Memories of Halloween

This is one of days I wish I was a kid again. Gotta love those times dressing up/becoming someone different for the night [I was never really into playing 'dress-up' the rest of the year] and acting the part. October 31st was a night when you WERE something other than yourself. And then running through the neighborhood getting all of the candy we could. What can be better than that?

I had 6 brothers and sisters, so after school, the house would be full of us running around getting ready. Of course, we knew way in advance what we were going to be [and what our friends were going to be] but that afternoon, we still had to pull everything together. This was before all of the commercialism where parents would be the kid's costume from the grocery or drug store. And can you imagine having to buy 7 costumes every year? So we had to be pretty creative. The only thing that I didn't like, though, was my parents making us put on heavy clothing under the costumes so we wouldn't get cold. Cold? Who would get cold on a night like this? Well, maybe here in Michigan...

Some of the things I became on Halloween were: a gypsy, devil, baseball player, cave man [I think I was a cave man 2 years in a row], and an Indian. None of these other beings could be all that bulky, we didn't want to be hindered as we went door-to-door. I remember feeling so grown up when I was able to head out with friends instead of tagging along with my older siblings. And then, at the end of the evening, we HAD to see who had the biggest stash of goods.

In a lot of ways, I liked halloween even more than Christmas. It was so much more of a participatory event, from planning who we'd be [and changing our minds so often], figuring out how to create and then BE that character in any way we wanted, making plans with our friends as to the best route through the neighborhood in the quickest time, and then getting a pillow-case full of treats, stuff we weren't often allowed to have during the rest of the year.

Such memories; oh to be a kid again. But the next generation is following our traditions; this evening, I get to see who my 7 year old niece will be for the night AND I get to help pass out the treats for the other ghosts and goblins. Hmm, what am I going to be this evening?

Inner Child, Inner Brat

In a comment left after my first post, there was a mention of nurturing your inner child. And there is a lot of truth in that. And though I'm not going to make this entire blog about art and creativity, I'll mention that in this book 'The Artist Way' I started working on [with an online group], the author says early in the book that we all have an inner artist within us and she compares it to some extant, to our inner child.

I haven't really done much reading about this topic of the inner child but I certainly have heard about it. Reading the comment after my post, I recalled hearing something about our 'Inner Brat'. So I did a quick google search and came across this book:
"Taming Your Inner Brat: A Guide for Transforming Self-Defeating Behavior" by Pauline Wallin, PhD. Here's a part of what the blurb said:
_______
"Why did I say that?" "I can't believe I ate all that!" "What was I thinking?" We've all asked these questions of ourselves at one time or another. Every one of us has said or done something that we later regret, even though we know better. And we're likely to do it over and over again.

There are specific reasons why we repeat such patterns. The reasons are embodied in a concept called the "inner brat." Not a psychiatric diagnosis, this inner brat is nevertheless responsible for getting us into trouble with ourselves and others. People with a strong inner brat lash out at others; they fall into addictive patterns of eating, drinking, or smoking; they get involved in affairs or end up in self-defeating cycles. They don't acknowledge blame or responsibility for what goes wrong in their lives. And despite how they may appear to others, they are usually unhappy with themselves.

If you have any of the following problems, you may be suffering from an overactive inner brat:

Self-defeating tendencies: procrastination, overeating, shopping, extra-marital affairs

Addictive behaviors: smoking, drinking, gambling, drug use

Interpersonal behavior: temper tantrums, sulking, sarcasm

Personal feelings: self-pity, injustice, petty jealousy, envy, chronic anger or resentment

Antisocial behavior: shoplifting, road rage
-----

It goes on, but you get the general idea. I think this is something that I may look into a bit deeper; I know I do have a lot of these issues...

Creativity, Trying to Bump It Up a Notch

Still to this day, I wish I was good at some sort of artistic endeavor, be it some sort of drawing or painting, writing stories, designing something fashionable and comfortable, perhaps even designing my own clothing line in styles and sizes to flatter MY figure, not what the media shows us, or maybe even drawing up the blueprints for that cottage I want on the beach. Just don't make me have to sing.

Well, I don't have the talent or drive to accomplish these lofty goals. But I *am* trying to get back into some sort of artisitc mode. Over the years, I've taken 100s and 100s [probably thousands] of photos--mainly candids/people shots but lots of nature as well. I'm not a professional by any means but I do need to get me and my camera out there and start shooting again. Something different, something to get myself out of this rut. Once I do, I'm hoping my creativity will open up in other areas as well [like maybe trying again to do a bit of writing; hence, my starting this blog and see what happens].

I think in one of the earlier posts, I mentioned artist trading cards [ATCs] that people create using all kinds of different materials. Some of these cards are simple, others are very elaborate, and everything in between. There are a few that I've received in swaps that I'm not all that crazy about, but that's ok; it's still art, but the others are awesome! There's no right or wrong way or style in creating these cards other than they should be the size of a standard trading card--2.5"x3.5" [like a standard playing card] and these should be traded, not sold. I initially learned about these things at a scrapbook store in Raleigh, NC; the store owner taught a class; we had time afterwards to create a few and then swap some of them with other class participants. Other swaps were held later, as well. And there are a number of online trading groups with participants ranging from youth to retirees, many just starting out in anything artistic to those that are professional artists. And the participants [male and female] are literally from around the world. Since moving away from NC, I hadn't spent much time trying to do anything at all creative or artisitc until just recently. I found someone to scrapbook with and I signed on to a couple of the ATC online groups-and have already participated in a couple of the swaps. I hope this is something I'll stick with [as long as I see some progress along the way--or at least have fun in trying].

