Ways To Be Creative

"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have."
                                                                      ― Maya Angelou

Some would argue that any part of life can be a foundation for creative energies. In my experience, however, I must find chunks of time to plan, imagine, and create. Without this reserved time, my life does not feel as complete or fulfilled. Not only do I need time to pursue my own creative interests, I also find enjoyment in learning about how others fulfill their creative needs. 

I spent some time recently with my sister-in-law, Lynn. With our husbands, we traveled together to a couple of national parks. However, we also had some extra time after our trip to discuss our individual creative pursuits. Lynn enjoys making art using the medium of paper. Her artisitc ability is evident with her delicate and intricate origami. At first viewing, I found myself wondering, "Is that really made from paper?" Here are a few of her origami creations.

Lynn also has found a way to craft paper into beautiful flowers. Her flower arrangements are so realistic they could pass for real flowers. Can you spot the dollar bill flower within the arrangement?

More recently, Lynn has pursued a craft called quilling. Quilling is an art form that involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued to create decorative designs. After seeing some of Lynn's finished creations, I was very interested in learning more about how she creates these absolutely beautiful pieces of art. She starts with cutting tiny strips of paper using a paper cutter. 

Lynn then uses special quilling tools to roll and shape the paper. You can see some of her lovely creations here. Take special note of the tiny bee among the variety of flowers. The intricacy of Lynn's work amazes me.

Finally, Lynn puts together her individual quilled items as a type of collage and frames them. You can see here some work by Lynn that my husband and I treasure as it hangs in a special place in our home. 

Other friends and family members enjoy creative activities as well. My friend, Debbie, uses her creative energies in a variety of ways as she creates beautiful tablescapes and seasonal decor in her home. Recently, she made a seasonal craft that she can use during the upcoming holiday season. Debbie is also a writer and a blogger, further reinforcing her broad abilities as a creative person. Click on the links above to visit her blog and view some products of her creativity.

My friend, Judy, is a fellow quilter. We enjoy sharing our creative passion as we visit quilt shops and quilt shows together. We share ideas and show each other our current projects. Beginning in January, we will be taking a seven month course to learn a new quilting technique. Our finished product will be this quilt called "Glacier Star" which is an original design by quilt designer Judy Niemeyer.

Glacier Star designed by Judy Niemeyer, Quiltworx

My daughters also enjoy creative pursuits from photography to woodworking to cake decorating and more. As you can see, I am surrounded by friends and family who enjoy creative pursuits just as I do. 

What creative endeavors do you pursue? Please leave a comment and share.

Linked with: Wonderful Wednesdays

Nourish to Flourish

When we hear the word "nourish", we often think of food. More specifically, when I hear the word, it conjures an image of feeding a young child in a such a way to promote health and growth. However, we can also use the word "nourish" more broadly. We can nourish our bodies, our minds, our spirits. I believe that how we nourish ourselves makes a difference in our health, growth, contentment, and joy.

I have not always been very good at nourishing myself. My focus for many years was on how to nourish my own children as they grew and on nourishing my students. I remember a day at work, quite a few years ago, that had been very challenging for me. A co-worker walked up to my desk at the end of the day, and in a voice filled with kindness and empathy, she said to me, "Go home, and do something really nice for yourself." She was suggesting that I find a way to nourish myself. I appreciated both her kindness and her suggestion, but after she left, I remember thinking, "Well, how do I do that?" I was not used to purposefully and intentionally finding ways to nourish myself. Asking myself that question was the beginning of taking better care of my own needs, of finding intentional nourishment.

Now that I am retired, I am finding that once again, I am questioning how to best nourish myself. I have realized that my mind was nourished by my career--in teaching children (where I was a learner as well) and by belonging to groups that provided intellectual stimulation. I certainly have more time now, as a retiree, to pursue hobbies such as sewing and quilting. 

Creative activities, such as these, have always nourished me. I find time falling away as I enter into the "flow", a state in which a person performing an activity is  immersed in a feeling of full involvement and enjoyment of the process of the activity. (Click here to read more about "flow" and about a leader in this field of positive psychology, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.) But how do I find a balance of nourishing my body, my mind, and my spirit now that I'm retired?

Recently, I heard a podcast which recommended not setting particular long-term goals but to instead ask the question "Will I...?" or "How will I...?" followed by a short term goal. It seems that research supports this questioning method as a more successful way to ultimately reach one's goals. After thinking about that podcast and putting that information together with my question about nourishment, I came up with an idea. Each morning, I will ask myself, "How will I nourish myself today?" 

