Category Archives: Functional Art

Creativity & Talent

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Wow, I just spent the morning looking through about 100 portfolio’s of all sorts of talent and creativity. Some of it was very good, inspiring or interesting at least. Some of it I passed over quickly because it didn’t appeal to my eye or my mind in any way. That doesn’t mean it was bad art, just not my taste. (Sometimes it was bad.) The process of doing this helped me realize some important life lessons about creativity & talent.

  1. Creativity and talent are abundant because they are basic to human nature. Some may have a talent for math and science and others have talent in some form of art.
  2. Creativity relates to how inventive, productive and flexible we are with that talent.
  3. Talent does not equal success, nor does creativity. To be successful your creativity and talent have to be focused in a direction that will provide something that people need or want enough to pay for it. Thus the “starving artist” syndrome.
  4. Success is simply being able to offer something of value in return for being able to support your life (and your children if you choose to have them). In other words, not living an unproductive and irresponsible life that has to be supported by others (if you are a person who is mentally & physically capable of supporting yourself). Success does not necessarily mean becoming a millionaire, it simply means to achieve your goals in life while being self-sufficient.
  5. In order not to become a “starving artist” you have to be realistic about your creative abilities & your talent, and find the market for them. If the market for what you do does not bring adequate income, you will have to find an additional source of income or change what you do.
  6. Life is complicated and challenging and requires a lot more qualities than creativity and talent. Perseverance, determination, confidence, sacrifice, hard work, planning, networking, relationship skills, and the ability to keep learning are all equally important to ones success in life.
  7. A practical skill that uses your talent & creativity is more marketable than your artwork. Only successful people buy art and they usually buy it from successful artists, or dead artists.
  8. No one has to give up on creating beauty or exercising their talent, it can always be something one does for pleasure rather than money.

Thursday Favorite Things Hop

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I’m really excited to be co-hosting the Thursday Favorite Things Hop this week. It’s a fun hop I’ve been participating in for a couple months, meeting new friends, and getting lots of creative ideas. There’s always something new to discover at Katherine’s Corner, good food, good people, creativity; what more could you want? Please join us this week!

Thursdays Favorite Things Hop is where you can link your favorite post to share with old and new followers, or write a post about your favorite things!

Here are the rules, yes there are rules. But just a few:

  • You must follow Katherine’s Corner. Through Email, Linky Followers, Google Plus, or RSS and my blog, ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Create A Beautiful Life (If you’re a new follower, please let us know before you start hopping. )
  • Leave a sincere comment when you follow so we all know you stopped by.
  • No adult content blogs.
  • Blogs only please.
  • Follow as many other blogs in the list as you can. Just click and go.

Now hop on and share your favorites. If you’d like to post this blog hop on your page please just grab the linky code. Or if you would like to be a co-host please contact Katherine
*participants who link up will be sent weekly reminders of this wonderful hop*

Please grab the hop button to share with others, you can copy and paste the image with a link to KatherinesCorner.com OR grab the code from Katherines Corner it’s on her right sidebar.
It’s always nice to have the hop button on your post. But it IS NOT mandatory.

(Please go to Katherine’s Corner to join the hop for now.)

My Favorite Things Post

Create The Day – With Organization

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Yes, I’m trying to get organized, again. I find that organization is something ongoing and it is definitely a big part of being creative. Lack of organization can slow creativity down; it can even bring it to a grinding halt.

There are two kinds of organization that I usually have to deal with, and if either area is a mess it becomes a roadblock to progress. The first is organization of my thoughts and mental projects. The second is organization of the physical things in my life. These two broad categories cover just about everything.

As I am moving into a new stage of life where young children are not the center of everything I do, a lot of reorganization is needed. It begins with mental reorganization; creating new thought patterns and priorities. However, there’s an awful lot of physical stuff that just seems to collect when you’re raising a family. It can be overwhelming.

However, with my desire to creatively take charge of my life and move forward with new possibilities, I decided to start in the living room. The Feng Shui had become stagnant and the dust bunnies of winter were making nests so I determined to make a change.

