Productivity and Creativity

I have been doing great lately getting projects done that I have wanted to do for ages. These canvas were purchased 3 years ago. And not they are done! And I will have more to hang on the wall in my room, the poor blank walls.

When I went to the store to get the paint though, I feel in love. An art shop! I haven't been in one in a while. All of the great things, unlimited projects just waiting. Aisles of paints, markers, brushes, papers, etc. Amazing! Canvas were on sale, so now I have more. So much for being done.

Creativity is so good. What a nice release. It is a good time in life of experimentation, of doing something, and not really knowing what the outcome will be. Taking things a step at a time, and then going from there. And yes, at any point it could get really messed up and ruined, so there is a little bit of a fear of that. But mostly there is a curiosity. What is going to happen next? What will be the outcome? What needs to be added? When is it done? Being creative is good time with God too, as ultimate creator. It is neat to get to create too.

This time of not knowing the outcome, but seeing it unfold one step at a time, could teach me about having patience in life. What if life is more like creating a painting? Taking things one step at a time. Waiting with excitement as it forms. Changing plans or tact if it gets messed up. Ultimately, having a good time and being present in it. Of course when you are creating, there is some thought of what the outcome will look like, a rough plan, but the plan is flexible and changing. It usually doesn't look exactly like it did in your head. But it is real, it is done, it is something that you got to be a part of. And sometimes it's even better than the original plan. Life as creativity, I like it.

Moving On

Spring is a good time of moving on, of knowing that the winter is over, that there will be sun and warmth soon. I love the first glimpses of Spring, the melting of snow, the sun reflecting in the puddles, and the feeling that everything will be okay. In the spring, there is nothing but possibilities. I love that. Possibilities and new beginnings. (and the knowledge that you survived winter again, hooray!)

For me this year, it is a time of sorting out what to do next. I didn't get the job that I wanted that seemed so perfect for me. It wasn't, or I wasn't perfect for it, or now is not the time for it. In any of these instances, Spring is a time for dreaming big for something else.. Oh new beginnings....

Sewing and Dinner

I got to call my Grammy this week. I was going to sew pillows (the front one in the picture) and I needed to know how to change the tension on the machine or what the tension should be in the first place. Yay for Grammy! We used to have sewing days where we would buy a pattern that was supposed to take an hour to make, and spend the whole day together working on it. I loved those days! And I love that she is so good at it that I can ask over the phone where things are and what the settings should be and she can talk me through it. Fantastic! We each have those things that we are so versed in, that you can see it in your head and explain the picture in a way that the person who is in front of said object can work with it. Neat.

The pillows have been on my list of things to do for three years now. And they are done! Hooray. I am checking off my list of crafty things that I have been building for years. Time to get them done!

And I got to have people over for dinner, something that I love to do! I turned on loud music, and had such a good time worshipfully preparing the food. Good God moments. Precious. And when the people came and ate the food, they enjoyed it too, which is excellent. Making food and having a bunch of people over is definitely the kind of experience that gives me a lot of life, you know those times when you are doing something that it feels like you were meant to do. I love cooking when you are planning what to make, then making a mess of the kitchen as the preparations start, and thinking through the timing of everything, and praying that things (food, people enjoying and talking) will turn out. And I love people sitting around a table, enjoying. It is temporary and experiential art, and I love it! I had help too in the set up, and other people did the dishes in the cleaning up. Wow. Good times.