft table that sits before a large window overlooking the courtyard and woods. It's just a metal table, not fancy, and it hugs the corner of our breakfast room.  When it overflows, I usurp the top of the buffet.  Sometimes I take over the old teak dining table as well, when I need to spread out folders and reorganize photos, pictures, ribbon, tools, etc., when seasons have mixed and Christmas is jumbled with spring. 

So many of us are creative in a sort of homey way.  Maybe we share, or sell, or maybe we just do and enjoy.  I am the latter.  My collage journals are for me; no one else would understand them.  Although I just showed my granddaughter her birthday page, my grandson his bon voyage page as he heads off to Scotland.  And I showed my husband our anniversary page and the one for our son who died many years ago.  I include my verse, sayings, textures and glitter.  You know.  

Then I found advice from creative women in Stampington, my favorite publisher.    

• Fill your creative space with style and things of your heart. 
• You are always two or three layers away from wonderful. 
• Have a recharging station that consists of a journal and some basic craft supplies.
• Every time you put a little piece of "you" into what you're creating, you connect with yourself in a way that only you can. 
• A change of scenery can spark inspiration.
• What we need:  simplicity of form, inspiring music and good light.
• Leave out your creations.  Being able to see what you have been creating is healing and provides a point to build upon.
• Let the things you add to your creation mean something, even if you're the only one who is aware of their meaning.
• Stepping away from a project and just gathering can make us creative. 
• Living an artful life--whatever that means for you--is essential to our spirit.  Travel, visiting museums, photography, writing, building, interior design and decorating, making . . . .

More to come.  All the Stampington publications are wonderful. I cut out pictures and words.  Also, The Simple Things and art magazines.  I cut up old poetry books, copies of Shakespeare's work, old Bibles.  All become part of my collaging.  

Let's have fun creating.                                 Nina Naomi  

TURN ON YOUR CREATIVE BRAIN

Lately I've been loving making word collages.  Bloggers love words, that's fair to say isn't it?  So do readers.  We love to read and to write.  Somewhere I read that crafting used to be considered trivial.  Not sure who felt that way, but those kinds of judgments are long past.  Now we know how healthy hobbies are and if you can make a living with your hobby, so much the better.   

This word collage is in a 10"x12" old frame that I painted.  I collaged over a quote by Maya Angelou:  "You can't use up creativity.  The more you use, the more you have."  I like seeing her words left exposed, you & creativity, and knowing what the rest of the phrase is.  The words I chose were: 

sunset, dance, darling, the meaning of life, 

lies you've told, Outside hours, hate small talk.

"An ordinary life can be extraordinary and that magic can be found in the everyday."  

speak emotion, life goes by too quickly, warm tea,

Quiet, like people with depth.    

We--all of us--think in words, in our native languages.  Even our word-less emotions we try to give names to.  "I'm sad," no, "I'm downright miserable."  "I feel empty." No, "bereft." Words give us distance from the bad times. Or "I feel loved."  Saying those words slows our breath, releases any tightness. See the phrase "speak emotion?"  Those two words are fraught with memories for me, a kind of therapy almost.  Being loved creates a physical feeling of calmness.  Being absorbed in creating a word collage can do the same, like the other things we do just because we want to. 

This word collage is in a 3"x4" frame:  

Write more, Living, flow, ONE DAY AT A TIME,
Today, all these years later, Don't be afraid,  
Tiny Pleasures Sticky Notes, a blessing, to enjoy each day.  

The pleasure is not only in choosing the words and phrases for what they bring to you, but also deciding on a background, choosing the fonts, and arranging the sentiments.  I have old frames of faded snaps just waiting for reuse, but our consignment shops are also filled with them.  

This one is in an antique brass oval frame, also 3"x4".  It covers a picture of a person in our family no longer known to anyone living.  I enjoyed picking the leafy green background and the words and phrases in alternating white-on-black, white-on-taupe, and black-on-white: 

because, Focus your attention, What makes you think, 
Close some doors today, what counts most, you, 
 discovering your options,  Make a plan,  lead,  
 what can you do to change, simply

My husband asked why I would choose "Close some doors today."  "Because some doors lead to nowhere," I said.  He said the word he liked best was "simply."  Maybe I do too. Making a word collage is definitely a simple pleasure.  One more:  

This is in a 5'x7' frame.  My granddaughter likes to illustrate and drew the background wallpaper. These words just collected themselves, different fonts, sizes, colors all amassed and waiting for the right matting which also appeared.  I hope you like it as much as I do.  The words? 

 Insight, FLOW, KIND, beautifully, POETRY, 

TAKING PHOTOS, THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE,

BODY BEAUTIFUL,  TAKING TIME AND LOOKING CLOSELY

Why do we like this sort of thing?  Because focus is calming, isn't it.  So many people make creating something, even the smallest thing, part of their recipe for wholeness.  Maybe doing nothing for a bit is even healthier, but I'm not there yet, maybe never will be.  In the meantime, let's turn on our creative brains and make something.  I'm committed to enjoying every single thing I make!