How an unplanned storm can foster creativity

It’s Sunday eve on Long Island and we are anticipating the storm that has been traveling from the Caribbean up the coast. I checked with the older people and singles in my neighborhood to make sure that they had food and shelter. I made the run for groceries, nuts and fruits and water and we put away anything outside that could become a projectile in the fierce winds.

Now we am tucked in our home, hopefully safe and sound.

My mind begins to think of all of the things I could do with this unstructured time???

This is my list. I have done some, but not all. It is the process of exploring my options. Choosing is by its nature, creative, because it shapes who you are becoming and how you are getting there.

With electricity

Seed, cut and roast the fresh pie pumpkin that is waiting on my tableRoast a whole chicken.Make pumpkin muffinsMake chocolate chip cookies.Vacuum up the dog fur before we lose power.Take photos of the beautiful leaves that fell.Write this post on my computer.Make delicious leftovers with left chicken & the last Italian green beans from our garden.Check in with my strong and handsome sons in various east coast hurricane affected locations.Catch up with my two lovely sisters and feisty mom on the phone.Speak with my wonderful fiend, artist & mentor, Ben Frank Moss on the phone.Answer my cousin, Marie’s email from France, wondering if we are ok.Listening to Dave Matthews, Mumford & Sons and Jeff Buckley singing Halleluja

Without electricity

Meditate.OBSERVE the changes in atmosphere and the way things lookRead Steve Jobs.Read Gerhardt Richter’s writings.Read an article in Image, journal of art, faith & mystery.Do yoga.Study my french verbs.Walk the dogs before the winds and rain get stronger.Sketch in my art journal.Draw interiors of the rooms in my house.Paint the interiors, as I meditate on rooms as physical symbols of how life is organized.Write a note to cousin Stephanie, also in France.Design my Christmas cards.Plan Thanksgiving dinner.IMAGINE myself participating in the great privilege of voting next week.Spend time just being with my dear one.

Can’t wait to hear how you decided to spend that valuable time!

Discover the creativity within you...

Waking up each day has always been a gift and an adventure for me! I find joy in the possibilities of the minutes and hours I have been given. Although each day brings with it changes and detours, the most amazing journeys that I never imagined reveal themselves.Like magic, I can change the day by changing my perspective. What was a deficit before can become an opportunity.

Being an artist, and practicing daily with pencils and paint has given me to the skills and courage to create with the material available to me each day. It can be as simple as finding something in a refrigerator or pantry that previously appeared uninspiring a moment before.Or it can be the incredible journey of creating a painting or discovering a solution to a problem that will change life for the better for many people.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9-SYa_82TI]

Creativity expert, Sir Ken Robinson recently spoke at a Zeitgeist Conference about the far reaching importance of creativity on education and on our future.

Courage to paint... daily

Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman,

before which difficulties disappear

and obstacles vanish into thin air."

by John Quincy Adams

Time is like rushing water

People who have faith in life are like swimmers

who entrust themselves to a rushing river.

They neither abandon themselves to its current, nor try to resist it.

Rather, they adjust their every movement to the watercourse,

use it with purpose and skill,

and enjoy the adventure.

David Steindl-Rast

Create your life as if it were a work of art

I imagine life as a journey through time, that each moment is a gift.

People, places and circumstances change around us.  We make choices that will help to create the life we experience.

When I create my art, I try to make each stroke as close to my heart as possible. Every choice I make brings with it limitations and also opens up new ways of seeing.

Use your creative thinking skills on your life journey.  Stay aware of what you observe around you. Live in the now moment. Use your ability to image in your mind's eye, to imagine the possibilities. Simplify or abstract the steps you need to create a meaningful life.

Learn to search for patterns along the way. Patterns of time and habits can give stability and structure to your journey. You can also change patterns that are not serving you well and replace them with new habits.

The only thing stopping you from changing a destructive pattern is fear of stepping away from a familiar path.

Be brave. Be you. Share your thoughts.

