Stages of Flight

flying lessons are drawing to a close…

wait a minute… are they??

or are the lessons just beginning??

we are all in different stages of this flight

called the creative life….

some were already soaring pretty high

a little boost was all they needed

to say good-bye to gravity

burst the bounds of the atmosphere

now gliding effortlessly with no end in sight

others are moving up to join them

but their flight is taxing

there’s a lot of flapping going on

they soar up

then dip back down

it’s an ardous journey

still others are having trouble leaving the nest

they’ve taken a few cautious test flights

they’re hopeful….

but flying is a scary prospect after all

and then there are those

who haven’t yet left the ground

they look up and what do they see?

everyone else is way ahead

gliding, rising, soaring

and never seeming to touch the ground

but look…..

some of the highest flyers

are dipping back down

they’re coming all the way back

and they’re helping those

who haven’t yet mastered the art of flight

they’re guiding them

and showing them how it’s done

....little by little...

everyone eventually makes it off the ground

some higher than others

but it’s ok

everyone finds their own flight plan

it’s an ongoing work in progress

but it’s a beautiful sight!!

Gourds Galore!!

my friend carolyn is a fabulous gourd artist (not to mention an incredible painter of wildlife).

yesterday i went with another friend, carol, to visit her booth at the international gourd festival, held out in the boonies, at the very dead end of a long and winding road at the welburn gourd farm. we were completely and utterly blown away by the variety of creations on display, all starting with gourds!

carolyn's booth

more of her work

 

gourds for sale

and more amazing gourd creations....

                                                        (yes, it's a gourd!)

in other news, i've just launched my space between creativity retreat blog. i'm hoping that carolyn will be joining us and doing a gourd workshop!!!

Delayed Gratification

you know how it works. you do all the yucky stuff first so that you can do the fun stuff later. it’s a lesson i learned early on and it’s kind of ingrained in my personality. i always tried to teach it to my students as well. work hard so that later you can get the reward. it makes a lot of sense and has always served me well

this week in flying lessons we have been dissecting the whole concept of time management. for me, the big question is: even though it seems like i should have plenty of time, i seem to find so little to actually dive into my creative projects. what am i doing wrong??

in the course of pondering this question, it hit me like a ton of bricks – it’s that whole delayed gratification idea! i mean it would totally go against my grain to get up in the morning and to start doing fun creative stuff. i haven’t “earned” it. i first have to take my walk, do my exercises, read the newspaper, fix our daily “power drink”, do my indoor and outdoor “chores” and check my email. that leads to the blogs, which leads to facebook…. blah, blah, blah. by that point, it’s time to go do whatever else is on the agenda.

i mean it’s not like i can sequester myself in a studio – most of my creative work, whether it be sorting and editing photos, writing, or planning powerpoints and retreats takes place at the computer. i don’t seem to have the discipline to ignore those little “chimes” when new email is delivered and that can start a whole chain of to do’s.

trouble is, if i jumped right into the fun stuff, all the other "have-to's" would be hanging over my head, making the fun stuff less fun! with a whole day at home by myself, i can make it happen, but that's not the norm.

so is this a curse or what?? i don’t have the answer, but i’m glad that i at least have this insight. now that i am drawing more lines, i should be able to tweak things in a more productive direction.... i hope.

(all of these fun photos were taken during my morning  walk - i'm usually not in favor of multi-tasking, but sometimes it works!)

Fooling Around

one of the things that i absolutely LOVE about photography is that you can pretty much do it anywhere.

invariably if i don't bring my camera, i run across something interesting and wish that i had it!

i love fooling around and trying new things

(like capturing these champagne bubbles!)

or zooming the lens while the shutter is open

or playing with my "lens baby"

i'm glad i'm not doing this to support myself, because (for me, anyway) i'm afraid it would take a lot of the fun out of it. (I have to admit, most of these were captured with a glass of vino in the other hand!)

