Is everyone getting a healthy portion of creativity into their schedules?

MarkD

MarkD

Keeper of the Hounds & Garden
Location
San Francisco Bay Area
Watching this video made me think of those of you I know are writers, visual artists, musicians, poets, dancers and crafters, @palides2021, @DailyArtsyCrafter, @Stoppelmann, @Gary O' and everyone else who have fallen victim to my intermittent memory. This video should help you feel better about claiming the time for these activities without feeling you ought to be doing something more useful or profitable. As she says we know the time we put into exercise is worthwhile, we need to recognize the self nurture involved in creative activities too.


I put all my creative juices into making a garden and photography now while my wife Lia is still making weavings. What sorts of activities do you find enriching now?
 

I guess you could call my project houses hobbies. My last house took about a year to redo. But doing pretty simple reno has given me tons of satisfaction and entertainment. Just wish the houses were closer to where I live…or that I had a less costly hobby. I also am working rather lazily on learning spanish…
 
Interesting you should raise the topic, MarkD. It was just a couple days ago I came across a few cartoons I'd drawn for my daughter when she was four or five. I attached copies of them to an email and sent them to her. I've hardly drawn any cartoons in recent years.

These days, I only seem to have time for writing the occasional article for publication (that was a career for me, during a stretch in my life)... so that's non-fiction. I did take a six-month course once from UBC in short fiction writing, around the time I was retiring. I have about 15 short stories but haven't; published even one of those yet. Every week or so, I tweak one of them to improve it. Did a little of that a few days ago.
 

I play saxophone , paint pictures and make decorative cookies, ALL I consider as various forms of art. I don’t look at them as wasted time. It rellaxes me tenfold and I’m grateful to do it. My artwork is usually given away….. including the cookies.
 
I do Needle Felting. That is taking raw cleaned sheep wool (like a bunch of strands of hair) and use a needle to poke the oxygen out to felt it to a firmness for sculpting with the needle. Takes a lot of patience and time and a lot of poked finger jabs at 1st. Once you get the core shape done you outer cover it with a higher grade of wool with colors you need. For me it is relaxing and keeps my mind off life issues.
1st one is a sleepy fox 3D, 2nd is my dog Myer 2D (she is attached to a base for hanging like a picture.
I put on a series on the TV (like NCIS) and felt while listening to it since I can visualize the show in my mind from what they are saying (less poked fingers that way).
The eyes are glass, noses, claws and feet I make from modeling clay then bake them dry. Doing a standing animal 3D, I make a skeleton from floral wire and wrap it in what is called Core Wool. Then cover with the finer type wool. There are all kinds of how to vids out there for anyone interested. Kits are available with all you need for beginners.
Me, I just jumped in and did it. My first baby chick looked like a duck on crack. If you give it a try, please let me know your experience, would love to hear.
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IrishEyes said:
I do Needle Felting. That is taking raw cleaned sheep wool (like a bunch of strands of hair) and use a needle to poke the oxygen out to felt it to a firmness for sculpting with the needle. Takes a lot of patience and time and a lot of poked finger jabs at 1st. Once you get the core shape done you outer cover it with a higher grade of wool with colors you need. For me it is relaxing and keeps my mind off life issues.
1st one is a sleepy fox 3D, 2nd is my dog Myer 2D (she is attached to a base for hanging like a picture.
I put on a series on the TV (like NCIS) and felt while listening to it since I can visualize the show in my mind from what they are saying (less poked fingers that way).
The eyes are glass, noses, claws and feet I make from modeling clay then bake them dry. Doing a standing animal 3D, I make a skeleton from floral wire and wrap it in what is called Core Wool. Then cover with the finer type wool. There are all kinds of how to vids out there for anyone interested. Kits are available with all you need for beginners.
Me, I just jumped in and did it. My first baby chick looked like a duck on crack. If you give it a try, please let me know your experience, would love to hear.
515704048_10163646373562908_7071318930622776189_n.jpg
514490167_10163640506522908_1034994419469152274_n.jpg
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I can well imagine the satisfaction you feel bringing one of these into creation. They are both cute as anything but I'm a dog guy so I especially like that one. I figured it must have been of your own dog. Is Myer still on this side of the Rainbow Bridge, as they say?

