Lettergirl

My creative manifesto, in a nutshell.

Imagine my surprise, my delight, when I chose a random book from the shelf to keep me company while I waited at the corner for the schoolbus, and opened it to read this:

 
I picked up The Autobiography of William Carlos Williams at a used book sale in the neighborhood this summer, because I've been enamored with him for a couple of years now but still don't know much.  (Learn a little more here and here.)

He goes on to say, "If the fit was on me...I would be like a woman at term; no matter what else was up, that demand had to be met.  Five minutes, ten minutes, can always be found."  And this is just in the preface.  These nuggets alone are so satisfying, I may put off reading the rest of the book until winter.

If you missed it the first time around, you can read about my creative manifesto starting here.

My creative manifesto, part 6.

Nothing fills me like the process of creating.  Until recently, nothing filled me with frustration like the concept of "the journey."  Guess what?  They're actually the same thing.

For years, I've been turned off by the notion of the "journey" (as in, "it's all about the journey," "it's not the destination, its the journey," you get the idea).  Let's just say I'm very goal-oriented.  (I made three calendars for summer before I figured out which one would work best at helping me keep track of my crazy schedule...and allow me to cross things off a list.)

Honestly, I think I was a bit scared of the word journey.  Here I was with a design business and my biggest goal has been to keep working.  Wouldn't it be so much easier if everything stayed the same?  In the last two years (incidentally, as long as I've had this blog, hmmm...) I've learned to not only be okay with changes in my industry, but to finally embrace them.  I'm not looking too far ahead, I'm focusing more on opportunity and being open to new ideas.

Meanwhile, I was never scared of the word process.  When I'm creating, it isn't finishing a project I love the best, it's the whole creative process.  It's all the steps from beginning to end.  And sometimes the project isn't ever really finished (like My Creative Manifesto, for example).  Many, many little journeys within my big journey.

As I mentioned when I started this series, My Creative Manifesto is a work in progress.  I know I've overlooked things, I'm hoping I'll have more epiphanies.  I have appreciated all your comments, and would love for this dialogue to continue.  If you have anything to add -- about your own journey, your own manifesto, what starts and stops you -- I hope you will leave a comment or email me directly.

Have a great weekend!

My creative manifesto, part 5.

One of my (many) goals when I'm working on a project is connecting the past, present and future.

When keeping a scrapbook, this means I use the pages as a way to supplement the oral tradition.  Our kids love to hear stories about when they were babies.  I intentionally don't write down every story of their childhood, some I save for those times when they ask to be told a story about themselves. (And some I write down and tuck behind the pages in their albums, to be found as a little surprise later.)  I also think their own memories are so valuable and important, I don't want to document every moment of their lives for them.  And I love the details that others share too:  their dad, grandparents, etc.  So many points of view.

When quilting, I like to consider the meaning of my quilt project, whether using a historical quilt block or a modern interpretation.  And I put quilt tags on my projects too...I sure wish I had one on the quilt made by my mom's great aunt. (I think it was my mom's great aunt.)

When sewing garments, I'm trying more and more to think in terms of creating heirlooms.  This might mean a dress I make for Juliet can be saved for her daughter, or something I make for myself might be strong enough to last for many years, or it might mean a bit of the fabric can be saved for another project (like a scrap quilt).

Be sure to head over to Bloom, where I've written a guest post today.  I'll conclude my Creative Manifesto series tomorrow.  Thanks for reading & sharing your thoughts with me!
 

My creative manifesto, part 4.

My greatest inspiration is the work of other artists, always reinvented Gina-style.  When I attempt to "copy," it never works as well as when I put my own spin on it.  While I can simply admire what some artists do, others inspire me more directly.  A few of my greatest sources of practical inspiration, past and present:

Natalie Chanin

Ali Edwards

Kaffe Fassett

Rebecca Sower

Denyse Schmidt

Keri Smith

Then there are all the books, blogs, pictures, and quotations that inspire me...something I read in the newspaper, an interview with a novelist on public radio, a project on the cover of a magazine.  As Terry wrote so aptly the other day, "I never want the day to end, and wish that sleep were unnecessary."

And it's also nice to have something in common with Rodin.

My creative manifesto, part 3.

 

"You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage (pleasantly, smilingly, *non-apologetically*) to say 'no' to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger 'yes' burning inside."
- Dr. Stephen Covey

Both Chel and Mer shared this quotation during my giveaway week, and it gets the ball rolling nicely for #3, be a steward.

I want to be a steward with my gifts.

