“If you are creative and you know it, clap your hands. If you’re creative and you know it, clap your hands. If you’re creative and you know it then your face will surely show it….”
Are you clapping your hands? Or are you sitting on them, thinking “not me”?
Before we talk about our creativity, or lack thereof, will you participate in our very own Creativity Poll? It will only take a few seconds, there’s just that one question. Here’s the link to the poll.
(Sorry, y’all, that poll only allows for 100 votes; so it’s closed already….88% answered YES and 12% answered NO)
Thanks to the CREATIVITY of reader Sara! I started a new poll. Here’s the link to the new one. Pop over and vote!
I’m one of those people who would have answered “no” if you had asked me a few weeks ago.
No, I don’t think of myself as creative. And I have to tell you, I’m more than a little intimidated to be participating in the Creative Connection 2011 event. Have you heard about this incredible conference? It’s in September in St. Paul, and MaryJanesFarm is one of the sponsors. There will even be an official MaryJanesFarm Day. Wow, what fun that will be! MaryJane and Meg, and the staff of MaryJanesFarm will be teaching workshops on food styling, photography, canning, going vegan, cheesemaking, and lots more.
I’ll be there too, but not in a traditional “creative” way. I’m teaching my Law-Maze program, which gives tools to women with a dream of taking their idea to the entrepreneurial level.
It will be a fun, fantastic weekend for me. But it will also be intimidating. Can you imagine all the creativity that will be flying all over the place there? I can’t. I have never been in the presence of that level of creativity.
So I’ve been thinking about creativity and being creative. When I think about creative people, I think mainly about crafters and artists. I think about people who make something with their hands, something beautiful and tangible. I’ve always been in awe because I have none of that.
None.
But now I’ve come to realize something. Creativity doesn’t manifest itself in only arts and crafts. We are all creative. I now believe that if we are on this side of the dirt, then we are creative. I think we are all creating something, all the time. We just don’t give ourselves credit for our creativity if it doesn’t produce something beautiful to use or look at. But to me, now, creativity is a lot like living mindfully.
Life is creative; life is art.
The important part, I think, is participating fully and mindfully in the creative process. So, let’s talk this through together. What does it take to be creative? Surely people who create music are being creative.
Like James Taylor.
(Who, by the way, I had to mention because I’m going to his concert this weekend. And, although I have crummy seats, I still have high hopes of getting his autograph. One day it will happen…..it just has to.)
And also like you and me. We all create music. We hum. We sing in the shower. Or at church. Or with the radio while we sit in traffic. We sing lullabies to our children. Some of us play the piano or maybe the drums on our knees. IS that being creative?
And what about gardening? Isn’t that a creative endeavor? First, there’s the design and planning of the garden area. Then the planting. Then the picking or cutting or harvesting. It all takes some level of creativity.
What else? What other creative things are we each involved with every day? Is it creative to think creative thoughts? Or do we have to act on them? Maybe it’s time to ramp it up. Push it a little more. Be more appreciative of the creative talents we have. Let our imaginations run free.
So here’s the Creativity Challenge.
Think about what you have created in the last couple of days and share something with us here.
Maybe you are a traditional creator and have worked on making a pair of earrings, or knitting, or painting, or quilting, then tell us about that.
But maybe you aren’t. Maybe you’re someone who needs to get more CREATIVE in the way you think about your own creativity.
Either way, please share your creativity with us. (If you have a website, include a link.)
Here’s my list
- I rearranged the items on my bookshelf in my kitchen.
- I wrote a thank you note to a special aunt.
- I took some photos of my sweet smelling gardenias.
- I picked some of my sweet-smelling gardenias and put them in a vase on the kitchen table.
- I made dinner, including a salad with home-made salad dressing from the recipes I picked out in my last post. (The dressing was beyond delicious and can be found at www.rebekahteal.com.)
- I made a pitcher of sweet tea. (It’s 90 degrees in the shade. Whew.)
- I packed a snack for my daughter.
- I worked on playing an F chord on the guitar. (It’s impossible and I don’t know how anyone can play an F chord.)
- I put together an “ensemble” to wear to work.
