Being With Creative People Helps Me Stay Creative Too

It is the Monday after Thanksgiving and I am happy to say I did not overeat… too much. I made an apple pie for our feast. It was ok, not my best effort, however everyone enjoyed it anyway! I really missed my kids and grandchildren. That is the hardest part about moving this far away.
My daughter Kara, is coming up to visit this weekend and it will be wonderful to see her. We are all keeping in touch but I am missing seeing them all. The grandchildren are growing up! We will find ways to be together, more zoom calls if nothing else.

The holiday season has officially begun, the streets and shops are crowded with shoppers, holiday decorations are going up and everything feels festive. I am trying not to get too excited about this new Covid variant. I knew there would be more even though I was secretly hoping I would be wrong. In spite of this, I think we still need to find ways to celebrate life… safely.

The fabric store has been interesting. I really enjoy hearing about people’s projects, ideas, and gift ideas. It is fun to help them find fabrics, notions and such to help them make their projects happen. Their creativity is inspiring, and I am getting lots of ideas for when I have my sewing machine back and room to sew.

One of the things I do at the store is organize and package the remnants for sale. We discount them at 50% off which is cool. Some of the pieces of fabric, trim, ribbon or even zippers or elastic are so small, like just a few inches, and you wonder what people might do with them. But often they do buy them and they are just perfect for a project like doll clothes, pocket trim, or even a very short zipper for a small change purse. We have a few people that come in weekly just to go through the remnant finds. They are often costume makers or grandmothers with small grandchildren that they are making gifts for. So much creativity in this world!

Because I am working almost full time right now, I don’t have much time for making art at least not big paintings. I have been continuing to create small pen and ink drawings using micron pens. I finish one about every week. They are very detailed and mostly I am doing food. Things that might be good for restaurant menus or cookbooks. And because I have so many photos of foods from the farmers markets and things I have made, it seems like a good choice. Maybe someday I will write a cookbook, who knows. I am really loving the process of these. I carry them with me and when I have a few minutes I work on them. Not only am I continuing to create, but it is good therapy for reducing stress. My mind clears and I relax. Minimal tools and mess. I have to say it doesn’t really feel like making art, because it is more illustrative than creative. Keeping my skills up, actually making them better, waiting for sparks of creativity to hit me. Nothing wrong with illustration and maybe that will come to something. But for now it works while I continue to find my way forward on this next big adventure.

Have a happy day!
Cheryl