Carpe diem.

How to find the fine art in your life.

Observe!  Yes, you heard me, look around and find the little moments around corners and in the most obscure times and places! Stop as you turn the corner in the grocery store  and take in the patterns of bright red, orange and yellow colors of beets and deep green leaves in the produce section.

Take time to notice the beautiful wrinkles on the face of someone you catch sight of on the street corner. Imagine the life behind that face. Take the hands of your aunt admiring the  matters in life that those hands have articulated.

Spend a moment sitting  on the grass in the sun with your dog and watch how she observes life, waiting and watching.

Cherish each moment  with gratitude. Observing, listening and waiting is not a waste of time. It is a way of discovering where the beauty and fullness appears in your life. Make it a habit to discover it!

Imagine, the first step to getting things done!

Explore your problem by imagining solutions in your mind's eye. That exercise can make the difference between solving the problem or walking away in defeat! It is commonly understood that artists create by holding images in their minds eye. But the mind holds more than visual images. Did you know that musicians can hold the sounds of melodies and musical compositions in their minds? Dancers practice the muscle movements in their heads to develop kinesthetic skills. Athletes have been known to improve in their sport just by reviewing and feeling their movements in their mind. Whole books have been written on holding the taste of madeleines (Proust in Remembrance of things Past) or chocolate in Laura Esquivel's book, Like water for chocolate!

I can recall my Sicilian grandmother making the steamy fragrant honey lemon tea when I was ill with measles, the fragrance of her hand nurtured gardenias, her  plain and simple S cookies wafting their fragrance from the oven. It has been noted that the sense of smell is very effective at triggering memories.

I have drawn on these memories, triggered by fragrances, to make a series of paintings drawings. This mind imaging in ALL senses improves as you use it, similar to exercising muscles.  It just takes practice.

If you want to accomplish or change something, just imagine it, with one or more of your senses. You will be amazed!

Start with small things. Imagine what you will do when you get home from work. Imagine taking a walk past the fragrant lilac bush on the next street.Feel the sea breeze softly sweep your hair back from your face. Engage in the energy that surges through you as you walk briskly through the neighborhood. Suddenly, you are ready for your walk!

Choose to hold things in your mind's eye every day. That tiny action will transform your life image by image.

Oh yes, and let me know what happens!

An amazing and true art/ business connection! In a blog from U.S. News, On Careers, Miriam Salpeter discusses the importance of observation skills, referencing my post on increasing your observation skills in 6 steps. I love how she so clearly explains the connection betweens between eye, hand and mind as enhancing practical life skills in the marketplace.

Why artists are essential to America...

Isn't this something we need in America now?Please find 35 minutes to hear to one of the most heartfelt and scientifically supported reasonings I have heard defining the value of the arts in our world.You can skip right to Arlene , in a bright pink top. You will not regret it![vimeo 15772479 w=400 h=300]

Arlene Goldbard's provocative keynote: "Why America Needs Artists (It's Not What You Think)" from The Field on Vimeo.

For a comprehensive and dynamic look at manifesting creativity, go to Arlene's blog .

Now, i'd love to hear your comments here about  what you see for your future as a creative person who is moved by art!!

Initiate powerful patterns in your life!

I love getting up in the darkness of the early morning, allowing myself to quietly sit while sipping a cup of warm lemon water! Lighting  a candle  dispels the darkness and is a metaphor for opening my heart to the spirit. It is astounding to me, how this simple daily ritual clears my head as I travel through the day. It is in the "vigils" , the dark right before the light part of the day, that I find the time to be aware and grateful.

I actually used to rebel against any kind of repetition in my life. I felt succumbing to patterns would limit or nullify my creativity. I was having trouble, though, maintaining the momentum required to jumpstart my creative juices, each day. I was determined not to be a slave to the clock, a regimin

That was, until I realized the benefits of having habits that I planned , rather then allowing patterns in my life that I did not consciously choose.  I did a lot of research and discovered that there were some great benefits to having healthy habits.