- I prepared the soil and planted basil seeds.
- I folded towels.
- I wrote this post.
- I put a photo I particularly like at the end of it, even though it doesn’t have anything to do with anything.
Your turn!
Until next time, Friends, savor the flavor of life!
Lots of love, The City Farmgirl, Rebekah
P.S. Lisa sends a big hug and thanks for all the wonderful cookbook and cooking suggestions!
I have been having a blast lately making Farmgirl related items. I have made a set of Farmgirl notecards, a recipe box and a chicken notebook. What fun My mind is going a mile a minute
You can see them at http://www.dreamingofspringtime.etsy.com
Thanks
Rebekah: Lucky you!! James Taylor (swoon) One thing about him is his voice clarity. We had far far away seat at an outdoor concert. His voice came through loud and clear. My dream is to meet him someday too. I love your blogs!!! Thanks for them. Best wishes Dianne (FLA)
I spent some time with my PC’s scanner & scanned favorite recipes from cookbooks on the shelves that I rarely used (there are some books that have just a few yet I keep the whole book for some reason!). This allowed me to print the recipes I love & use and give away the cookbooks that I don’t use and that take up a lot of space … felt good to accomplish, more of my favorites are now behind plastic protector sheets in my recipe binder & got me more organized too!
I am working on another pair of MaryJane’s slippers right now. I have also been doing little things in the garden. I hope to rein in the climbing roses by the garage next!
For 25 years I’ve been paid for my creativity (I guess that makes me a psuedo professional). I’ve always felt that creativity as a label is unfairly hoarded and gets mooshed down into an ittybitty box, The result is sorta like when Cinderella’s big-footed sister tries to make the tiny glass slipper fit and her big ole foot pops it off. Creativity is a huge category and it will NOT fit into a stingey little box!! People that design satellite communications systems are creative, as are researchers that work on curing diseases. All the people that work on how to make our lives safer are creative troubleshooters. Chefs are creative as is any cook that enjoys the art and likes to experiment. Creative thought is like the air we breath, it is everywhere and in everyone. Dealing with Life demands it. Some of it is work related, some it falls under the heading of "just for fun"…hobby therapy. Anyone who works in the arts (and crafts) will tell you that even though they enjoy their job, it is a job and it feels like work. A friend of mine has been a career medical illustrator (surgeon’s manuals); her hobby is also art, but it is much more playful and fanciful. She jokes that her ‘job’ is to draw bones & innards. Another friend is a newspaper owner and she is a creative machine that has a weekly deadline. Parents that take the time to enrich their childrens lives with family traditions, outings, and just how to do things in everyday life are 110% 24/7 creative!
Well anyway, I second your thoughts…everyone is creative. We all have bellybuttons and we all have a creative soul. If you don’t think so, you’re probably not looking in the right place. If you let yourself see that part of you, you’re on the verge of really widening your life by turning your inner child loose. Being fearless in self exploration is, in my opinion, the key that turns the lock. :o) Shery
Thank you for this wonderful post on creativity and for the survey. For the past 20 plus years I’ve been leading spiritual and creative workshops and classes for women. My passion is to inspire women to discover and express their creative gifts.
I offer an online class to teach women how to craft a special "Book of Wonderment" that is part scrapbook part journal, and chock full of all the things that inspire a your imagination and creativity. You can read about my class at http://www.sacredlifearts.com on the Classroom page.
Living life with sacred and creative awareness means living as a Sacred Life-Artisan! Let’s begin a new Renaissance of creativity and spread beauty, hope, and inspiration wherever we go and make our life our art!!
Thank you, Rebekah, for YOUR inspiration and the beauty you bring to the world… Dana Reynolds Carmel, California
I’ve been working on a new wall hanginmg for my shop. That’s my officially creative thing. I also love to readaloud to my kiddos and I change my voice around for the different characters. I made bread. Lots of ways to see being creative. Thanks for the reminder Rebekah!
I’ve been been making BRINED veggies, hopefully to use as some "hard to buy for" Dads on the upcoming Father’s Day.
Sorry I got my recipe and my labels clip art from a competitor’s magazine…don’t hate me.
