Back-Breaking Creativity

Creativity can be very difficult work some days. While my husband was away on business for a week, I decided to do something useful. The previous year we had purchased a new construction home. As many new construction homes go it had a lovely front yard, but the back yard was left completely undone. Since we had already lived through one summer with an eyesore of a backyard, I was anxious to get the yard whipped into shape for the coming summer. I had the creative vision of what I wanted it to look like, but to make that vision into reality I was going to have to roll up my sleeves and get dirty. And boy did I get dirty. I spent about 20 hours out there over three and a half days. I dug up weeds and large clumps of grass, I picked out hundreds and hundreds of rocks, I hauled dirt, I raked, I leveled, I put in edging and landscape fabric and finally I planted grass seed. The result was something to behold. Now, every time I look out the window I smile. The back-breaking labor was worth it. Now I can't wait for summer to arrive!
Creativity, in some cases, may only be realized through the sweat of your brow. All the planning and dreaming in the world won't reap you a creative masterpiece. So, get out there and make it into reality.

Creative Docent Mom

This year I volunteered to be an Art Docent for my twin 5th grade girls' class. School budgets are not what they used to be. When the money is short, the (considered) non-essentials get the boot. Art is apparently one of the non-essentials. However someone at the school considered it essential enough to start a volunteer Art Docent program. The goal of an Art Docent is to teach students a bit about art, the masters, the styles, and so on, and to also give the students hands-on experience creating different genres of art. I volunteer once a month for about an hour. We have learned about Matisse, Renior, Picasso, Seurat, O'Keefe, Monet and more, but mostly we have created. We started off with Modern Art which is very unintimidating. We dove into our feelings about Thanksgiving and tried to create a picture that represented them. We had a lot of fun with Pointellism. They were all amazed that they could create a stunning large image with hundreds of little dots. We did some great collage work with bright vivid colors. We drew apples and oranges, which helped us practice our shading. And this last time we drew flowers, in celebration of Spring and Mother's day. I love how surprised they are at what they can create with just a little instruction. I am also enjoying the fact that because I have to prepare a lesson, I am forced to create something myself. Creativity tends to get the back burner with all the other important things to do in life, just like the Art program was put on the back burner when the budget got tight. I'm glad I get the opportunity to put creativity back in front.

My Contribution to Earth Day

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. This is my story.
So a few days ago I made a batch of potato salad. A batch - seriously. When you are using giant Russet potatoes from Cash & Carry it is hard to tell exactly how many you need. It turned out great, but a few days later, no matter how good something is, you get tired of eating it. I had a brilliant idea. My kids love scalloped potatoes. What a bonus that I already had precut, precooked potatoes; never mind the pickles and the mayonnaise. I reasoned...a lot of those down-home southern recipes use mayonnaise in them. And the pickles, I could just pick them out.  Did I mention that I really like pickles in my potato salad, the more the better, and a little dried dill to amplify the flavor. So the pickle picking took some time, but after that a little grated cheese stirred in and some garlic salt and we were good to go.
There wasn't enough time to partake of the cheesy goodness before the kids' baseball games and practices. So, needless to say, by the time we got home everyone was hungry and excited to indulge in Mom's scalloped potatoes. I gave them a little taste as I was dishing up the kids' helpings. "Hmm, quite good," I thought, "I think I'm going to be able to pull this off, they are not going to have a clue that they are eating left over potato salad".
Sam was the first one to dig in. A few bites into it he asked confusedly, "did you put pickles in this?" (I'm laughing right now as I retell this) I admitted how I had made the scalloped potatoes and that he must have eaten the one pickle that I missed. Soon the girls were commenting on how it tasted like pickle scalloped potatoes. I was so amused, it was very hard not to laugh, all the while I continued to try to convince them that it was quite good and a brilliant idea to boot. I watched as the girls tried adding garlic salt and pepper to augment the flavor, but apparently to no avail. Sam piped in, "I'm only eating this because I have to". (I'm still laughing, the whole thing cracks me up) Levi, on the other hand, although sitting right there, completely missed the whole pickle thing. He loved it and asked for seconds. That-a-boy, way to make your mama proud.

I did not set out today, Earth Day 2010, to make a difference in the world, but apparently I did make a lasting impact on those around me. And I must say, I am quite proud of how I creatively Reduced, Reused, and Recycled my unwanted leftovers! :)

Birthday Cake - Failure To Create Something Wonderful

I was anticipating just the perfect dessert for my birthday. I knew I wanted something chocolate - but what exactly I hadn't yet decided. I browsed Allrecipes for quite some time. I decided it would either be Banana Cake with Dark Chocolate Fudge Frosting or Chocolate Cheesecake. I could not decide, all day I went back and forth, but finally I decided it would be the Banana Cake. The problem arose when I didn't have over ripe bananas - they were ripe but not turning brown yet. I added to the problem by adding some berry jam to the recipe to help give it more flavor. I don't know what else went wrong but it was the worst cake I have ever made or eaten. It was basically hardened dough wrapped in Dark Chocolate Fudge Frosting.

Unfortunately, failure is inevitable when we step out to create something new. In fact during some seasons it may seem like we fail more than we succeed but all those failures create great building blocks (the layers of my Banana Cake would actually make great building blocks) for the creation of something wonderful.

I couldn't get the thought of a great tasting Banana Cake out of my head, so the next day I tried again. This time I had better ingredients and the result was most definitely a better cake. Happy Birthday to me!

Create - Bread

Today I had 4 friends over, 3 of which had never made bread before - real bread - mixing, kneading, rising, watching, waiting, smelling, eating, loving. The result was a creation of collaboration and yumification.

Why hadn't they ever made bread? A variety of reasons were expressed - lack of knowledge, no experience, fear of failure. These are the things that hold us back everyday from taking the initiative to create something new. But they don't have to, like my friends, we can just decide to step out and do something new - to create. The result is a work of art - and I must say, this one was quite a tasty one too.

Every Day Is An Opportunity To Create

There is something in all of us that drives us to create.

We were made in the image of the Creator.

How can we not create?

Right now I am creating this post.

These words, written in this way, have never been assembled before.

I have the privilege, the honor, of creating something new.

Some days I create a painting, other days a new recipe,

still other days a bedtime song exclusively for my 5 yr. old.

Always, the opportunity to create is before me.

If I choose to enter into this incredible opportunity,

the world is changed.

Changed? You ask.

Yes. Maybe not profoundly.

But the world is not the same as it was,

before that painting, before that recipe, before that song.

It has a new layer. It is fresher. It is newer.

And yes. Maybe profoundly.

Think of how the world has changed because of what people have created.

The buildings, the music, the technology, the art.

Think of all the creative layers.

It is mind-boggling. And beautiful.

So...Create. Add a fresh layer to the world.

The privilege is yours for the taking.