I discovered the 13 creative thinking tools as defined by Dr.Robert Root-Bernstein in "Sparks of Genius". If you have the opportunity, he is speaking in March at the Naea NationalConvention in Seattle, Washington, March 17 -20. On a regular basis, I find myself referencing  "The Creative Habit", by Twyla Tharp in which she details how she stumbles from bed each morning to call a cab to take her to the dance studio where she warms up for choreographing dances. All of this so she has no way out if she feels like staying in bed. A key to her success is in creating rituals that create a network that supports and organizes her creative pursuits.

And you know, this pattern making now reaches into every area of my life. If you have read my blog, you know that I have identified seven categories of my life that I like to balance. When I examine each of them i find patterns emerging. I of course give myself permission to modify them when it is necessary. Thus the patterns transform themselves as my life requires, but I still have the network there for structure.

• art I paint early in the morning, regularly keep a drawing journal which I carry with me most of the time,visit museums and galleries on a regular basis and practice remembering imagery that fascinates me.
• spiritual There is daily, early morning meditation and prayer, moments of silence during the day, and gathering moments of prayer and gratitude at day's end.
• physical Yoga is a 3x a week practice. My intent is to incorporate regular walking, but it hasn't happened yet! I think I will initiate that in the spring. Eating a varied diet at regular intervals as become essential for maintaining the energy to create my art.
• intellectual Reading both fiction and nonfiction, magazines and books about 3x a week is crucial to the development of my body of work.So is reading blogs and looking at art websites on the internet. Teaching art is something I do daily. Many times, When i teach, it informs my artwork and creating my art informs my teaching.
• relationships Consistency in maintaining relationships very simply, works. My husband and I have weekly dancing dates at a local studio. It gives us a chance to just be with each other, leaving al mundane concerns behind. Making appointments with friends, ensures the thought of getting together, even if it has to be rescheduled due to unforseen events.
• environment I have a lot of work to do in this area. My decorating is great and consistent. My organization requires great vigilance at this point.
• riches Among my riches I count are friends, family, health, beauty in my surroundings and financial stability.I am so grateful for what I have and regularly nurture those areas.

Have you recognized and then recreated patterns in your own life? When you recognize patterns in your life, are they constructive or destructive to thinking outside of the box? How do you provide fertile ground for being creative?

Not sure what to do with your life?

I was going through one of my favorite websites Goodlife Zen, by Mary Jaksch of A-List Bloggers and came across a TED talk by Tony Robbins called Why We Do What We Do. It reminded me of the importance of my focus and its confluence with my emotions , beliefs and state of mind.Although I have seen it before, it electrified me! I began to revisit my focus for goals in my life and to examine, most importantly, my ability to grow in  and give back in my vocation as an artist. I have found Tony Robbins to be incredibly skillful at meeting me where I am and opening the doors I have previously imagined impossible.

He helps us to release the imagination to transform your life into a place you never thought was possible! This is definitely worth  the 20 minute investment, wherever you are!http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf

How an image can change your life journey

Once you are able to imagine something, you can be very close to achieving it.I’m getting ready to go out to the studio, but I thought I would write this down first. You see, I think you could benefit from my experiences with inspiration!  I can’t begin to tell you how many times I have procrastinated going to that blank paper, because I didn’t know exactly how a piece would turn out.

And that is  the process exactly. It is unnerving, facing a blank white paper. The experience leaves you feeling like you are at the edge of a cliff. There are no guarantees.  You may not create a “successful” product!  Look at your art as a verb instead of a noun; as a process instead of a destination. When I can allow myself that perspective, I realize my greatest creative leaps!

To image or holding an image in my imagination expedites creative thinking. When I allow myself to hold an image in my mind and to value its presence, I have a fluid medium with vast potential to work with !

Once you are able to imagine something, you can be very close to achieving it!

You must be flexible...for it may not happen in the manner that you imagine.

