My Creative Journey
Discovering Beauty, Enjoying Creativity.
From my earliest memories creativity has always been a part of my life. I grew up on the mission field of Chile, where the Artisan villages are spread far and wide. I was always so inspired by their beautiful craftsmanship, watching them work in leather, stone, copper or pottery. There was one place in particular that had open studio areas where you could see the artisan working. This was a huge inspiration to my little girl heart. It even ran in my family, my Grandmother was a seamstress and constant creative. Her desire to create for others was always fueling her. I saw the joy she brought as she would gift her latest hand made jacket or bear to a friend. This inspired me. Altho I never made a cognitive decision to do this it came naturally for me to do the same. Creativity is such a part of me its hard to even pinpoint a beginning, I know her love for it was infused into my life with out even knowing it. Most of my projects thru the years have been a sort of Creative Gifting category, making for friends and occasions, it seems the most inspiring place for me still. Connected to people. I am very practical so my works mostly stay with in a "Useful Beauty" category. I think it comes from an intense desire to see the mundane filled with beauty so I enjoy creating works to that end. As a child I would sit in my room for hours, knitting, hand sewing or sclupting, completely caught up in the creative process. It was thrilling to me. When I was 13 I taught myself how to sew on the sewing machine. It was mothers day and I needed a gift! I choose one of the hardest fabrics to sew, terrycloth. (what towels are made of!) It was an oversized towel that I added elastic and embeleshments for an after shower wrap. After changing the bobbin many times and detangling my thread it was finished and mom loved it! whew. I continued creating thru my early teen years, then, as things go my creativity went somewhat dormant. It wasn't until right before I was pregnant with my first daughter that creativity laid hold of me anew. Its as if it just came back so fast and full. This time I was knitting. I had a good friend who loved it and we started a little group to share the craft. I started sewing more and creating all the time. As I became a mom the ideas kept coming and I couldnt stop creating clothes, stuffies and blankets for my little girls. Its a wonderful thing to know my children drew out this creativity in me. In the creative flurry, some friends and I started a blog posting tutorials and creative projects. www.craftydaisies.com We also started a creative ministry at our church called Bloom. We had open creative mornings where you could bring in your current WIP and work on it in the company of other creatives. It was a wonderful time. As my girls got a little bigger I began to see the importance of creating with them. Making room for their creativity became a huge part of our lives. It was then I discovered a call to Raise Artists. In those years I saw them explore all the mediums I have loved. I taught them crochet, knitting, sculpting (in polymerclay) drawing, painting and sewing. Now it is one of my greatest joys as an artist to watch my girls create independantly, feeling the satisfaction of completing their work and adding beauty to life. It is a part of our everyday now. While we were living in Charlotte right after my son was born (2013), I was inspired to create a group called the Maker Collective. My husband had a song writer group he was in with worship leaders in the area and it was so life giving to him. I thought to myself, "I'd love to find my people too!" The Maker Collective was a tiny group of maker mamas. Some had buisnesses some were just hobbists. Once a month me and 4 other mamas got together to share our recent makes and pray for eachothers process and heart journey. Such an encouraging time. In the course of doing the Maker Collective, my husband and I stepped out to create a worship night event called The Rest. It got such a big response, I realized i'd need help with all the handmade things we wanted to share. The Maker Collective stepped up and helped make it happen! It was a beautiful picture of communal creativity. (embed pictures of the maker collective and rest vid) In the last 3 years my creativity has grown in a new direction. In 2015 we took the leap to buy an RV and travel the US. It was a big endevor, including the remodel of the rig. We spent 3 months at my Uncle Toms house working night and day on the camper until it felt like home. I knew if we were going to be in it full time I wanted it to feel like home. I think there was so much excitement for me personaly going into the trip that I truly poured my heart and soul into this camper. My uncle, my husband and I designed custom pieces for it to make it our own. Including a desk top that folded out for my husbands work, an extension on the counter top and a day bed couch. I created hexigon tiles for the camper kitchen backsplash. It was to date, my favorite place I ever lived. While we were on the road, I realized my creativity had to adapt.I had packed my sewing machine, yarn, clay and paints for our trip, but I got the sewing machine out once or twice. It was more challenging than I expected to craft the way I had before. I began to practice painting, a medium I wasn't proficient in. I slowly made my way thru a few art journals. This creative transition was difficult for me. 2D Art has never been my strength so it felt a bit like kindergarden again. I have kept going with it. I am enjoying the process more and more, but I have yet to enjoy my results. We moved into our new house in Tampa this Thanksgiving. (2017) In the process of getting settled I have had a renewed love for sewing and design. I have been making clothes again, setting goals and choosing to make more room for my creativity. I joined an artist mentoring group that has helped me so much to get over old unhealthy patterns of thinking and doing to live the life I truly want to live. A life full of meaning, creativitiy, inspiration and beauty. The biggest thing I feel in this season is Permission & the Freedom to choose. More to come. |