It took 2 weeks of thinking about it before I could make any changes. Then it took 2 days of moving shelves, the desk and a computer, getting rid of unnecessary stuff and cleaning. It’s not that the room was a mess, it wasn’t really, but the computer next to the TV was really bothering me, and there were too many books that we didn’t need. I also needed to find a way to store my photo albums.

The living room was just a start that led to some dining room changes, and will continue to some kitchen changes. It’s step by step, but with each step I feel free to be even more creative. Physical organization effects mental organization, and mental organization will help physical organization. You might say they are like two sides of a coin.

During these past few weeks of getting organized I also came in contact with Candy from Finding Order In Chaos and Order Your Steps. Before visiting her blog and website I had only thought about organization as something we just need to do every now & then to make life look, feel and work better. Her work made me realize that organization really is creative activity, and some people have a greater talent in that area than others. So, if I lived in the DC area I would be calling her and saying, “Come on over, I need some expert help.”

I guess I’ll just have to do it myself. It’s coming along, room by room, mental file by mental file. Slowly but surely I will create something new and good.

Mom

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My mom is one of the most compassionate people I know, not in a gushy or weepy way, but in a very practical way. Right after high school she went to nursing school and became an RN. She took care of people her whole life.

By the time I was 3 she decided she should stop working and take care of her family, which she did very well. However, she never stopped doing things for others. She was a girl scout leader and belonged to the Jaycee‘s, she volunteered for Meals on Wheels, and was always doing things for neighbors as well as strangers. Sometimes I wondered how my parents knew so many people, and how they met these people who needed help.

By the time I was 14 she had decided to go back to work. She renewed her licence and went to work at the emergency room. Later she became a private duty nurse for several years, and after that she became a Hospice nurse. In order to do that she had to take special classes about death and caring for those who are dying and their families. I was amazed that she could do that type of work, and she did it for almost 20 years.

After retiring, she took a seasonal job as a camp nurse. I think she did that for about 10 years. Mom was a hard worker and always busy. When she wasn’t working her hobbies were gardening and making cards for people. She was a crafty person, doing paper crafts and stamping, even making paper, but her cards were the best. When I was younger she also did a lot of sewing and knitting, making my clothes and making afghans for everyone.

How did she have the time and energy I often ask myself? Everyone loved my mom because she was always serving others or helping in some way. My dad was a Mason and Mom belonged to Eastern Star, and they were very active with these groups from their late 40′s well into their 70′s. When I think of the life my mom & dad created together I think of beauty, goodness, love and compassion.

Now my dad has passed away and Mom (almost 80) has Alzheimer’s disease and severe osteoporosis. She is bent over and twisted, walks with a limp and has a great deal of difficulty making cards these days. Yet, she called this morning to ask me to tell my boys that she didn’t forget their birthdays, and that she is a little slow but she is working on their cards. She forgets a lot of things, and the cards might not make it to the mail, but she is still trying so hard to care for others.

In 2009 my brother hired a yard service for my mom’s garden out of fear that she would try to do too much herself. She had been getting some help for a few years but she would always go out and work in the garden too, even though It had become dangerous for her. The yard service did a great job and she was so happy with the result that she asked me to come and take pictures, so I did. The following year I made a collage for her birthday, hoping it would keep her happy through the winter and give her hope for the coming spring.

You never know how your garden will bloom, especially in New Hampshire, so I was glad I could preserve this memory for her. It was the least I could do for my mom, one of the most compassionate people I know.

Tote #2

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So here is my latest bag, but I haven’t found buttons yet, so it’s not quite done.

It’s big enough to be an art tote, you could put sketch pads, paint brushes and all your other gear in it. It could also work as a diaper bag, I would have used it for that back in the day when I was there. It’s big enough for a laptop but it’s not really padded, it is strong though. The straps are reinforced under the pockets, and the bottom seam is also reinforced.  I think it could also be a great bag for a student who’s not into backpacks.

I’m really happy with the pockets on the back.

It’s like a pocket in a pocket. I like the fabric combination on this one, but I don’t need a bag this big at this time in my life. Maybe I’ll sell it. I wonder what I should charge?

The perfect bag for anyone you know? At one time in my life it would have been just right. For now, I’m still working on my perfect bag design. Maybe next time.