This form of art can open us up to more creativity, creativity brings us more art. And what's wrong with that?

What IS Creativity?

What IS creativity? Is it something that you're born with and if you weren't, too bad? I don't think so; with an open mind you can find it within. It may take some time and a bit of 'play' but it's well worth the effort.

At least on a basic level, creativity can be just a *different* way of seeing or doing something. What about these ruts, doing the same thing day after day, same schedule, same route to and from work, same stuff for dinner, same this, same that...? Routines can serve a purpose-in getting things done, usually without even thinking about it. But these routines CAN become boring; and who wants the safe ol' boring stuff all of the time? I know this sounds like a cliche but it's time to think outside the box and shake things up.

Take a walk on the wild side every now and then. Wear a different color of socks to work. No one else may notice but YOU will and it may even make you smile inside. Who knows, you may start wearing brighter colored shirts and actually be noticed [oh my; imagine that].

On your way home from work or errands, stop at the park. Even if you don't get out for a walk or a swing on the swing set, at least open the windows, let in the fresh air and breathe it in. Sit and watch for a bit and see how many different critters you can sight. And then stop by and get an ice cream cone on the way home to your humble abode. Even if it's snowing or raining out there, it's still ok to have ice cream. If you think it's too cold in the winter, then add a bit of hot fudge; that'll make it all better.

Another day, find a different way home and become familiar with your surroundings. If you haven't taken any time to read recently, magazines, books of various types, whatever, take some time to expand your mind. On a day off, stop by your local library and explore the kiddy section. Yep, the children's area. These selections range from the simple to the complex; they're often funny and can make you laugh out loud. Check a few out [tell the librarian that your bringing the books home to your grandkids if you need to]. Go home and read away the afternoon.

Finding ways to be creative can be a challenge, a bit of an effort to open your mind to something new. If you try something and it ends up not all that appealing to you, that's ok; you don't have to do it again. Try something else! Ask your kids for ideas, they're a great source of creativity. Open your eyses and see something familiar in a new way.

More on this topic soon...

The creativity found in nature

There have been numerous times when I get so awestruck with the beauty and creativity [if that makes sense] found in nature. Last evening I was wishing that I had my camera with me. While out doing errands before a meeting, the western sky was awesome. The clouds were dark gray with scarlet interwoven within the stormy-looking sky. Not orange, purple, or pink that is more commonly seen but a deep red/scarlet. Beautiful. Then, heading east was the rising full moon with light gray whispy clouds gliding past. What a contrast!

I do need to start carrying around my camera with me again.

Learning to be Creative

For most of my life, I've been searching for ways to creatively express myself. For the most part, I haven't felt all that successful in the various art classes required in school [though I had a later start than many of my classmates in that I don't recall doing any kind of art classes or projects in the school I attended for the first 4 grades]. And I wasn't really encouraged in artisitic endeavors in my youth.

When I was 10, I did start playing around a little bit with a point-and-shoot camera and, over time, I really came to enjoy it. Not necessarily as a way to create art [that thought didn't cross my mind] but it was a means to hold on to the memories-in-the-making. As the collection of photos grew, I started making my own scrapbooks--sometimes cutting the pictures into various shapes, adding titles, making comments, etc.

Over time, I did start receiving positive comments which encouraged me to continue down the photographic path. Since I'm the kind of person that learns by [seeing and] doing, I loved to experiment. At various times, though still getting some positive feedback, there were comments like 'you take too many pictures', 'that idea won't work', 'what do you want to do THAT for?', etc. In some ways discouraging but these comments pushed me to do that much more; after all, how are we to learn if we don't try?

Reading is another thing that's always been a part of my life. Maybe not a lot of really deep stuff but I loved reading about other places, lifestyles, how to do expand the horizons... In high school and college, writing was fun, too. Though I enjoyed doing it MY way which often wasn't the technically 'right' way but that's ok with me.

Jumping forward in time: About 10 years ago, I started getting back into my scrapbooking again with doing more with journalling the stories, often adding the behind the scenes stuff to the stories that the photos told. And more recently, maybe the last 5 years or so, I expanded into other areas in the paper arts realm including rubber stamping, greeting cards, and making & trading artist trading cards [these cards are so cool!!].

But still, I'm not at the point where I feel I'm expressing myself all that creatively. I guess it's a life long process. To help develop it, though, I'm participating in an on-line group and going through the book called 'The Artist Way' [I'll have to look up the author's name; I *think* it's Julia Cameron or something close]. This book is set up as a 12-week course and it serves as a means to explore, unblock, and expand our creativity. It can help with all areas and forms of art, be in music, writing, photography, painting, whatever. So this group has started this week and it should be interesting.

Up and Running

Wow, my first post! I've been thinking about starting up a blog for a long time now but I didn't really know what I'd focus on. So many of the blogs I've read have a particular theme and I do enjoy reading them. But hey, like a lot of us out here, my interests, train of thought, things to contemplate, etc are always changing. So why limit myself? I may or may not go into a lot of depth on any particular post but perhaps it'll be enough to get a conversation going or a stepping stone to something completely new and different. Or maybe a place to just ramble or vent. :-)