Thursday

Thursday is my day to open the door to creative thinking and doing; I've reverted to an earlier phase of my life, before painting and art school, when I was internally driven to Make Things, and they were varied and creative. But I'm also a different person now - as Grandma Earth Teacher I am led to make things that are a gift to the Earth in some way, sustainable, and with a message. 

Also, I want to engage in creative practices that aid my resilience, such as mindful doodling & sketching, crochet, playing with clay, photography, and daily "creative rituals" (cooking, rearranging spaces). 

And thirdly, I've got lots of projects that help us function better: Fixing broken things and maintaining the house.

Agenda: 

1. Read "The Book of Doing and Being"

2. Projects for the week

3. Functional creativity

1. Read "The Book of Doing and Being":

I'm reading from this book by Barnet Bain (2015), subtitled "Rediscovering Creativity in Life, Love, and Work". This is a book of creative perspective, to help jiggle me out of the straight line way I usually think into something new: Use the exercises with consistency in order to stay focused on my destination. Practice will ground me and allow my ambitions to take root and grow.

Chapter 7 is The Four Anesthetics, about roadblocks to creative flow, and this section is on Developing Creative Plasticity, "an imaginative malleability" that can be practiced with "focused expression of intention and attention". 

The first of four practices is rewiring the brain with relaxation. When I want to kick-start a creative project or am just feeling overwhelmed and unclear, I can try one of these:

• Mindful breathing practice for just a few minutes.
• Take a nap.
• Take a long bath.
• Go for a walk.
• Sit by a fountain.

2. Projects for the week:

My new goals for Grandma Earth Teacher and Dragonfly Studio. is 

to heal my studio space and my Creative Light, and work on

 hands-on projects to support my work on my nature-culture blog:

• Th: Treasure hunt + Color sawfly drawing
• F: Butterflies - Print some new photos, tone them down a bit
• Sat: Finish sewing blue bee flag
• Sun: Stamp on bee and hang
• M: New moth or bee drawing project
• T: Bottle-cap snake
• W: Sigel for good health
• Th: New bee or moth drawing

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.

3. Functional Creativity:

And thirdly, I've got lots of projects that help us function better: Fixing broken things and maintaining the house.

• Th: Repair duck paddle
• F: Gate latch
• Futon drawers
• Pretty boxes, 
• Paint tool board shapes