By Sign & Design: My Charmed Life

Waking up from a long winters’ nap

Creative Hibernation

I have been in an energy rut for a while now. It’s been a long winter and – as usual – I hibernated almost literally. While most people I know feel more productive with their creative projects as the weather cools, I felt, well, PTtthhhT. This winter, I read a fair bit and completed a frightening amount of Sudoku puzzles. All things I can do cozily from a relaxed position and so I did, which also led me deeper into my “nap habit”. My imagination was only on semi-vacation, though. I dreamt up plenty of creative projects to tackle, and I continued to take “artist dates” to Michael’s on Saturday mornings.

I dabbled with some knitting. My talented friend Tanya taught me how on a work trip back from Rhode Island in Nov. It had been about 25 yrs since my Nanna taught me the first time and so rather than Barbie clothes; I knitted a couple of what Pete calls “Neck Tubes”. They turned out ok, but nothing like my teacher and inspiration Tanya’s work. Tanya is an amazing craftsperson. This is not your Grandma’s knitting. Her work is beautiful, funky, and she is able to combine every part of the process from dying and spinning her own wool to the final beautiful piece! (PS you should really check out her work on her blog http://bytanya.blogspot.com/ .

I have planned some photo / paper projects… several scrapbooks I want to get started on: A gardening theme, a gourmet food and wine theme, a dog theme, pics from Greece, and now pics from NYC with Kate. I beefed up my digital setup a bit with a new Dell in the Fall, a new photo printer and a fun Wacom tablet. Since it also an activity requiring more stamina than energy J, I spent many hours beefing up my Photoshop skills.

I also completed two baby quilts that were in the works for a while - the two O’Hara cousins Olivia and Peighton received these on their first birthdays J I always mean to get photos of the babies and their quilts and never get around to it.

Looking back on the summary, it wasn’t a totally inactive winter, I guess. I am feeling much more motivated now that Spring has arrived, finally. I have decided to try to include some sort of “artist date” activity every day, even if it is only surfing web sites of my crafty friends. It’s something and it will get me moving eventually.

What Are You Daydreaming About?

I don't know if it is because we are at day number 65 of 2008 (thank you, CNN, for counting down) and have yet to have a truly warm sunny day ... OR because I haven't been drinking coffee but I can't seem to focus on one thing to start and complete. Instead I am more often engaging in my truly favorite activity: DAYDREAMING.

The internet is a daydreamer's best friend. This week, the theme is WHIMSY, The handmade wooden Teaser Puzzle below is called "If the Shoe Fits"  - Artist Dee Rogers (C) Stave Puzzles.Inc

Stave Puzzles

 

San Francisco logs 1: Refreshing the Creative Spirit

This picture illustrates how prefectly lush my imagination felt as I toured Monterey and Carmel by the Sea.

This is the first day I have found a wireless internet connection to post by, but believe me, I have been writing posts in my head since I arrived (even writing them and saving them in topics for future posts)!
Before leaving Moncton, I had a sense of anticipation and not just for the obvious reasons (vacation, vacation, vacation). I had heard that this city has a vibrant artistic energy, and this is so true. I purposely brought the tools I wanted to use to capture ideas with: camera, computer, journal, standard purple pens. The next step was to use them. I had actually set myself up for success before by planning ahead - the day trips out to Monterey, Carmel-by-the-sea and Wine country. This proved valuable. I would have time to write, think, read, and daydream. I was ready for the flow to come the minute I stepped off the plane, I have been creatively energized, inspired, and refreshed. I am storing up fun ideas for things I want to do when I get back.

I also saved my first day for browsing downtown in my favorite kinds of places- home decor and kitchen shops (so many great ideas come to me there), bookstores, wine and gourmet food shops, piers and restaurants. When I browse, I relax. And I get in tune with a place. It is not so much shopping  (or what I call collecting tools) for me, as much as it is a synchronicity exercise. This is when I discover whether my intuition is in serving me well or poorly, and whether my spirit is in a good place or not. When I find a bookstore and a book jumps off the shelf that is about something that I am thinking about, for example, I know I am "in tune"with the flow. One book I have read called "Finding Flow" describes this process. Flow masters around the world dothese little exercises to find out where they are.

Some of the new ideas:

- I have an art piece I want to create, a Sea-Cure-Itty Blanket, made of a multi-color blue greeen yarn and hand-dyed ribbon treaures I found by synchricity in a tiny shop in Carmel by the Sea.
- Appetizers to drink wine by - Use focaccia bread to sop up a mixture of blue cheese, walnuts and olive oil and sea salt splashed on a plate. Champagne garlic mustard. French fries served with roasted garlic!
- Aprons! Silly sounding, I know, but I have been looking eveywhere for a funky apron to cook withthat has the right fabric feel, quality, colors and shape."Kiss the Cook" just can;t be all there is out there for those if us who still want to be somewhat fashionable. I finally figured out the simple solution is make my own designs and funky patterns.
- Journal/scrapbooks without glue, for those of us with less time!