Do you have sheep near you as a source for your material? If so do you spend anytime with them?
 
Not quite the same but I have a loaf of sliced French bread and have been coming up with creative uses. Ina Garten's Tomato Crostini with whipped feta looks like a winner. While checking it out I also saw a crostini with brie and fig jam. I will pick up some feta and go from there. Any ideas?
 
IrishEyes said:
I made my neighbor a fake wasp nest to hang by her front door to keep them away. I had wasps at my back door
and thought...what the heck can't hurt. Surprise! it worked, I hung it and shortly 2 wasp flew near it and sped off.
Sometimes things are true you see on the web! Who'd have thunk it!
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That's very interesting, what did you use for the "fake" nest?
I am a cardmaker. I use rubber and polymer stamps, different inks, pretty papers, die cuts, watch a lot of you tube videos on coloring with alcohol and water-based markers along with colored pencils and watercolor pencils. It keeps me busy doing things I enjoy so much. Oh, I'm grade school I always got A's in Art. My husbands name is Art. He always says he draws flies! :LOL::ROFLMAO:
 
Babs2u said:
Not quite the same but I have a loaf of sliced French bread and have been coming up with creative uses. Ina Garten's Tomato Crostini with whipped feta looks like a winner. While checking it out I also saw a crostini with brie and fig jam. I will pick up some feta and go from there. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
I use French bread for French toast. Soak the bread in egg really well, it puffs up and is fluffy and eggy. A little butter and maple syrup is a meal for me! Just bought 2 loaves of sliced bakery French bread for the freezer.
 
I like to make things but Im not a talented artist like some of you. More of a serial dabbler. I do a little of this and that.
Ive never made bread but I bake and Ive canned and made sauerkraut and pickles. Ive never quilted or knitted but Ive crocheted and embroidered and did bargello and ribbon embroidery and candlewick. In the past Ive made greeting cards and Scherenschnitte. A lot of the things Ive made were for other people who are now gone.

Ive always lived in older houses so Ive done my share of house DIY. Lots of plastering and refinishing. I will do plumbing
but I wont do electric. Ive tried a few of the old house crafts like faux graining and screen painting. One day I would like to try floor cloths

Mostly my projects now are outside. Im partial to "yard art" and bird houses and bowling balls. Lately my craftiness has been curtailed by the heat. I have plans for when it cools off. A few yard/log deer, a brick sidewalk, and some Hypertufa.

That wasp nest sounds like a future project. :D :D
 
The things I do aren't creative compared to what I've been reading - they're just things I do.

I got no creativity from my parents - my father's only pastime was fishing. He and I sometimes went together. My mother was creative, but I didn't take after her, since I didn't have the patience or inclination to be a painter like she was, or restore antiques. [I'm just glad to have many of her paintings in my home, together with several antiques she restored.]

I enjoy playing my piano and "attempting" to write music, but have never sold any. It's just for pleasure, even though I did play piano for a church a few years ago, and still play for certain special events; not so many these days.

For spare time, I'm into collecting and watching older movies.

Sending birthday cards, and cards for holidays to (just about) everyone I know. I used to have several pen pals who wrote old fashioned letters, but I'm down to just one now.

I keep a daily journal combined with a record of current newsworthy items. At the end of each month, I put all that into a certain order and condense it into chapters of a continuing online autobiography. My family may have some interest in it. If not, that's okay - it gives me something to do.
 
