I’ve been hearing the mantra “Create before you consume!” for the last little while and so each day, I try to do just that, after taking care of the kiddos and kitties. If making lunches counts as creating, well, that is how I start every week day, once the kittens are fed. It’s hard to resist the urge to reach for my phone to check emails, texts or my etsy sales, but I know if I start to do that, half the morning can go by before I’ve accomplished anything.
So once the kids are off at school and I have time to sit and drink my coffee, I like to write my daily to-do’s in my planner. As I said before, writing things down helps to clarify your thoughts, while also helping you remember them and motivating you into action. I know that as I get older and move into perimenopause, I need all the help I can get with remembering. Lately, I’ve noticed quite a few times that my mind goes blank and I can’t recall what I was looking for, or a word that is just on the tip of my tongue. Brain fog is real!
But I digress…
Even just making a list is creating something from your own head. Rather than looking outward and feeding off everything that’s going on in the world or what someone else is doing, it forces you to ask yourself how you want your day to go.
On my to-do list today was the following:
• exercise – check
• blog – check
• paint!
• list card bundles on etsy – check
So far, I’ve managed to check off 3 out of 4 things! Woo hoo! Next, is to paint.
To feel more fulfilled and satisfied, I think the act of creating before you take in something new definitely helps. Take for example, making a meal from scratch. Today, coincidentally Matt made us sushi for lunch! He cooked the rice this morning, then rolled a plate full of California style makis for us a few hours later, along with some air-fried shrimp. Of course, he is our resident chef and also someone who loves making things with his hands, so may be more naturally creatively inclined than someone else. And some days, we don’t have as much time for an elaborate meal like homemade sushi. But taking the time to make your own meal rather than ordering takeout or getting something premade, gives you a sense of accomplishment.
And homemade usually ends up tasting better anyways. Today’s lunch was no exception.
All kids start out feeling joyful when they make something out of nothing! I think that feeling starts to dissipate as we get older, from outside distractions and our own hangups about our abilities. It’s easy to fall into comparison traps and then not feel motivated to create.
Our girls have started taking an art class recently, the first of which I was able to sit in on. Their instructor had all the students do blind contour drawings of one another as a great drawing exercise and also so they could learn each other’s names.
Here are Whitney’s:
The concept of blind contour drawings is for you to only look at what you’re drawing and NOT at your paper for the whole time you’re creating. You’re supposed to keep your pencil or pen on the paper the whole time too and just draw the outline of the subject/object. So this exercise forces you to look carefully and also trust your instinct.
I think Whitney’s look pretty good for the few minutes that they had to draw and for her first time doing this. Her line quality looks quite confident and most of the people actually look like people. Some of the other girls’ drawings did not look as recognizable but I think the main goal of the exercise was to loosen them up a bit and also get them looking at things differently.
I remember first learning about this when I was in art college and a fellow classmate ended up making a name for herself using this drawing style.
Again, it just pleases me to know that our kids are still into creating things. Who knows if they will still be drawing in years to come? I hope so, whether it’s for work or for fun!
