Build a World

I am building a world of Nature-Culture in book form, but I'm slipping a little. I do wake up thinking about my  project, but I rarely take an hour to write. And the other parts - actual garden work and research, painting and craftivism - are also slipping. 

Part of it is that the other big project we are doing is winding to a climax (12 days to a hot tub!) and demanding my attention, and part of it is lack of direction. I think I need a Nature-Culture retreat day soon, to recenter and plan synergy.

Agenda Today:

1. Read "The Creativity Book"

2. Evaluate my creativity habits

3. Craftivism plans

4. Preschool plans

5. Studio

6. Do the smallest thing

7. Love meditation

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 32: Build a World. "If you have the ambition to build a world, creative people everywhere support your dream. ... We love it when our creative congregation adopts as its motto, 'I can envision and make new worlds'. ... The distance between your dream and its fruition can be enormous. But I hope that your reaction ... is ...'I'll try anyway'.This is your time on earth. Is there some other work you'd rather be doing?"

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 brainstorm, plan and prepare on Thursday morning.

This week my plan is to make a worry monster for each of my grandsons, one of whom really needs someone to eat his worries. Other ideas I have for this month:

• Painted butterflies in our bathroom
• A neighbor list of plants
• A final Earthcare trifold
• A plan for a plant library
• Some kind of plastic project
• Gift making with a purpose

4. Preschool plans:

The second kind of creativity I want 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; on Thursday I will choose next themes, brainstorm projects, and define the nature and skills goals; on the weekend I will gather books and supplies (and take time to stash away the last projects and supplies); and I will do all the prep and making samples on Monday.

This week the focus was leaves - we collected leaves and made a luminary.

Next week is Dinosaur week: Ideas-

• A terrarium jungle for tiny dinosaurs to live.
• Pinecone dinosaurs
• Dinosaur cape?

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, and that is a simple, peaceful, complementary, organic abstract.  

 

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: Start monster, sew eyes
• F: Finish leaf luminary
• Sat: Start an Autumn positivity abstract
• Sun: Paint on abstract, paint butterflies bathroom
• M: Paint on abstract, prep for Dino week
• T: Start pinecone dinosaurs - paint pinecones
• W: Get dino books

Preparations:

• Th: Gather monster fabrics, make a pattern, order tiny dinos
• F: Gesso some boards, abstract inspiration
• Sat: Gather butterfly drawings and paints
• Sun: Prep pinecones, paints, cardboard, sticks, etc.
• M: Make a dinosaur pinecone sample

7. Love Meditation:

Every month after the full moon, in the quiet-energy yin time of the waning moon, I practice a love meditation that progresses from receptivity, to gratitude, to generosity:

Day 1: Practice a love meditation, and open to receive blessings - send a prayer to the universe asking to be showered with love, kindness, health, and happiness.

1. 1 minute - Relax your body, and focus on the tender emotion of generous love. Allow a smile to settle on your face and in your heart.
2. 1 minute - Visualize love as soft, tingly, warm, pink light, and see it move from your heart to every part of your body so that every cell is glowing and vibrating.
3. 1 minute - Now see the pink light of love radiating to fill the whole room, then the whole city, and the whole planet earth.
4. 1 minute - See that all people, plants, and animals feel warm and happy.
5. 1 minute - Send an extra dose of love light to those people you want to have a better connection to.