Friday, January 29, 2021

Announcing February's Monthly Gathering

No filter. Honest! Just a Grecian sunset.

Creatavita's next Monthly Gathering is scheduled for Monday, February 15 at 7:30 pm EST. February's topic is Uncertainty.

Agenda for this 75-minute, online session:
  • Grounding Exercise - this month, we'll be playing with a brief stretching meditation.
  • Creative Play - one creative action that allows our minds to explore.
  • Help Me, I Think I'm Falling: Creative Actions to Deal with Uncertainty - our companion, Uncertainty, is sticking around. I've got practical tips on how to deal.
You'll need paper, pen and a Zoom-compatible device. Additional supplies (colored pens/markers, origami paper, yarn, etc.) are fun and completely optional.

My intention is that each participant will leave with one creative action that will help them positively address uncertainty in their professional or personal lives.


Gatherings are limited to 10 participants. $20.00 fee. 10% of profits are donated to The Loveland Foundation

Message me here to register or if you've got questions. 

1/29/21 at 12:19 pm Update: The fee for this event was incorrectly posted as $10.00 on the original post. The fee is $20.00. That's what I get for posting before lunch!




Saturday, January 23, 2021

In Praise of Hobbies

Hobbies. That activity you had when you were a kid. Left behind as you began seriously adulting. Returned to in moments of existential crisis, like a global pandemic.

Hobbies have served me well. I've had at least one hobby (knitting) since I was six years old. The pride I felt when I finished that first scarf...the frustrations of the many projects since...the joy of curious exploration as my skills have improved...

I'm going to pepper this post with photos from other's hobbies.

My sister, Mar, is a lawyer in a Memphis hospital.
Quilting gives her sanity, especially during the pandemic.

One of the big benefits of most hobbies is you end the process with a tangible thing, a material item. You can hold it in your hands. You can use it in your life. You can smell it, you can put it on. You can give it away.  This benefit is especially valuable for a performing artist. Having a thing to hold when your career involves creating products that live in the air and in your heart, and in the hearts of others is beyond comforting.

Sabrina Boyd-Surka works in sound every day. Ten months into the pandemic, she bought simple materials and started improvising.


I'm captivated by the texture in Sabrina's piece.

In challenging times, like global pandemics, hobbies give us a way to refocus our energies. Uncertainty fades, even for a few minutes, when one is focusing on the size of board to cut for the new birdhouse or the color of paint to add to the canvas.

Some hobbies encourage us to change locations. I have an acquaintance who is an ardent birdwatcher. Based on her IG feed, she's in a new outdoor spot every weekend. I must admit I'm a bit jealous. 

Some hobbies require our hands to work differently than they do in our career. Modern people seem to like this. Our ancestors had no choice; they had to work with their hands all the time. They were happy to have their hands idle at the end of their 20-hour work day. Us? We crave something besides scrolling and typing. 

Jane Tonkin remembered my love of hummingbirds

Certainty. There's certainty in a hobby. The pattern tells us where we'll likely to end up. The journey can be pleasant, not too difficult. We can engage with others. A sense of satisfaction. Give a piece of ourselves to others. 


Intended for a Christmas tree, I hung them on the coatrack in my studio.
They're colorful reminders of Jane's creativity and the eternal promise of spring.


I've been contemplating why so many choose needlecraft - embroidery, knitting, crocheting, quilting. I have some ideas. They're not messy, like painting or ceramics. They're easy and inexpensive to start - a few supplies and you're on your way. There are colors to explore, textures to play with. Most people follow a pattern, at least to start, so there's an image of what the project should look like. The pattern provides some certainty. However, as the skill develops, I can veer off on a side path. Enter individuality. Enter creativity.



Rachel Gitel DeMasi has been severely impacted by the loss of income and artistic outlet, as well as health issues, during the pandemic. When I found out she was healing through the lost art of cross stitch, I knew my own embroidery materials had found their ideal home. I sent her a box of supplies and in returned, she surprised me with this lovely piece. After hearing about my personal practice to Listen better at a recent Unexplored Artist seminar, Rachel used her creativity and added the word to this piece.

I start every day with the lovely reminder of Rachel's work.

Now would be the ideal time for you to consider adding a hobby to your life. Or revisit one from years past. Or zero in on one skill in a current hobby. The rewards are waiting for you.







Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Surround Yourself

 A few weeks ago, in Creativita's first Monthly Gathering, one participant asked:

"What do you do when a project becomes hard? How do you keep going?"

Excellent question. What do I do?

I looked at the screen of faces and saw a colleague, Julie Zaffarano. Julie inspires me with her daring. She seems fearless to me, serene and confident in her current project. I don't mean she doesn't have challenges; she does. Yet when I talk with Julie, she exudes a conviction that the work she is doing is exactly where she is meant to be. 

I find this conviction to be addictive. Hence, whenever I am uncertain of what I should be doing, I drive over to her house to have a chat. Boom. Like a drug, her energy wafts over to me while we sit, physically-distanced, in her outdoor, COVID-safe space. In an hour, my path is clear and my creativity is rejuvenated. I race home to get back to work.

Confidence. Confidence in the path, in the work. That's what I take from Julie.

Then there's my colleague, Jerrell L. Henderson. Jerrell gives me two elements that I need in my creative work - curiosity and courage. His energy reminds me to stay open to new possibilities in my creativity. His energy inspires me to courageously follow my dream of transforming society through my creativity.

Take a look at Jerrell's latest creation, produced by Chicago Children's Theatre:


I surround myself with these people, especially when I am disheartened, unmotivated or confused. My instinct is to pull into my self. But I have learned new behavior. I reach out to them to talk, to bask in their energy, to rejuvenate my creativity.

I return to the question - "What do you do when a project becomes hard? How do you keep going?"

The answer? I surround myself with colleagues who have the very elements I need. 

Surround yourself with what you need.


Monday, January 4, 2021

New for 2021: Monthly Gatherings

Happy 2021! While we start where we left off, still in the midst of a global pandemic, I do see a tiny light at the end of the tunnel. The tunnel is long, and we're still in the middle. With patience and persistence, which I know is sometimes in short supply, we're making the journey.

If you're feeling adrift, consider joining me at a new Creatavita offering - a monthly gathering. Online, of course. Currently free. 

I'll be starting off the 2021 Monthly Gatherings on Monday, January 11, 7:30 EST. January's topic is Achieving Your Goals: Creativity and Strategy for 2021.

Agenda for this 75-minute, online session:
- Grounding Exercise - a brief relaxation exercise to focus us on the moment.
- Creative Play - one creative action intended to get our creative juices flowing.
- Achieving Your Goals. Discussing a pragmatic path forward - let's talk. Together. About our dreams and wishes for 2021, and strategies to really make those happen. 

My intention is that each participant will leave with a minimum of one realistic action linked to one specific 2021 goal.

You'll need paper, pen and a Zoom-compatible device. Additional supplies (colored pens/markers, origami paper, yarn, etc.) are fun and completely optional.

Gatherings are limited to 10 participants. Message me here to register or if you've got questions.