Seeking Creativity

With Fall upon us, I have fallen into a new rhythm.

The kids are off to college and school and there is a little more time to dream, to let my mind wander. A friend of mine on Twitter (yes, I have actually made friends on Twitter!) said that the most creative women are women who are beyond the child-rearing years. (That might be another way of saying "old.")

But I understand what she means. I studied engineering in school and had few electives available to me. By senior year I was able to take a watercolor class and piano lessons. I loved these classes. Not only were they a nice break from the

tedious technical classes but they were an opportunity for me to explore my creative side. The "busy-ness" of starting a job, marriage, and raising a family kept me from exploring my creativity.

I did enjoy sewing and knitting during that time, but mostly followed patterns. Although this enabled me to create, I was still not using my own ideas. In recent years, however, I have been able to explore my own creative ideas.

I was thrilled to create this unique football bag last week. Once the idea popped in my head it was all I could think about! (I know, that is a bit weird.) But the thought of taking an idea and developing it was very exciting.

How do we get the creative juices flowing? I believe my inspiration for the football bag came from life around me which is suddenly consumed by football, whether CYO, high school, college or the NFL. But I also had been looking through some old Quilting Arts magazines given to me by my Twitter friend. I was amazed at the art created by needle and thread! I was completed awed by the quilts, bags and wall hangings but knew that kind of art was out of my league. Or was it?

I took a look at my sewing machine and decided that I could stitch a football field on a piece of fabric using basic stitches. Before you know it, I was off! The engineer in me came out a bit. The field is drawn to scale where possible. And notice all the nice right angles? I know I need to let go of that a bit. Perhaps I need to dabble in asymmetry, circles, raw edges....but this is a start.

You might think the knitting that I do is creative. Sure, I have some control over the yarns I select and how I interpret the pattern. But for me, knitting is about rhythm. And rhythm sets the stage for creativity. When I am knitting my mind can wander. Sometimes it focuses on the problems of my life but sometimes it dreams of new things to make.

Searching for beach glass is another rhythm that sets my mind free. The rhythmic sound of the waves, the walking, the search for the glass all set the perfect stage for creative thinking.

Creativity is not limited to the needle arts. Perhaps you like to paint or write. Baking can be an amazing avenue for exploring your creativity. Maybe you love to garden and your ideas shine in the way you have planted your flowers, trees, and shrubs.

I would love to know how and what you create? And what helps get your creativity flowing?