You must be persistent...for it may not happen in the time frame you envision.

You must believe in your vision.

That is why I challenge myself to remember daily images and moments in my drawing journal. So I decide to target 5 images of my day, dawn light to the evening sky.  Sometimes I remember things more accurately than others.  Since I am a visual artist, I create a visual journal. I also write in a multidisciplinary attempt to get closer to the truth of my observations. You could use other methods of capturing  invisible images in action, through music, movement, recording or organizing a written plan. I give myself permission to document my imagery without judgement. Then I reference it for my work.

Expanding this creative process into your daily life would allow you to imagine opportunities in your life that create what you imagine. Every unexpected turn is an opportunity to transform a part of your life in a way that you never imagined before. Imagining it is the first and most important step in creating change.

A website worth taking time to look at, woolgathering by Elizabeth Perry explores  and shares creating in her sketchbook. In the category of life being transformed by imagination, take a look at the article about Vik Muniz. His work begins as a photographer but "Mr. Muniz has ambitions beyond the art world — something to do with alchemical transformation, not just of garbage into art, and art into cash, but also of people’s lives."

How have you transformed your art, your life in unexpected ways? Did you image or envision something before you made the changes?  Do you have trouble holding onto what you envision?

Discover the art of your life by connecting the pieces

“Creativity belongs to the artist in each of us.

To create means to relate.

The root meaning of the word art is to fit together and we all do this every day.

Not all of us are painters, but we are all artists.

Each time we fit things together we are creating-whether it is to make a loaf of bread, a child, a day.”

Corita Kent

Observe everyday as an artist

Traveling through my day allows me to actually observe what I am given and eventually transform it with my actions.

Becoming awake to observe is a huge thing!

I have had days when I am unable to observe anything around me. I focus only on getting through the day and am not inclined to see anything outside of my predetermined destination at the day's end. On these days I refuse the grace of the visual guideposts offered me during the day.

But when I take the day as it comes, looking carefully at each opportunity as it presents itself, my day begins to feel like an adventure! Suddenly I am aware of the sweetness of the air , the colors of the sky, the feel of the soft earth beneath my feet. I feel like I am discovering a new place and open to new ideas!

I have made it my task to hold in my mind the colors, shapes and contours that populate  my day. Then I can take these impressions in my heart.  I then explore more deeply by drawing and painting.

What do you do with the observations you make each day? How do those observations begin to shape the art of your life?

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Evidence of things not seen

Here it is, the beginning of autumn and transformative weather.  I have been away from writing about the process of creativity for the summer as I made technical changes to my blog design.

What changes? I made the connection between this blog and my beth vendryes williams website  (which is now actually a blog-site). This means that you can check in to see my current artwork very quickly and easily. My blog-site is  a visual blog, so you can see what my visual work reveals on a regular basis. Download time will be much faster.

During this time away from writing, I reflected on my motivation and goals for creating art and writing about it.

What I did rediscover, as I reflected, is that I must create! It is as necessary to me as eating and sleeping. It is  my way of sharing what is not not seen: of digging away at what is not understood; of researching using visual tools and gut level intuition.

I find that writing about the process, certainly including setbacks and motivation, is a breadcrumb trail of where I have been and where I am going both spiritually and creatively. Writing the stories adds another way of understanding the process, both for me and for you.

Emails and comments and stories from you, my friends, expand  ideas and YOU are invaluable to all of us who are struggling to acknowledge and practice the process of creating within ourselves.

How will I proceed? I will continue write about creativity and ways to rediscover the inner artist in whatever we do. I will also write about other creatives. There will be occasional interviews, podcasts, and quotes.

What can you do? I love when you comment if you are moved by a post.  It helps me as well as others who are reading it. Please share my site with those  who are searching for a way to discover their own unique creativity.

Why is this so important to me? It is essential to recognize the unseen within us and to make it visible by the actions of our lives. This blog is a place to dialogue and is an  opportunity to share observations, ideas and solutions as we traverse that journey together.