I am cleaning bathrooms today- does that count?
Hi Rebecca,Thankyou for asking,I sew a lot,I am totally obsessed,and I am trying to form a new website,but,my life is so busy,so under construction is http://www.hallieolees.com.,I haven,t gotton very far on it because I do hair also and only have time to work on things between clients,I have had two fashion shows,also doing the hair on the models and have been giving talks to several ladies groups,I got a write up in the newspaper ,I have a booth now at the Faithful Peddler Antique Mall on 71 hiway near Walmarts here at Lamar,its upstairs,and I am so excited!I never would of started it all if It was not for my love of Mary Janes Farm,I was so deeply depressed when I picked up my first copy almost two years ago,and she made me want to live again.,Oh my Joplin Mo relatives are all OK and so far we have had no damage here,will probably go to a shelter tonight to be safe,we have a couple more days of this they say.Please ask Spirit to bless Joplin MO and pray for thease people,I sure hope all my hard work does not blow away!Blessed be,Carol Branum,Lamar MO.
Creativity in the last couple of days…..hmmmmm
Took pictures of my gardens explosion because it’s so lovely right now.
Took pictures of my dog and hubs
Completed a few blog posts
Almost finished sewing a skirt
Organized my craft room
Put a few items on freecycle and now the ‘stuff’ is out of my house and to someone that needs/wants it.
Decided on a few dinner menus for the upcoming beginning of summer weekend. (so excited)
Also decided on a new drinky-poo for the start of the weekend…;)
Wow, that’s quite a list and I think it is really creative because it involves thinking differently and doing differently. LOVE THAT!
Have a great day!
Julie
Carol, I’m sending up prayers for you, your family and everyone who has been impacted by the storms. Good to hear from you! Please keep us posted. Thinking of you…
Fantasitc topic Rebekah! CREATIVITY! You said it, Life is Creative;life is ART! I believe we are made to be creative, to be problem solvers and express our creativity in just about everything we do! Artists of LIFE! Creativity doesn’t just belong to artists. It lives and breathes within each of us! I was fortunate to work in the creative industry of hairdressing for 18 years,followed by 12 years of homeschooling where I’ve learned to stretch my creative wings even further as a mother and facilitator of learning for our two home grown kids. All along I’ve tried my hand an many artsy endeavors. Sewing, painting furniture,home decor, gardening and photography and now writing my HOME ARTS blog Dandelion House and the MJFbeachblog too! Life is a wonderful creative journey! We just need to stay open so we can " recieve " our own creative messages then just go for it!
Here’s my list of creativity for this week:
1) Write my next blog for the mjfbeachblog
2) Now that the rain has stopped I can assemble my two raised garden beds.
3) Set up temperary " housing " for my newest batch of 8 Auracaunas outside while hubby finishes the run! I used a dog fence, a dog crate and a tarp! Not the prettiest arrangement but it will do in a pinch until the full set up is finished!
4)Added Verbena and Catmint to my perennial garden.
5)Researched how to get rid of a very unwanted woodchuck that has taken up residence under our shed and all but eaten my elephant sized hollyhock down to the nubbins!
( anyone know how to get rid of a woodchuck)?
HELP!
Great post Rebekah! Loved it!
Deb
I harvested my first homegrown beets and am cooking the beets now, saving the greens for another dinner and will freeze the cooking water to make ‘ice pops’ for my chickens. I am also knitting a chicken hat for a friend’s daughter, making up the pattern as I go along. I built a covered duck feeder for my 7 ducks so their feed doesn’t get wet when it rains also.
I made several meals this week using some of the vegetables from the garden I planted earlier this year!
I feel that everyone is creative myself! Some people just don’t realize it.
1. I planted two flower beds with herbs.
2. I took pictures of some of the flowers that are blooming.
3. I worked on my Gourd Art
4. I taught a class in Gourd Art.
5. I’ve come up with a couple of new designs.
Come see me at my blog: http://barbara-mooregourdwhimsies.blogspot.com
Loved this article!
