Tag: Group project

I went to work on Tuesday still on a high from the sewing I completed over the weekend. I felt so good and wanted another day to prolong the feeling. I guess that is why it is so hard for those in recovery.

This spark is about seeking pleasure. “Your life is full and, no doubt, you have your hands full – with work, family, and other responsibilities. You probably don’t take many moments to check in with your desires because you are so busy working about everyone else’s” (pg.77). “Children seek pleasure at every turn. they don’t need reminders about how to have play, how to have fun, or how to make room for themselves. They know what feels good” (pg.77).

Bloomston asks what about ourselves?

Well? What about it?

I know that sewing makes me feel good. I must get a rush of endorphins when I accomplish certain tasks that my body craves, because I take every opportunity to sew.

Some of the challenge is about allotting limited resources (pg. 78). “Responsibilities, financial pressures, plans” (pg.78) and I would add guilt for doing something fun, “…are the reasons we forget to play and have fun” (pg.78). It is important to pursue creative activities that make you feel good otherwise you will forget how to be creative. Being creative requires practice. I find that I don’t flail around as much, because I am in the habit of being creative and I am in practice. I still struggle with the guilt of taking time to make quilts. I don’t know if I will ever get over the feeling that I am not doing something real. I may not get over it, but I don’t have to listen to the voice.

Ms. Carrie has a worksheet, which I think looks deceptively easy. the really good advice is “Unless you begin to uncover yourself from the bottom of the heaping, mountainous pile of your obligations and busyness, you might not get a crack of time to cultivate your creative self. That is why you need to get in touch again with what feels good, just for you. If you can begin to discover and uncover your desire, you can pursue the Spark” (pg.78).

Nota bene: we are working through Carrie Bloomston’s book, The Little Spark. Buy it. Support the artist. Play along. There is much more to each spark than what I am writing. The original chapters will help you. Go buy Carrie Bloomston’s book, so you get the full benefit of her fabulousness! You can see my book review, which is what started this flight of fancy.

You can find the last spark on the blog a few weeks ago.

The first headline of this spark is “Follow Fireflies. it made me think of my ‘What If’ game. The first line also sent my mind spinning. It reads “Inspiration is everywhere you look” (pg.73). I had just been walking down a street I frequent when I saw the decoration/gargoyle on a house. I thought it looked like a semi-wild cat. I like the detail (new houses have no character) and was amazed that I can still find things to see and be inspired by on a street I have walked down many times. I think having a  camera in my pocket gives me incentive to look more carefully at the world around me.  Bloomston also says “it can be commonplace or holy. It can catch you unaware and take away your breath. It can leave you speechless” (pg.73). I think I tend towards the commonplace – looking at the world around me, taking inspiration from the line of some bricks or some green growing in the crack of a sidewalk. At certain times of the year – not summer where I live – the sky and clouds can be quite dramatic. When I travel, I often find views and cityscapes that take my breath away. Architecture often amazes me because of the sheer scale of buildings built without computers. Noticing shape and line that inspires us is what Bloomston calls “the fireflies” (pg.73). She says “when we step into a life of chasing the fireflies of inspiration, we are more able to get into a creative space” (pg.73).

I find that I worry less when I am looking at the world around and making an effort to see the details – the beauty of the world around me. Carrie says that by getting into a more creative space “we create a fluency between our so-called normal life and our creative life” (pg.73). I find that there is less of a difference between the lives or parts of our lives. That lessening of space makes it easier to move between the two. The author further says “inspiration is often just a pebble thrown onto the path. It is up to you to stop, stoop down, and investigate it” (pg.73).

Ms. Bloomston has four suggestions: “slowdown, daydream, unplug, have a net” (pg.74). Unplug speaks to me today. I have been listening to many, many audiobooks. Lately, I have to think a lot and I can’t keep track of the story, so I haven’t been listening to as many audiobooks. I realized that, while I was very much enjoying listening to stories on audio, I was escaping and keeping my mind entertained so it wouldn’t dwell on the political situation or other bad things with which I was struggling. Now that I have less time to listen, I am allowing my mind to wander a bit. It does go to the dark places, but not as often. By not engaging it with audio 24/7, I am giving it space to think creatively as well. I am getting back into the groove of daydreaming. I think I am also learning to let my mind wander and touch on various topics, let it make connections between things.

As usual, Carrie Bloomston has some worksheets (pg.75). Go get your copy and fill them out. Think about what you are writing as you fill in the worksheet and let it inspire your creativity.

Nota bene: we are working through Carrie Bloomston’s book, The Little Spark. Buy it. Support the artist. Play along. There is much more to each spark than what I am writing. The original chapters will help you. Go buy Carrie Bloomston’s book, so you get the full benefit of her fabulousness! You can see my book review, which is what started this flight of fancy.

You can find the last spark on the blog a few weeks ago.

Bloomston got an assignment from an art professor to go and make a secret piece. The class was to do it and not tell anyone. They weren’t to turn it in or ever talk about it. Having and keeping the secret was the assignment. Having a secret doesn’t mean going and destroying some public property and then never telling anyone because of the guilt. Guilt is not involved. Having a secret in this context means finding that the “reward is inside us” (pg.70). If you are doing your art to get attention or to post on Facebook, then this spark is for you. Don’t make things because you think they will sell; make things that come from your heart.

I decided at some point that I would create this blog for myself 1) as a chronicle of my quiltmaking work and 2) as tool for practicing my writing. It isn’t a secret since, presumably, you are reading it. While I adore comments and interactions with my readers, if I only wrote the blog for you, I would have stopped a long time ago. I don’t get enough comments to get motivated to keep writing. I do refer back to old posts often enough to make it worth it for me. My blog isn’t a secret, but I have gained the benefit of the secret status because I really do write it for me.

There is something about having a secret project to work on. “Your own creative voice can get a bit clouded by all the other voices you hear from peers and teachers. It can become confusing and difficult to listen to your own voice.” (pg.70). No Instagram comments saying followers “LOVE IT”. Nobody has to get it. Just you.

Journals are often very private. My husband knows I keep one, but he has never read it. He can read them all when I am dead.

Nota bene: we are working through Carrie Bloomston’s book, The Little Spark. Buy it. Support the artist. There is a lot more to each spark than what I am writing and the original chapters will help you. Go buy Carrie Bloomston’s book, so you get the full benefit of her fabulousness! You can see my book review, which is what started this flight of fancy.

You can find the last spark on the blog a few weeks ago.