Becoming more creative, day 1

    Well, my first blog on becoming more creative was delayed a bit, first by me sewing with a seven year old friend, then by taking my kids to the new Thor movie… Now we’re home watching it snow, although it’s not quite living up to the forecast yet….

      Anyway, the book I’ve been reading, “The New Creative Artist, a Guide to Developing Your Creative Spirit,” by Nita Leland has been really fun and encouraging. There are lots of practical tips in it, a few of which we will get to over the next few days, but most of all she is a good cheerleader! I have noticed when I teach free motion quilting classes that I spend a little time on instruction, and a lot of time encouraging students to overcome their fear of it. I think the same applies to being creative. I have lived in several different places, and I have noticed a correlation between the number of artistic people in an area with the amount of adventurous people, the two seem to go together. It doesn't seem like being an artist should generate the same amount of fear as climbing a mountain, but apparently it’s enough to keep most of us from doing it...We assume we were born without the artist gene…. Nita Leland claims that anyone can learn to be more creative, which makes me hopeful! One important thing to remember is not to compare yourself with other people, just strive to keep improving yourself!

     She claims that the main differences between people who create and people who don’t are that people who create are willing to take risks, and willing to put in time. I tell my free motion students that I can give them instruction, but not experience, that can only come with spending time doing it. It’s a little like learning a language or an instrument, you can learn the basics, but there’s no substitute for lots of practice. 

     So that’s it for today, two things to remember: be willing to take risks and try things , and be willing to put in some time. As far as risks go, what are we risking, anyway? Putting ourselves out there for others to see is a risk, but really only to our pride…. Then there is the risk of wasting time or materials, I’ve had to really work on that one. I have to see using materials and time as being kind of like the cost of taking a class, just that I am teaching myself. It’s not a waste at all if you are learning something!

     Here’s a quote from the book that I really liked:

 “Creativity is not a magical ingredient of personality granted to a chosen few. Creativity is an attitude you hold toward the choices you make in life, as well as in art. There is always a better way of doing things, and creative people are out there
looking for it.”


 

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