Drawing Lines

no, not that kind. i’m not creating a drawing here. i’m attempting to create a life. i want it to be a life that nourishes and inspires others, but i get that that won’t happen if i’m not nourished and inspired myself.

 

i seem to require quite a bit of time and space for this self-nourishment to occur and short-cuts don’t seem to do it. so i end up having to draw lines. 

 call them boundaries if you wish. stopping points. discipline. saying no. whatever. 

it’s been a whole year now since i’ve been working in a regular job. i’ve tried to be careful as far as what i’ve become involved in, cautious not to over-commit. yet each involvement that i’ve taken on has the power to “suck me in” and so quickly bring me to a place where i end up losing that nourishment space.  not to mention the ability to create.

 

so i’m actively in a line-drawing mode -

for my gallery involvements

for my group participations

for my volunteer work

for my social commitments

for my online presence

for my learning endeavors

it’s not easy to do. maybe with practice i’ll get better at it.

because i know that it’s so so worth it!

Losing Myself

i’m losing myself

i hate when that happens

…swallowed by a vast teaming ocean

of which my innocent-looking desktop computer

is the portal

once i enter this sea

i am jostled about

in a little boat

(disguised as a mouse)

this ocean has many waves

which carry me to many shores

some of which are so inviting

but the waves can be powerful

and it’s easy to get lost

and forget where i am

sometimes i get seasick

and long to be on dry land again.

do you ever feel this way??

Thoughts on Creativity

i’ve always been fascinated with the whole creativity concept. funny thing is, i don’t really fit the image of what i’ve always considered a creative person to be. you know, a “colorful” person that spontaneously thinks up lots of  wild and unusual ideas and solutions to things. quickly. you want me to come up with good ideas? give me the situation and then let me think about it for a day or two. or more. that’s just the way my brain works. does it mean i’m not creative? hmmmm…..

since i started this whole creative journey, back in 2001, lots of people have said, “oh, you’re so creative”. (in fact, a friend told me recently that she looks forward to receiving my christmas card each year, more than any other.) i tend to accept these remarks as compliments, but secretly i’m thinking…."if they really knew me, they wouldn’t say that. i guess i’ve fooled them".

lately i've come to a new realization - that that "creative person" concept that i've had is just a silly stereotype! we are all creative. did you get that?? we. are. all. creative. ALL! sure, some are fabulous painters (which seems to be most people's stereotype of the creative artist.) some can write great songs, some can produce amazing sculptures. but what about the person with the gorgeous garden? or the knack for home-decorating? aren't these forms of creativity as well?

my new mantra is this:

 everyone is creative. some just haven't yet found their venue.

 i really believe that and it's one of the tenets of my space between creativity retreats.

in my own case, i've been pursuing photography for about 7 years now. i love it, but then so do a gazillion other people. i feel the need to tweak it in some fashion or to use it in a different way than printing and framing images. like in powerpoints - love doing that. i'm including a few of my "tweaking" experiments here.  it's a work in progress, for sure!!

Ripples

Excerpt from Nomadic Notebook IV - Southwestern Sojourn

i realize that this has nothing to do with talk about creativity, blogs, social networking, etc. etc. that's taking place in flying lessons.  it's intentional.  i need a break.  it's information overload and while much of it is fabulous and inspirational, some parts of it are making me crazy.  i have to back away a bit.

i get that the course is about building a business.  and for most (all?) that means selling.  but it's teaching me something about myself as well.  at least at this point in time.  i realize this may be a little radical, but i'm shying away from selling.  i'm sensing it more and more.   i want my blog to be an inviting, friendly and inspirational place and the whole idea of being here just here to sell stuff kind of turns me off. 

it's just me and i felt the need to get that off my chest.  i may feel differently next week.  or next month or next year.  but for today, i hope you enjoy a little break with the ripples!  i do have more thoughts about creativity, but they will have to wait.  thanks for stopping!