"Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift.”
Agenda Today:
1. Read "The Creativity Book"
2. Evaluate my creativity habits
3. Craftivism plans
4. Preschool plans
5. Do the smallest thing
1. Read "the Creativity Book":
A few years ago I started but didn't finish this book by Eric Maisel (one of my favorite writers). The subtitle is "A Year's Worth of Inspiration and Guidance." Who doesn't want that? I'm on part 7, Connect, and Week 30: Aim for a Response. He suggests that we want to thrill people, make them laugh or cry, or bring them to rage against an injustice. We want to transform them in some way. We want to "move hearts and open minds".
The exercise is to Explain my intentions to myself. Articulate what audience response I'm aiming for.
My intention, then, this month, is to create art that evokes positive feelings of wonder, comfort, love, and I'll add grandeur for Eric Maisel, because "joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift.”
2. Evaluate my creativity habits:
Once a week I try to take stock of my creative habits:
Have I launched into a large creative project, one worth exhausting myself on, and if not, why?Have I constructed a schedule for my creative work and am I keeping to it?
Do I set goals at the beginning of each week?
Do I have a daily routine that supports my creative efforts?
3. Craftivism plans:
I've defined three areas for What I Want and What I Will Do to Get it: The first is to make things with my hands to give away - useful things, things that inspire and teach, gifts and craftivism. This is my late week focus, Thursday and Friday, and I plan and prepare on Thursday morning.
This week my plan is to work on my bathroom butterflies, and next week I'll draft a new Earth Care pamphlet.
4. Preschool plans:
The second kind of creativity is to make things with my grandsons - fun things, exploring basic skills, seasonal materials, and folk crafts. This will be my mid-week focus, Tuesday and Wednesday, and I will do all the prep on Monday, gathering all the supplies and making samples.
Next week is skeleton week! We will look at X-rays, and make kid hands with Q-tip bones, Calvera scull masks, and refrigerator magnet bones.
5. Studio:
Thirdly, I want to make artworks with a message - things that explore and support my Nature-Culture writing. This will be my weekend focus, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, with at least two hours in the studio, and I'll envision, explore, write, and set out supplies on Saturday morning.
I've been piddling around with an old painting, and now I'm ready to get busy on a new project that evokes positive feelings of wonder, comfort, love, and grandeur.
6. Do the smallest thing:
Doing the smallest thing is a great way to make courageous creative work less frightening; also finding the "minimum effective dose", the amount of work that keeps me challenged and joyful, and if I keep at it will get me to the finish line on time.
Today I will list specific goals for each day's creative projects and identify the first step; also itemize the supplies and preparation steps on a separate check list.
My creative projects plan this week:
- Th: Paint pumpkins with Aldo
- F: Paint butterflies in the bathroom, set up ofrenda
- Sat: Start a positivity abstract
- Sun: Paint on abstract
- M: Make bones for magnets, and begin work on EC trifold
- T: Make hand X-rays
- W: Make scull masks
Preparations:
- Th: Get X-ray books
- F: Find new butterfly photos, paints
- Sat: Abstract inspiration
- Sun: Write about abstract intentions
- M: Print bones, draw masks
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