Creating Behind the Scenes

To look at me today, you never would have realized there was any creating going on at all.

I spent hours and hours thinking, going over and over in my mind questions about what makes my heart sing, who I admire and why, interviewing myself, searching the corners of my mind for clues that will help tell me WHY I feel the need to create. I visited with friends on the internet taking the same class, comparing notes, encouraging each other to dig deep, trying to make sense of all of the conflicting thoughts. I talked to another friend on the phone – one going through the same class, but a very different creative journey and we bounced ideas off of each other and helped firm up plans for what we do next. I didn’t lift a paint brush, or even my knitting needles, and yet it was one of the most creative, and productive days I’ve had in a long time.

You’re probably going to get sick of hearing about my “Hello Soul, Hello Business” class, but it is pretty much dominating my life at the moment. The classes are intense, emotional, and pretty draining, so far, but I’m learning things about myself that will help me create a remarkable foundation for the business that will nourish my soul in this last quarter of my life.

It doesn’t sound creative at all. In fact it sounds like hard work, and it was. But some times it’s the stuff that doesn’t show, the stuff behind the scenes, that sets the stage for the beauty.

It was a pretty exhausting day. But it was a good day. A very good day.

Tomorrow? Tomorrow will be a different kind of productive. The kind where you have something to show for it. And I’m going to need that.

Lifebook 2012 and Other Scary Things!

Okay. I’m pretty sure I’m in over my head, but I’m going for it.

I waited until Monday to hit send, but I did it. I signed up for Tam Laporte’s Lifebook 2012 class. Had I signed up earlier, I could have done all the advance work before now, but I just kept telling myself I wasn’t ready for a class like this.

After purchasing the class I ran through the 1st lesson and confirmed that I am over my head, BUT, I’m going to go for it anyway. I want to learn how to do faces, and that is the very 1st thing she’s teaching (I’d hoped to work my way up to it, but, trial by fire works, too!)

So, here I am up to my hind end in alligators, and jumping into a class that is, in all likelihood, a bit over my current abilities, on top of a myriad of other endeavors, including “104 Blog Prompts,” “One Little Word,” managing my own blog, taking care of the girls, working on Christy Tomlinson’s “She-art classes #1 and #2, and getting ready for Kelly Rae and Beth’s business class. And then there are unfinished projects up the wazoo, an interview for a friend’s blog I committed to doing, a couple of canvases that have been promised, 3 scarves to finish knitting (and 2 more to make, as well!) 3 ATCs to do for my art group swap (plus I’m this swap’s hostess, so I get to co-ordinate the swap!) And that’s not even counting all the day-to-day stuff that makes up a life (Mr. Tattered has this silly idea that we need groceries in the house and clean clothes!)

My “To Do” list is seriously making my head swim.

But, I did put a tiny dent in it today. And I played a little. I bought a few canvases, some paints, a kit for starting to make my own stamps, some paper clay…

I still need a few little things for my classes, so I’ll probably hit Hobby Lobby tomorrow (oh, poor me!) And what a coincidence, I just happen to have gotten a couple of gift certificates for Christmas! Oh, and Barnes and Noble is just down the street, so I can scratch my Stampington itch while I’m at it…

I’m trying really hard to set up a schedule for myself that allows time to “create” which is my “one little word” for 2012. It’s hard sometimes, because I feel like I need to be caught up on my real life obligations before I allow myself to have “free” time for “fun” stuff. I need to get over that. I need to create, whether or not everything else is done. It just needs to be a part of my life, and I owe it to myself at this stage of my life to make it happen. She says bravely.

Do You Pinterest?

I’d been hearing little rumblings about Pinterest…a comment here, a link there, but I didn’t really get the point. Why would you want to “pin” pictures you like on the web onto a bunch of pages to look at? Seemed like a waste of time to me.

Then the group of gals I’m taking “flying lessons” with (no, not in airplanes, just soaring creativity!) started talking about all the cool ideas and great pictures they were seeing, so I looked into it.

Uh-oh…I’m still in the justification stages, so I’m not quite ready to admit it was a mistake. But I should have known to run when I saw this:

I mean, I’m aware that I have an addictive personality, but I really didn’t think that this was going to be a problem. I set up my pages, and began selecting photos that spoke to to me to “re-pin” onto my pages. I even figured out how to pin my own photos from other sources. Next thing I knew, I was a “curator,” curating my own pages. Sounds fancy, huh?

Then I started getting notifications that people I don’t even know were beginning to follow my pins. Huh! People liked what I was re-pinning, enough to want to see what I’m doing…it’s CRAZY!

Then I started seeing things that were keying me on to ideas for things I could make, or cook…I saw party ideas the kids would LOVE, and shoes…OMG, the most amazing shoes. I saw ideas for the garden, clothes I would just LOVE to be thin enough to wear, ideas for scrapbook pages, and cards…gorgeous vacation photos (I’m almost certain I need to go to France!) and saying after saying that either had me laughing or really thinking.

Once I realized my creativity was being tickled, I knew I was toast…now there was a reason why I NEEDED to pin. A justification to spend lots of time scrolling down page after page, making notes, pinning things onto my pages, following leads to recipes…

So, if you dare, come on over and see the things that interest me…it’s all kinds of fun, but keep in mind, it can be habit forming!