Meaning of Ritual

Maria Popova wrote in a post:

I think a great deal about the difference between routine and ritual as a special case of our more general and generally trying quest for balance — ripped asunder by the contrary longings for control and whimsy, we routinize daily life in order to make its inherent chaos more manageable, then ritualize it in order to imbue its mundanity with magic, which by definition violates the predictable laws of the universe.

I like this definition. We teach about the importance of ritual in our creativity class. Rituals can help lead to habits that support your creative practice. Even creativity needs practice and ritual can set your intention and determination toward fulfilling your goal.

Art Markman wrote in a post:

To really develop a habit for creative practice, you need a regular ritual. For example, Stephen King (a prolific and creative writer) sits down each morning to write for a few hours. He compares the process of getting ready to write to the ritual of getting ready to go to sleep.

Rituals don't have to be elaborate. They can be as simple as my ritual of cleaning my working space before I begin a creative project.

Setting a daily ritual to practice creative ideas will help you make the time you need to be creative.

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Mind Mapping For Inspiration

Mind Mapping is a great way to free up your imagination and see where it leads. Mind mapping is one of our assignments in Rituals Of Creativity™. You start with a central thought, problem, idea or project...then branch out from there. It's am amazing tool when you are stuck or just don't know how to take the next step. Roberta used this process to map out our Vibration Of Color™class.

Here is a terrific blog site that explains this process well:

http://blog.framed.io/the-key-to-creativity-mind-mapping/

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Just Look At Your Stuff - Monday Morning Musing

Journal Page from Rituals Of Creativity™ Online Class

I find that to move forward in life we must look at our stuff! This means knowing our internal fears and writing them down. Acknowledging our fears and then moving past them. This is a lifetime pursuit - our fears never go away. But we can learn to view them with an acute eye. One of my fears is failure - as universal as you can get! When I get a negative review for one of my books, I feel like someone stabbed me in the heart! I feel like a failure. My whole being failed, not just the book!

What I do is then talk to myself - the reality of the situation is that not everyone will love 'me'. Or my writing or books. There are millions of people out there, all with an opinion. So do I stop writing for fear of failing this one person? No! If the review has constructive criticism, I will think about what the person wrote and see if this will help in improving my next book. If the review is just someone ranting without telling me why they ranted or because this was a book that didn't grab them, then I ignore it and move on. The painful feelings pass and my passion gets reignited and I'm ready to take on the world again.

I learned not to let my fears stop me from pursuing my passions. Yeah, sure, sometimes my passions have a HUGE learning curve, meaning I will have lots of mistakes and failures, but I've learned to enjoy the journey and embrace my mistakes. 

So I challenge you to Just Look At Your Stuff!

Cheers,

Vicki

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Unlocking Your Creativity

Some fun habits to unlock your creativity from Huffington Post. 

We teach many of these habits in our classes, especially to still the inner critic and just have fun. There are plenty of ways to jump start your creative juices. First, though, we must not be afraid, and we need to walk through the fire to the other side, and face our fears. One way is to create habits that sustain our inner creativity. I love the suggestions in this article.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/12/creative-block_n_4943997.html

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Finishing Touches

 

Roberta is visiting and we're putting the finishing touches on Vibration of Color™ which starts in February, and Rituals of Creativity™in March. 

I took this picture in Japan at one of their wonderful shrines. The colors were so beautiful and added to the serene nature of the landscape. 

Online Creative Courses

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Experimenting Is Fun

Right now I have three paintings in different stages of development. All are experiments where I'm trying out new techniques and stretching my abilities. I've given myself permission to fail. Fail in the sense I'm not worried about the final product. Having fun is my prime objective. Being open and free of expectations allows the creative side of me to have fun as well.

The painting you see here is not close to being done. I've added real maple leaves to the canvas, and I will see how they hold up. I need more layers and added interest, such as lines, shapes and possibly words. This is a cross composition, but the cross shape is too equal in size. I will obscure some of the area and create different size shapes and add color.

Taking a picture of your work in progress is a great way to see what needs to be added or taken away. Also, hanging your work where you can see it every day is another way to get to know your painting. It's a great way to get a fresh perspective on your work of art.