Coco said:
That's very interesting, what did you use for the "fake" nest?
I am a cardmaker. I use rubber and polymer stamps, different inks, pretty papers, die cuts, watch a lot of you tube videos on coloring with alcohol and water-based markers along with colored pencils and watercolor pencils. It keeps me busy doing things I enjoy so much. Oh, I'm grade school I always got A's in Art. My husbands name is Art. He always says he draws flies! :LOL::ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
I filled a sandwich baggie with paper towels (in case it gets wet) shaped it into the oblong shape of a wasp nest.
Then wrapped a grey yarn around it then a brownish tan color yarn (Dollar tree yarn) to resemble the outer coating color of a nest.
Attached floral wire to the top long enough to hang it on something (door light, shutter, awning brace) to secure it.
They say on you tube vids to use a paper bag and dab it with paint but mine is out in the open so I used the plastic bag for mine too.
It's holding up great. I really am impressed that the wasp think it is another wasps colony and leave straight away.
I do Needle Felting and print designs on tissue paper for candles. Have to have something to do during winter don't we?
 
MACKTEXAS said:
The things I do aren't creative compared to what I've been reading - they're just things I do.

I got no creativity from my parents - my father's only pastime was fishing. He and I sometimes went together. My mother was creative, but I didn't take after her, since I didn't have the patience or inclination to be a painter like she was, or restore antiques. [I'm just glad to have many of her paintings in my home, together with several antiques she restored.]

I enjoy playing my piano and "attempting" to write music, but have never sold any. It's just for pleasure, even though I did play piano for a church a few years ago, and still play for certain special events; not so many these days.

For spare time, I'm into collecting and watching older movies.

Sending birthday cards, and cards for holidays to (just about) everyone I know. I used to have several pen pals who wrote old fashioned letters, but I'm down to just one now.

I keep a daily journal combined with a record of current newsworthy items. At the end of each month, I put all that into a certain order and condense it into chapters of a continuing online autobiography. My family may have some interest in it. If not, that's okay - it gives me something to do.
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Sounds like you keep yourself pretty busy and that to me is the key to life at this time. My husband has played piano all his life but when we downsized he sold his piano. I am hoping to get him to go try some electronic keyboards with weighted keys and get him playing again.
 
Veronica said:
I like to make things but Im not a talented artist like some of you. More of a serial dabbler. I do a little of this and that.
Ive never made bread but I bake and Ive canned and made sauerkraut and pickles. Ive never quilted or knitted but Ive crocheted and embroidered and did bargello and ribbon embroidery and candlewick. In the past Ive made greeting cards and Scherenschnitte. A lot of the things Ive made were for other people who are now gone.

Ive always lived in older houses so Ive done my share of house DIY. Lots of plastering and refinishing. I will do plumbing
but I wont do electric. Ive tried a few of the old house crafts like faux graining and screen painting. One day I would like to try floor cloths

Mostly my projects now are outside. Im partial to "yard art" and bird houses and bowling balls. Lately my craftiness has been curtailed by the heat. I have plans for when it cools off. A few yard/log deer, a brick sidewalk, and some Hypertufa.

That wasp nest sounds like a future project. :D :D
Click to expand...

You and me both Veronica. There is a very modestly sized garden near me made by a garden designer and art/craft person with the most adventurous color palette around. Here is a link to an album of just the photos which shows things she has crafted surrounded by her equally bold plant choices which I've taken there over the years. These can be played as a slide show if you tap the icon that looks like a monitor in the upper right corner of the screen.

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCnsA9
 
MarkD said:
You and me both Veronica. There is a very modestly sized garden near me made by a garden designer and art/craft person with the most adventurous color palette around. Here is a link to an album of just the photos which shows things she has crafted surrounded by her equally bold plant choices which I've taken there over the years. These can be played as a slide show if you tap the icon that looks like a monitor in the upper right corner of the screen.

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCnsA9
Click to expand...

Those are nice. A little artsy for me. Im more woodsy. I did like the rocks. I like all rocks though. :D
I even used to buy them at auction sometimes. Once I tried to buy 20 small mill stones. The husband threw himself on the ground and yelled "shes not bidding". I had plans for those. #sigh
 
Sure, you can make something but there aren't anything that hasn't been made before.
Why waist many hours making stuff someone else has already made. ... :ROFLMAO: ...
 

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