As Amelia shared in the comments recently, gifts are given through us not to us.  I believe that.  I believe I've been endowed with a specific set of gifts and it's up to me to find a way to honor this glorious life with them.  Not hide them under a bushel.  Not horde them for myself.  Before writing this post, I skimmed some of my journal entries of the past few years (which really only means about 10 pages).  A common theme is:  am I doing enough? am I doing right by all I've been given in this life? am I ignoring a big yes or just feeling guilty?

I mentioned last month that I've been doing a little bit of this & a little bit of that for years.  (In the past week, I face painted at our school carnival, worked on a logo for a program at our church, washed dishes at the cub scout camp-out, finished up a quilt for my nephew's graduation, and made cards for our choir directors.)  But for awhile now, I have felt a bigger 'yes' burning inside.

I generally find myself using my creative skills to do things for others like in the list above.  Lately I've been wondering about the other gifts I have.  As Terry commented last week, we only have so much time in a day after all. 

What if I used my creative gifts to refill my pitcher so that I could use my other gifts in the community?  I love libraries, I can strike up a conversation with just about anyone, I'm pretty good with primary age children, I like teaching adults...I am thinking about a big yes that acknowledges my creative drive, but incorporates these other gifts too.  Or maybe I should use all my gifts at once by doing more teaching. 

I don't mean to make this a treatise on all the ways I give or the guilt I have about not giving enough...I do remember that a simple smile can go a long way (who knows how far?)...but rather that stewardship is an important consideration in my creative manifesto.

Incidentally, I have been gathering enough new quotes over the past couple of months that I think it is time for another series of handwritten-quoation-posts in July.

My creative manifesto, part 2.

 

I can just hear the collective, "Huh?!"  In a nutshell, I'm a practical girl.  Although I haven't fully determined my Style Statement, the word pragmatic often comes to mind.  I like to make things that have purpose.  (This is probably why quilting is such a perfect hobby for me.)

Yesterday I simply stated that I love to create.  I love sewing, baking, keeping scrapbooks.  I could do it all day long, every single day.  The most important statement in my creative manifesto:  I create because I enjoy it, because it makes me feel alive.

Creating means keeping meaningful scrapbooks for my kids.  Not over-creating means not burdening my kids with a whole library full of scrapbooks to store and maintain.  I mentioned yesterday that I turned to my core set of beliefs in order to set parameters when I started Juliet's first scrapbook (almost 12 years ago, sniff sniff).  You can read more about the results here.  I choose to create...but I also want to choose what, when, why I create.

Creating means spending time on the crafts I love.  Not over-creating means not spending all my time crafting so that I forget about the rest of life.  Not to mention, the rest of life provides an awful lot of inspiration.  William Carlos Williams was a poet, but also a doctor.  I like to think the doctor part was a wellspring of inspiration for his creative life.

Creating means trying new techniques and projects.  Not over-creating means not using all the world's resources for my own individual pleasure.  Enter my idea journal.  And the recent revelation that just because I can make something doesn't mean I have to make it.  Supporting other artists feels just as good -- or even better -- as making it myself.  Sometimes I realize that the amount of time spent on a particular project might not be "worth it."

More than any other belief in my system, this is the one I revisit the most.  How will this notion change with experience?  I definitely should have asked Terry about it when I was in Alabama.

My creative manifesto.

These are my personal truths related to my creative process.  Ali Edwards

When I first read Ali's book Life Artist, the concept of developing my own creative manifesto was not really new to me.  I do have things I say in my head over and over.  I do tend to think a new project through before I begin, looking at the big picture.  And sometimes looking at my own big picture helps me figure out whether I should even start a project, or commit it to my idea journal for later, or just abandon it altogether.

For example, I have been keeping scrapbooks off & on since 1978.  Juliet was born in 1998 when the scrapbook industry was just getting revved up, so I knew it was time to take a step back and look at my intentions before I got in over my head.  Why did I want to spend my time on scrapbooks?  I put all my ideas on the table, and gave myself a fresh set of parameters.

A few weeks ago my head was getting so crowded with these very thoughts that I decided it was time to write down my creative manifesto.  I tried to distill those things I say over and over into some basic belief statements; so far I have six, but I am open to this being a work in progress (and to not taking myself too seriously).

 
(my two favorite words in the whole English language)

I love to create.  I had to start here with that simple statement, since it drives all the rest.  I like making things.  I am most alive when I'm in my creative world -- thinking about a new project, planning it, making it, cherishing it.

Tomorrow, #2.