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Archive for the ‘Creativity’ Category

Back in October, my friend Don and I challenged each other to post once a day for a month. Our objectives were to form good habits, practice the writing craft, and hopefully gain a few new followers in the process. We both completed the challenge, but it’s been awhile. Since then, Don and his wife had a baby, and we took on a teenager. We’ve both had plenty of challenges, but we’ve grown lazy about expressing our creativity.

What to do?

Begin another challenge, of course!

Don initiated this one, so it is an art challenge. (Click on the picture to enlarge it and read the fine print.) This challenge intimidates me. I don’t consider myself an artist in the drawing sense of the word. Give me a lump of clay and a few tools and I can wow you, but paper and pencil? ~sigh~ I’ll do my best!

After a brief discussion, we decided on a few simple rules:

  • The challenge would begin today, on August 7th.
  • The drawings would be scanned or photographed and uploaded to our respective blogs.

So here’s my self-portrait, Niki style. :

I am often found with my nose in a book, so I though this met the requirements just fine. 😉 This was drawn with a #2 pencil on printer paper.

Would you care to join us? We’d love some company. Just let one of us know so we can link to you too!

Be sure to check out Don’s Day 1 drawing on his blog: Expatriatism, and my friend Freebie’s Day 1 drawing on her blog: Free To Be Too Much.

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I originally posted the following on The Inkwell blog, but I’m sharing it here now because it’s still relevant and I ran out of time to blog today. 😉

Audre Lorde once said, “There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt.” I believe she was right about that. Solomon said something similar in the first chapter of Ecclesiastes, “It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.” (NLT)

Do you know what I love about writing? Ideas are all around me, and they’re limitless. When I see the trees begin to produce flowers in the Spring, I’m reminded of my personal growth that bursts into bloom after a long, dry, wintry spell of life. In that same Spring when we receive a surprise snowstorm and are forced to slow down and hibernate in our homes for a day or two, I consider the ways I am too busy, overly committed, and hard-headed to realize that I’m in need of a day of rest and reflection. These epiphanies can’t help but flow into my writing and inspire me to look at what I have to say with new eyes.

As writers, we are designed to take what we see, experience, and dream, and find engaging ways to offer it to our readers. There are no new ideas, only new ways of making them felt. That’s one of my basic goals, to make people feel. What ideas are brewing in you? What inspires you to write? How do those things shape your writing? What does your writing make people feel?

 


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I stole borrowed copied this from my friend Kevin’s blog. 😉  While I am in total agreement with his point about this video, something else jumped out at me.  I’m astounded by our ability to change the world with one small act.  How you treat one person today can impact hundreds of others as the wave of love, compassion, and validation ripples outward.  It’s an amazing feeling when it comes back to you.  Enjoy the video.  It’s 15  minutes well spent.  🙂

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I’m on my way out the door for a long awaited 3 day renewal in the mountains.  Just me.  I have a feeling this will be my own little version of “The Shack”…maybe not quite so intense, but just as healing and sweet.  See you all back here next week. 🙂

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I went to blog the other day and realized that I had forgotten to re-upgrade my custom CSS (it expires after a year) and all of my pretty custom work that Heather did was gone.  So I decided to upgrade and start over again.   I chose a new theme and set about creating a work of art for myself.  Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 🙂  It’s fun to reinvent your space as you’re reinventing yourself.  This is a regular occurrence for me.

Hanging directly above my desk is my “inspiration board” where I post encouraging words from friends, pictures of things that make me smile, quotes that remind me who I am, and goals that I think are worthy pursuits.  When I step into my office, my eyes travel there first.  As I was adding to it today, I stopped to read each piece of paper and look at each picture.  These reminders are treasures to me.  They are gifts I give to myself on this journey of becoming.  They are small tokens of beauty that I get to experience each day.  Do you have an inspiration board?  Or something else to remind you that you are loved and that you have a purpose?  What are some of the touches of beauty in your life?

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