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Layering Is The Key

Roberta and I spent five days in Santa Fe at the Artisan's Expo. We had fun taking a workshops. Sandra Duran Wilson's workshop focused on the importance of layering your work. This is a start to a piece I did on clayboard, a very smooth surface. I used acrylic paints,netting and cheesecloth for texture, and collaged the geometric shapes. A start to a possible painting...

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New CM Video Added - Tracing paper and your printer

I added a new Creative Mining™ video that demonstrates using tracing paper to enhance your journal page. It's fun and easy. I love how the original writing appears beneath the words printed on the tracing paper.

Check it out!

Creative Mining™ Tracing Paper video

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Creative Processing

I'm working on a series of mixed media paintings using fiber paste as the substrate. This is my first study - and the canvas size is small - 8" x 10". I'm gradually going bigger (next painting is 12" x 16"), keeping with the landscape composition and rough texture.

This painting is several layers of paint - (over nine). The black horizon line is Japanese paper I purchased in Tokyo. I'm trying to loosen up my process by layering the paints slowly...letting the paint dry before I apply the next layer. By going bigger, I am exploring new ways to approach my art. The different perspective gets me out of my comfort zone.

I'm excited to partake on this journey! Vicki

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Nature's Colors and Sounds

A friend and I took a nature walk this weekend at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. We went when it first opened -- no crowds, the air still and quiet except for nature's sounds.

I love taking short videos of different sounds I hear:

Nature is also a master colorist. All beautiful color combinations. All right in front of us.

Keep Creating!

Vicki 

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Why Create?

Being an artist and writer, I tend to take creativity as a given in my life. I'm always a bit taken aback when someone asks why it's so important to be creative. So pondering this question, I've come up with these following answers:

1. Creativity inspires - and can lead a person into a new direction.
2. Creativity helps problem solve by getting a person outside of their normal day to day situation.
3. Creativity fuels a person's self-esteem.
4. Creativity ignites a person's potential.
5. Creativity is a great way to know thyself.

As my Roberta says - all people need to express or else it suppresses expression and that causes blocks.

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This really is a part of the creative process.  Often people do not try to create because they fear making mistakes.  But I have found and Vicki confirmed it is true for her also, that  some of our best ideas come from so called Mistakes.  And knowing which ones to keep to create art is not a talent…It is permission.

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#GetCreative

Manipulated Photo taken in Rome

This morning, I read an article that tells of 22 ways to renew and recharge yourself. This is one of the many articles that comes out every January - helping people kickstart the new year. As I read the article, I smiled when I saw number 14 and 16 - Get Creative and Get Inspired.

#GetCreative is a hash tag I use when on Twitter. It's what our workshops are all about. Roberta and I are all about having fun while creating art because for us, art is joy, art is beauty and it enriches our lives and opens our minds to exploring new concepts, cultures, perspectives.

I have taken the advice of the article and signed up for a class - Extreme Composition. As a teacher I'm also a perpetual student, wanting to learn new techniques and perfect my skills. The other day, talking with my writing critique partner, she said something very interesting. She knew she wasn't the best writer or the worst writer, but she always wanted to publish her best work.

Creating is a lifetime journey of learning, doing and sharing.

New Year's Resolution: Get Creative!

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If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.
Vincent Van Gogh 

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My Motto For "2014" Be Creatively Rebellious!

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The Card that started it all!!!

Vicki pulled this card for 2014.  It is all about ART….Looks like a perfect time for creating a course on Creativity!

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Sand Sculpting Contest San Diego 2013

"Busy Mind"

This year's Sand Sculpting contest in San Diego brought out some amazing creative talent and ideas.  The medium itself is nothing short of difficult.  We learned that the sand is actually river sand so it has some clay content.  Nevertheless, it is still sand and is delicate to say the least.  Making these creations visual masterpieces and temporary.  The themes ranged from "Plants vs Zombies" a popular video game to "Human Bean" depicting a woman cureld up in a bean pod.  Professional and ametuers alike join to display their labors at the harbor in San Diego.  For more pictures you can go to the web site, ussandsculpting.com

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