Creative Lull?

The other day a friend asked me what I’d been doing lately and I told her that I have been busy painting and organizing my home. She then said ‘but what kind of art have you been making lately?’ I told her I hadn’t been making any art. I wasn’t satisfied with my answer; in fact, I’ve been disturbed by it and wish I had said more.

Have you ever found yourself in a similar conversation? I usually find myself on the other side of these types of conversations. I do tend to be artistic and creative and people seem to feel compelled to tell me things like “I’m not creative” or “I’m not artistic”. It always saddens me to hear someone tell me they are not creative. I believe we all have the ability to be creative whether it is in the way we arrange flowers in our gardens, or choose vegetables that make the dinner plate look pretty, or in the way a pair of earrings or a scarf is chosen to set off an outfit.

Creativity is a part of my daily life and my routines. Creativity certainly allows me to make art when I am in my studio, but creativity is also what allows me to make a house into a home; a meal into a moment; an afternoon with my grandchild into a memory.

The past couple of months have not been months of producing works of art. They have been full of knitting hats and mittens and sock monkey ornaments for Christmas presents; of painting the walls of many of the rooms of my home; of making pillows and curtains for those same rooms; and of arranging and re-arranging the items that I love in such a way that they are pleasing to my eye. I am creating a space that is comforting, relaxing, and welcoming. Today, my home is my work of art.