Even though I just recently began this daily questioning, I will have to say that it is working well so far. I have been more mindful about eating healthy foods with an added intention of eating more vegetables daily. Since my husband is an avid gardener, I am looking forward to the upcoming growing season where we will have an abundance of those veggies in our backyard. It will be much easier to answer my nourishment question each morning when I can walk outside and pick from a variety of vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, collards, and kale among others. 

spinach and parsley, 2016 garden

broccoli, 2016 garden

I am now paying closer attention to activities and events that feed both my mind and spirit. Recently, along with my friend, Debbie, I attended an event at a local bookstore. We listened to the author, Helen Simonson, tell her story about how she started to write later in life. It was a delightful evening learning from an author whose work has brought literary pleasure to so many. (You can read more about our experience here at Debbie's blog.) 

Then just a few days ago, my husband and I attended a WORD! event at the main branch of our county's library system. For two hours, we were immersed in the talents and skills of artists as they told their own stories through poetry, storytelling, and song.  

Raymond Christian, champion storyteller

Attending these cultural events certainly fed both my mind and spirit, but part of that nourishment included being able to share the experiences with special people in my life.

So as I move further into retirement, I plan to continue to pay attention to what I need to nourish myself in body, mind, and spirit. Stay tuned to see how my daily question leads to new experiences as I pursue a balanced and flourishing life in retirement.

Please leave a comment and share what nourishes you.

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

On Belonging

As I was working on a quilt recently, my thoughts wandered to the topic of belonging. Belonging is on my mind since I am retired now and no longer belong to some of the work related groups I belonged to just a year ago.

As I continued to quilt, I reminisced about some of the groups to which I have belonged over the years: dance groups, music groups, faith-based organizations, a single women's group at one point in my life, volunteer groups, book clubs, and various work-related groups. My belonging to groups has seemed to ebb and flow through the years. Sometimes the group disbanded; sometimes I chose to leave the group because it no longer seemed to meet my needs. In some cases, with changes in leadership, the values and focus of the group changed so much that it no longer met my own values and focus. I have felt a sense of loss at times in the response to a change in my belonging to a specific group. At other times, I have been content to focus on individual friendships and relationships. As an introvert, there have been times that I have found it necessary to withdraw from groups for a bit to rejuvenate. (Click here to visit my friend's blog, Debbeithisandthat, to find more on introversion.)

Abraham Maslow

Is it important to belong?  According to psychologist, Abraham Maslow, it is very important to belong. As a matter of fact, love and belonging are third on his hierarchy of needs, right after the first level of having one's basic needs met and safety on the second level. This eminent psychologist believes that the need for belonging must be satisfied before one can move on to higher levels of growth. (To read more about Maslow's work and his hierarchy of needs, click here.)

If we look at the big picture, we can certainly say that we all belong to the human race, and we are all citizens of our planet, Earth. As children, most of us belonged to a family and to a school. However, even though we technically might have belonged to a family unit or attended a specific school as children, our sense of belonging may have varied widely. Those differences can continue through our adult years. Within our culture there are names for not belonging: black sheep of the family, odd man out, the third wheel, etc. I have a premise that it's the sense of belonging that is much more important than the technical aspect of belonging. I can join a variety of organizations so that I "belong" to them, but I might experience a feeling or a sense of belonging to only a few.

Cheers on Beacon Hill, Boston, MA

I wonder what contributes to our sense of belonging. Is it enough for everybody to know my name? Or do we need deeper connections to gain that sense of belonging?  As the theme song to the old but popular sitcom, Cheers, implies, it may be that we feel comfortable in a situation where everybody knows our name. 

However, I believe we have a need to be seen, to be acknowledged, and to be heard as unique individuals within a group setting. Since I no longer belong to several work-related groups, what will take their place? I intend to be open to new opportunities to find that sense of belonging in a place where everybody knows my name, but also with connections that run deep with group members accepting, listening, and sharing their stories.

What about you? Where do you belong? What experiences have you had related to belonging? Please leave your comments.

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Marilyn's Treats

Stitching at Seven

A Very Short History of My Life in Sewing

Public Domain Image

Remember those troll dolls?  The ones with the fluffy, colorful, wild hair?  Well, at age seven, I was a fan of those troll dolls. However, I soon found out that the reason I liked them so much was because I could sew for them. I might have had the best dressed troll dolls around! 

Public Domain Image

Just like a quilter's stash of fabric, I had a stash of felt squares in every color imaginable. I cut out two pieces of the felt from a small pattern, and I used a whip stitch to join those two felt pieces into a one shoulder outfit for those trolls. This was my first experience sewing, and it certainly was a foreshadowing of the rest of my life's passion for fabric and sewing.

I kept sewing, and I graduated to making my own clothes as a teenager. Then, later in my life, when I had my own children, I sewed for them. Making their Halloween costumes was a favorite thing to do since it required more creativity than the average sewing project.

I made window treatments and home decor items, but it was only a few years ago that I followed a friend of mine into the world of quilting. Cutting out pieces of fabric and sewing them together in all kinds of different patterns challenges me and satisfies my need for creativity. 

What about you?  What type of creative outlet do you pursue?  Please leave a comment below and share your creative interests.