How to discover beauty in everyday laundry!

A young girl aged six asked her mama to tell her what she did at the university where she went every day.

"I am in the art department.  I teach people how to draw and paint," replied her mother.

Astonished, the girl inquired,

"You mean they forget?"

excerpt from the book by Jack Kornfield,

How to find the beauty in the act of "After the Ecstasy, the Laundry"

Today…the first day of the rest of your life!

Our duty, as men and women,

is to proceed

as if limits to our ability did not exist.

We are collaborators in creation.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955)French philosopher, Jesuit priest

Is America throwing out ingenuity?

"I've actually witnessed this", I  exclaimed, as my personal  findings were supported by an article discovered through Thomas Cott's newsletter, "You've Cott Mail"!

"Kyung Hee Kim at the College of William & Mary discovered this in May, after analyzing almost 300,000 Torrance scores of children and adults. Kim found creativity scores had been steadily rising, just like IQ scores, until 1990. Since then, creativity scores have consistently inched downward. “It’s very clear, and the decrease is very significant,” Kim says. It is the scores of younger children in America—from kindergarten through sixth grade—for whom the decline is “most serious.” The Creativity Crisis, Newsweek. July 10,

This is exactly what I have noticed over a decade of teaching art and speaking with many about creativity!  The effort to think outside the box is not something that many people generally aspire to these days. I have been deeply concerned as an artist, art educator and citizen. I know that innovation and looking at events, people and problems  from different points of view is essential, as much today as it was when our country was founded. As Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman state in this same article,

"It’s too early to determine conclusively why U.S. creativity scores are declining. One likely culprit is the number of hours kids now spend in front of the TV and playing video games rather than engaging in creative activities. Another is the lack of creativity development in our schools. In effect, it’s left to the luck of the draw who becomes creative: there’s no concerted effort to nurture the creativity of all children."

I was also incredulous that some researchers then suggest that creativity should be taken out of the art room.  You have got to be kidding. The art classroom is or has  the potential to model creative thinking strategies for both students, teachers and administrators. Yes, the educational system absolutely needs to encourage creative habits as an integral part of the teaching process.

In addition, I wonder if we could use a few of our creative thinking skills to initiate solving this problem: America is losing its edge in innovation. Thomas Friedman acknowledged this in his latest Op-Ed piece, when he said,

It is also everything we should be celebrating and preserving but lately have not: ... educational excellence, a culture of innovation and a financial system designed to promote creative destruction..."

Thinking creatively means

• sharpening our observation skills

• learning hoe to imagine,

• taking ideas to essential, simplest form,

• finding and creating patterns

• making analogies

• body thinking

• feeling empathy

• thinking in dimensions

• modeling or imitating behaviour

• playing

• transforming

• synthesizing

from Michelle and Robert Root-Bernstein's book "Sparks of Genius".

Now, what can you do personally to increase the collective creative and innovative "IQ" of America?

I would love to get some ideas from you so I can try new things myself  and share them here.

This week I will be focusing on observing (visiting new places), modeling(drawing), playing, and of course, my all time favorite, transforming(mistakes into opportunities)! I will share what I have learned in words and paintings ensuing posts.

What about you?  Come on, be courageous,pick one thinking skill and try it!  [tweetmeme source="bethvw"only_single=false]

No time to be creative?

If only I had enough time. Do you ever find yourself saying that to yourself?That is what I said when the three boys were little, and part of me didn’t want that time to end.

I painted pictures with them in between making Halloween costumes and cookies, parties and putting bandaids on knees.

We read books a together and we were  a happy audience when they put on plays for us!

When they were in elementary school and middle school, I took my sketchpad to games, although sometimes I didn’t get it open.

I always carried pencils, a  favorite pen and my crayons in my bottomless pocketbook. Many times I watched the game and improved my visual memory by drawing from what I remembered later.

