The Courage To Feel Creative

Scrap Basket Progress--
I was sure it was shaping up to be a wall hanging, but now?

I’m going to go waaay out on a limb here and start doing something a little different.  About once a week (probably on Wednesday's) I want to start doing a series of posts relating to the topic ‘The Courage To Feel Creative’. Primarily I intend for it to be a conversation directed towards those of us that feel, in particular, creatively challenged when it comes to making personalized quilts.

I am a self-taught quilter with nary a string of letters behind my name which can only mean this: I have no credentials. None, except for fact that I have several years of experience plodding through the creativity struggles! I often think of the ‘quilter unknown’ label that graces many a quilt in a museum or display. Obviously they (the unknown quilter) were not well-known or famous in any specific way or surely someone would have been able to place a name with the quilt that is now so obviously residing in place of honor. Our media environment seems to treat it as a fluke of sorts, like only the Kaffe Fasset’s (not really picking on him--his work is incredible) of this world could ever truly be thought of as ‘creative’ and they, the unknown quilter, just kind of snuck in somehow under the grid.

But what if we all have the potential to be creative, just like the unknown quilter? What if you and I had the ability to be A LOT MORE creative? Wouldn't that be amazing? Enough of this IF ONLY business. What's the worst that can happen if we try? A long time ago many of us gave up on the idea that the average, common Jane/Joe was capable of being truly, deep down creative and now it’s tough to win back the trust we no doubt once had in our very own instincts. Unfortunately, most of us will have to dig up some courage through baby steps, recognition of the process and a little familiarity with ourselves before we can prevail in the battle our-self.

I believe many of us have a serious (dare I say, burning?) drive to create something beautiful and still, we second guess ourselves, question our own ability to succeed and often, just plain don‘t know how go about the process. Stepping out of the prescribed box that we’re in is going to be scary and hard. People are going to know and talk and yes, maybe even critique our efforts as paltry.

So let's have that conversation about ‘The Courage To Feel Creative’ and discuss practicalities, thoughts, ideas and maybe even the occasional exercise thrown in to help clarify a point or two.  I don’t want to be like the privileged few who hoard their creativity to themselves like a rare diamond. It's not going to run low like coveted stock at the department store! And lets be clear about one other thing while we're at it: this is not a NEW conversation, merely a different approach from perhaps an unconventional perspective! You never know,  I might even manage to have some valuable insight that speaks clearly to you, the struggling quilter and at the same time, resonate loudly with you, the more experienced quilter.  Lol  One can only hope.

So.... BASIC CATEGORIES TO LOOK FOR IN THE WEEKS AHEAD if I can keep my nerve up!:

FABRIC LOVE: The foundation of quilting is simple. Loving fabric=the desire to make a bright shiny quilt.

NITTY GRITTY OF FABRIC: Details to think about. A good quilt will have depth, interest, movement and sparkle.  We hope.

INSPIRATION HOARDING: Why aren't we making what we really love already? Don’t be a sheep following the rest of the sheep off the cliff of commercialized trends.

TAKING CONTROL: Confidence is gained by taking control of our quilting and facing our fears. Don’t kid yourself, it takes both time and experience.

HABITS OF CREATIVITY:  Work, Do, Make, Create.  It’s a big one to tackle.

DIVERSIONS AND PLAY: Sometimes we gotta relax and clear our mind, it’s really just that simple.

The REWARDS:  Filling our time with beauty instead of garbage and of course, improved mental health in a crazy, fast paced world.  Why else would we possibly be quilting?

Expect me to jump around from topic to topic and then double back and dive in yet again. I’m pretty sure I'm looking forward to this in spite of the hives I probably broke out in the minute I hit the ‘publish’ button.*wink