Honor Creativity When It Arrives

Tornado Of Words

I recently became overtaken by an image. You know the one. The one that won't leave you alone. The one that follows you around until you honor it. The image that begs to be put down on paper, or canvas, or cloth. You try to ignore it. You say "I'm too busy right now" or "That's nice but maybe it's not worthy of manifestation"or "What if it doesn't come out the way I see it in my mind?"

But if your willing to HONOR IT, you just might learn something profound. Something wonderful. Something that reminds you that CREATIVITY IS A GOOD THING. So good that you should be using it ALL THE TIME.

I was walking around my house trying to "get things done" (ha ha) when I suddenly realized that as I moved I was engulfed by a tornado of words. It never left me. It swirled around me constantly while I moved from room to room. And if I stopped, if I sat down - well then the tornado just became more feirce. It swirled faster. The words got thicker and heavier.

It was over the course of the next few days that I uncoved the distinct possibility that I had pretty sever ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and that all these years of walking around unable to finish a project, unable to clean up "the piles", unable to really "get it together" - was NOT me failing at every turn. There wasn't something WRONG with me. Well technically there was - but it was something that might actually be somewhat fixable. All those years of depression and anxiety - they could have all durived, been cast off symptomes created form my frustration and inablility to crush the tornado.

I finally got the image down on paper! I was then flooded with ideas for even better ways to express this image (ideas for future projects). The funny thing was that I kept setting up road-blocks for myself. I'd say "well it needs to be in watercolor, but I can't find the watercolors, it'll have to wait". When I realized how much of this SILLINESS was going on, I grabbled my kids markers and got to work. Added some water with a brush, then grabbed my Sharpie and started writting. My kids came wandering by with big eyes and inquisitive questions. "Mommy, what are you doing?" or "Are you working in your dream journal?" WOW! I wondered, why would they care? It was such a moment of clarity. Of course they care. All kids are intreged by what adults are doing. They're watching our every move. And I beleive that they have an inate sense of WHAT IS GOOD. WHAT IS FUN. What is WORTH doing. "Mommy, I want to make a Dream Journal! Can I make one today?"

ACCESSIBILITY TO MATERIALS

Another lesson learned for me in the last few weeks is, YOUR MATERIALS NEED TO BE ACCESSABLE! Okay, raise your hand if everytime you decide that your want to make art, you have to:

1. Find the materials.

2. Find a clear space to work.

3. Set up.

4. Face the idea that it will have to be cleaned up immediately. (or your family won't be eating dinner)

5. OKAY, DO I REALLY WANT TO MAKE ART TODAY?

I learned this lesson the other day (strangely, I didn't really realize just how important it was) when my son had gotten out a pallet with several big blobs of acrylic paint. He was working on a project (creating his own version of a movable, diarama creation he had seen an artist create on Reading Rainbow) And YES, he had to follow steps 1 through 4. (it didn't stop him did it?)

Of course, he didn't clean up. After all, why do that when mom will probably come along and do it for me (now that's what I call 10 year old logic!) So their they were, brightly colored, eewy, gooey, delicious blobs of paint. Already beginning to dry, nice and thick. "Come and get us." they whispered. "Just throw us on the cover of your Dream Journal" they said. "You don't need to make a masterpiece or anything, just have some fun." they yelled. "For God sakes woman! Your just gonna' have to scrape us off and scrub the pallet anyway, you might as well not waste us." they screamed!

I grabbled my journal. I grabbed a brush. I HAD FUN!

(Check into earlier posts to see the beginnings of my Dream Journal.)

And ya' know what? I think it took all of 5 or 10 minutes. But I FELT AMAZING. 

I felt ENERGIZED. I felt PROUD. 

NOW HERE THIS!

HONOR YOUR CREATIVITY 

WHEN IT ARRIVES

Say hello. Give it a smile. Offer it a cup of coffee, or some fresh towels. Take out that "warm-from-the-oven" banana bread. Shake hands, or say a prayer. Thank your creativity for coming. And be sure to ask it to come back soon.

A WONDERFUL EXAMPLE OF 

HONORING THE ARRIVAL OF CREATIVITY!

Garden Angel (later renamed Garden Scarecrow) by Pam Stanton

My mother has always been a shining example of greeting the arival of creativity with a smile. It's something that I believe she passed on to each one of her 5 children (even if she didn't think she was doing it - we were watching!) Recently she was inspired to create this sculpture in her back-yard. I am so thankfull that we have pictures of it, because it wasn't too long after it's creation that several members of the Venomous Toad Commitee (see earlier posts for details on this coniving group) arrived and convinced her quite quickly that it must be remeoved immediately. But if you were one of the lucky ones to get to talk to her during the creation, during it's breif, but dazeling existance - you would have seen the joy and energy that it brought to her world (and the world of many others). 

TRUST IN YOURSELF.

TRUST IN YOUR CREATIVITY.