33 Ways to stay creative

Our daughter in law posted this on facebook, and I saved it and printed it out to tape on my wall next to the computer. It's not that I don't find ways to stay creative, but it's a good reminder of how to avoid restrictive behaviours that suck our creativity dry! I especially like #24! My first inclination was to go in and edit it to align the number, then I read the description... oh, yeah!
Food for thought:

Elizabet Gilbert video

I just watched this on Melody Johnson's blog, and it's awesome! Give yourself about 19 minutes to view it, you'll be blown out of the water! Sorry I don't know how to add it as a video, but you'll get there if you follow this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86x-u-tz0MA

New year, fresh goals

I sat down this morning to give some thought to what I would like to accomplish in 2009. I came up with a whopping 21 goals - personal, artistic, home/garden and financial. I won't bore you with all of them, but here are the seven I came up with for my Art goals:

1) Visit galleries in the Flagstaff area, and find at least one willing to show my work

2) Participate in at least four First Friday Art walks at the Flagstaff Artists' Coalition gallery

3) Find a fellow FAC member willing to let me share studio space for the Flagstaff Open Studios tour in September

4) Create at least one recycled art piece for the Recycled Art show

5) Try at least one Surface Design technique each month

6) Write and submit an article to Quilting Arts magazine

7) Set up a better system for tracking my inventory, including raw materials

Whew! That should keep me busy for the year, don't you think?

I'm sure I will accomplish other things artistically as well, but these are 'stretch goals' to try and break me out of the rut of creating, but not growing. I have a bit of a problem with risk-taking, and some of these will help me push that envelope more than I have been doing.

On another note, I will say that I am very pleased with my progress in 2008. I created at least 5 art quilts (one of which was a commissioned work); submitted a quilt to QA magazine for their calendar contest; explored a number of surface design techniques; have completed almost 16 small art pieces; and made great progress with reorganizing my studio. Personally, I set out to retire before year-end, and accomplished that in order to devote more time to my creative pursuits.

I am really looking forward to 2009 and beyond, creatively. And I would like to take a moment to thank all of you who have encouraged my creativity, both with your comments, and also with your own blog posts. Contact with other creative people is like a shot in the arm for me, and I feel like I have gained a whole little community of others who, like me, thrive on their creative expression. I hope we continue to keep in touch and share our progress with each other in the coming years... Happy, happy New Year to you all!

The Importance of Creativity for Children and Other Living Things

Below is a quote from Sir Ken Robinson, "an internationally recognized leader in the development of creativity, innovation and human resources,":

'What TED celebrates is the gift of the human imagination. We have to be careful now that we use this gift wisely, and that we avert some of the scenarios that we've talked about. And the only way we'll do it is by seeing our creative capacities for the richness they are, and seeing our children for the hope that they are. And our task is to educate their whole being, so they can face this future -- by the way, we may not see this future, but they will. And our job is to help them make something of it. ~ Sir Ken Robinson'

This struck a chord in me, especially the part where he says 'we may not see this future, but they will'. My mother Christina, who died at the age of 42 when I was 10, was the primary force behind the awakening and nurturing of my creativity. She started working with me early, teaching me how to draw, giving me encouragement as I grew to love 'making things'. So often when I am working on a project, especially when I am pleased with how it is coming along, I think of her. She did not live to see the outcome of the seeds she planted in me, but I do, and I think her love and encouragement are still driving forces behind my efforts. Thanks, Mom!

Big changes on the horizon

I have been sitting on some news for awhile, doing some research and making sure of my situation, and finally, imparting the news yesterday to my wonderful 'boss' at my part-time job. I will be finishing out 2008, then re-retiring to take up my art on a full-time basis! This is the scariest, most wonderful thing I have ever done for myself, and something I have wanted to do for a very long time. But practicality had to prevail... bills to be paid, food to buy, etc. However, due to some strange fluke, I happened to work for a company that offered things like pensions, retirement 401k's, health insurance... it was a worthwhile investment of my time and effort -- 34 1/2 years with them, to be able to walk away 5 years ago with a full retirement package! Then, after relocating to Flagstaff with my hubby, I went to work for a wonderful office part-time doing work I have loved and meeting and making friends with a really neat bunch of people. So it makes this move a little bittersweet, and yet what a wonderful way to end my working career, knowing that I have been able to help a relatively new business grow, and that my efforts have been appreciated!
So now I have time to prepare myself for this giant leap into the creative process, and I know it's going to be a wonderful leg of my journey! More to come...

Reflections, projections

Happy new year to you all! I don't know about anyone else out there, but I have had a really fabulous year, starting with the class I took in July from Melly Testa. I had been in a creative rut for a long time, and her class blasted me out of the rut and gave me the tools to find whole new vistas, creatively speaking. Then a couple of months later, I met Linda, who has become a wonderful friend. She inspires me greatly with her beautiful artistic creations, and encourages me to grow in many different directions, creatively. She is teaching me to watercolor, I am teaching her to dye fabric, and we have great fun whenever we get together.

So now we are in 2008. I have set myself some ambitious goals, one of which is to create an art quilt to submit to Quilting Arts' Calendar contest. I have a little over 60 days to complete it and get it in the mail... So far, I have a preliminary design, but haven't got much further. I am also working on putting together several pieces to show and (hopefully!) sell at our local Artists' Marketplace in May. I have one finished, one almost complete, and just started one. My goal is to have at least 6 completed, so I'm well on my way to achieving that goal.

I plan to attend at least one class of the Surface Design Symposium this summer, and may submit a piece for the participants' exhibit. What I am trying to do this year is get over the fear of exposure, i.e., put my work out there where others can see it! This blog has helped me to work on my rejection issues, but I need to go further and I have some great encouragement in my friend, Linda. She has been selling her art for some time, and is helping me to believe in my abilities. I am on the brink of realizing a lifetime dream, and it's really scary, but exhilirating as well.

Alright, enough with the words! I will close with a picture of the cityscape I painted many years ago, which is the design I hope to translate into fiber this month:

Stay tuned, and I will post pix of the art quilt when I have completed it!