I worked at my job, teaching art. We made pizzas and cakes from scratch, loaves of bread, read books and had family discussions about the state of rest f the world.

Yes, and I dragged them to art museums, plays and music lessons of all kinds.

I am still teaching art to 580 students every week, and loving it!.When I teach, it nurtures my art and when I do my art it makes me a better teacher. I am always looking for time to make more of my own work.

And now it is the summer.

All the time in the world to paint, right?

Wrong. Sometimes I get creative block. Everyone gets it once in a while.

So, I  attempt to make dealing with  this issue a creative project! I enlist my  sense of humor, compassion and an assortment of creative thinking skills. If i am not up for that, I sometimes take a nap. (Try it. It works.)

Every time I get stuck procrastinating with the fear of making a mark on the white paper, I use diversionary tactics!

• Outsmart my left brain  and allow room for the intangible creative side. Let’s not take this too seriously, after all, “playing” is one of the 13 creative thinking tools.
• Integrate and balance other life areas. Make sure to exercise, eat right, read, leave time for spiritual, relationships and taking care of money and job. Limit times and set the alarm.
• Watch how others do it.  I watch my son compose, sing play and mix music when he has a day off or after work, if he’s not too tired. if he is he sleeps.
• Read . Many artists are very generous about sharing their methods of getting time to create.
• Allow myself to do the laundry or vacuum...with a time limit!
• Drink a glass of water.
• Take the dogs for a walk. Good thinking time.
• Put myself in the studio or place that is inspiring, with all of my supplies around me, look at my journals and I can’t help but make something.
• Don’t judge. Just keep exploring.
• Oh yes, and work daily for a self determined consistent amount of time. Stop in the middle of the best part! This was one of Hemingway’s secrets. Your mind will keep working on creative ideas  until you return the next day.

I was intrigued by the post on Write to Done guest post “How to Write When You’re Scared Spitless” by the  Jean-Berg-Sarauer.

There is also a very interesting article about another way to increase creativity called The Cure for Creative Blocks? Leave Your Desk. RT(via @the99percent) that is totally awesome!

What do you do when you are stuck and need a new idea?

[tweetmeme source="bethvw"only_single=false]

Life happens... what about those plans?

I've been struggling with that lately!!!As you probably know, I have been following that voice inside of me insisting that I make marks on paper and canvas... paint and draw!

I also have been able to articulate the process of creating and how to incorporate it more seamlessly into life, in this blog and in my teaching!

It has taken a lifetime to realize that vision. It hasn't happened in the way I imagined it, but that is the way life is.The challenge is to transform what life gives me into the art that I live everyday.

So, when I look at this beautiful photo of sunlight breaking through the shadows, it helps me to understand the value of shadows and movement not only as I look down the road, but also in my life path.

Interfering events and  exhaustion have inhibited my blogging recently.

So I rested.

Now I find myself sorting, organizing, redesigning. When I find myself having to slow down physically , I make lots of little piles for reading, writing, planning  and sketching. This is great for my creativity, although it wreaks havoc with my dear husband's sense of order. So I have now begun to take a look at my blog to see how I can help my subscribers to better discover or rediscover that innate creative gift that we all have. I've been reading lots of relevant books and searching through blogs that explore making things from different perspectives.I've been going to art shows and working in my journal. I will be sharing some of this in future posts!

Being creative in life and art requires balance,inspiration and some down time  The reward is transformation of our thoughts, sprits and bodies. Have you found that to be true for you?

Tell me, what inspires you when things aren't going the way you planned? Do you have any quick and fun remedies?  ( I like a pistachio gelato break, but can't have it often!) I look forward to hearing from you in the comments.

Now, off to my studio I go!

[tweetmeme source="bethvw"only_single=false]

My attitude towards drawing is not necessarily about drawing.

It's about making the best kind of image I can make,

it's about talking as clearly as I can.

Jim Dine

[tweetmeme source="bethvw"only_single=false"http://www.makearttransformlife.com]