Hugs XX
Barbara
Yes, I am a creative person, and over the last few years I have had to re-evaluate my idea of an artist! It’s not just someone who paints pictures or creates sculptures or makes music. Anyone who creates is an artist! I loved your post because it really reflected how I feel about the topic.
I am a papercrafter, primarily making cards and tags. It makes me happy to sit at my work table and make things. You can find my blog here >>> http://camelliacottagedesigns.blogspot.com/ and I hope you will leave me a comment if you visit!
Love reading your blog, your fellow Georgia girl,
Becky Garrison
Chapter Leader Sunshine Sisters Farmgirls
Cumming, Georgia
I like my veggie garden to be visually pleasing…flowers, interesting layouts (no rows!!!), and 3-d climbers for cukes, peas, etc. Been out there all week 🙂
This is Renaisance Fair season and I just finished the last Elizabethan costume,I hope:)
Oh yes. Creativity. I am a quilter, a pattern designer, and before that a ‘suit’ but even then, commercial interior architectural design. Now as a quilt pattern designer of ‘all things tropical, bright, fresh’ I fall asleep every night to dream in color and pattern, and wake every morning to a day full of possibilities, being inspired by everything I see.
Creative? You bet. be.do.create + beyond the reef
It’s what I do. It’s what I live.
I haven’t done this yet, but I have an idea.
MaryJane’s latest magazine had dish-drainer quilts. Way cool. I have two queen size pillow cases, which have lost their twins and I have been thinking of putting batting into the closed, plain end, sewing/ironing it in place and then flipping the fancy open end over, so the border of the pillow case is somewhat off center. Yes, the quilt will be thicker at that point but the dish-drainer will straddle the bulk.
If you haven’t seen MaryJane’s idea check it out. I have been using old bath towels with worn out selvages and fringe on the sides. Worse still I keep washing and drying these old towels, wasting water and natural gas. MJ shows off her quilts on skirt hangers, economical and e-cological at the same time.
Above, I think Barbara Moore may have typed her own blog address incorrectly??.
I think it is: http://barbara-moorewhimsies.blogspot.com
I hope I am being helpful, because I could not access it until I took out the word "gourd"??
Thank you Rebekah for inspiring us (and teal is my favorite color).
We (hubs and I) are being creative with our on-going hummingbird/butterfly gardens in our yard by adding a few more native perennials and continuing our wildscape garden, hope to be done someday so we can sit back and enjoy them. Found a really neat site and purchased some great plants, almostedenplants.com (hope I can add that in my message).
Hold out for the autograph of James Taylor, it can happen. Plan for it, envision it. A few years ago I had the chance to see The Moody Blues in concert in Tahoe and so wanted to meet my favorite of the group, Justin Hayward but did not know how this could happen. I had to wait a while for the box office to open to get my ticket so I window shopped in the mini mall behind the theatre and ventured into a book store and low and behold there was none other than Mr. Hayward himself. He was so nice and such a gentleman, we chatted and I got his autograph. The concert that PM was a blast! Believe it and it will come true.
Hi, Read thru. There’s an offer at the end. I am Racine, WI. My grandchildren are here. I live for 4 winter months in Texas(with my husband). A move is planned, because the Rd. where I live has gone from country to raceway. It’s noisey & dirty. There is one nice house on a very quiet street.
I’m selling, donating and tossing stuff. I have endless supplies of ribbons, old knit & crochet books; & pamphlets; hardbound books, yarn & more yarn, sewing needles, knitting needles. Plus approx. 100 old sewing patterns! I will be part of a sewing organization sale and large antique store sale in the fall.
Some time ago, I sent for an unseen box of swimsuit material…$5. It was fun.
Over the yrs., I’ve sewn 20 yrs. of costume for the community theatre and 8 yrs. at the Bristol Renaissance Faire.
If anything in my stash sound interesting ,let me know. Maybe, it’s what you could use.
I’m committed to keeping supplied for about 5 sewing and knitting projects. It’ll lighten my load emotionally, too. It’s all going for a song. Jill Willett Can this be displayed ?
Hi Jill! How fabulous! Make sure to post your information over at the Farmgirl Connection too!