Time and creativity

Good morning,

Another Monday morning but I suspect it's a different kind of Monday for me than for many of you. While I'm not working it is entirely too easy for the weekends and the weekdays to blur together. Clocks and calendars lose their power when there is no defined beginning or ending to a work week. That's not necessarily a good thing, or a bad thing...it just is! I would love to hear about your schedules and if your days are structured by time clocks and anticipation of weekends or vacations :)

A friend recently challenged me to do something creative every day. This is not as easy for me as I would like for it to be. I'm a great starter and eagerly try lots of new crafts seeking the "it" that becomes my exciting new hobby. The thing I've realized though is that in order to live my truth I have to be completely honest with myself. The truth is I don't ENJOY a lot of the things I try. I want to like them, I really do, but many of them leave me frustrated! I've tried all sorts of paper-crafting: collages, rubber-stamping, card-making. I've tried drawing and painting. I've experimented with quilting and sewing. All too quickly I discover that I've spent lots of money to have the tools I need only to end up with the clutter of UFOs (unfinished objects). How about you...have you found your "it" yet? I know that for some it may not be a craft, but may instead be a talent for sports or music or decorating or.....

The only thing that comes close to being my "it" is photography. I do love my camera and finding things that are fun to capture (and sometimes even share!) Trying to figure out how to use this and meet Journey's creative-daily project challenge I've thought about different photography ideas. I once read about a project where people were asked to take pictures of themselves every day for a year. I hate making pictures of myself so I've decided to alter this concept... I'm going to do a shorter version of the project and call it Pictures from the Porch.

Please allow me to explain... my back deck overlooks a lovely large pond. I've noticed recently that the pond seems to change almost daily depending on the weather. I hope you will enjoy seeing the different pictures or at least that you won't become so bored that you refuse to ever visit my blog again...

Picture from the Porch Day #1 - Monday February 15, 2010

It's cold and windy this morning. We had a light dusting of snow overnight but the leaden gray of the sky suggests that there is more to follow. The tree in the foreground of the photo is actually part of my yard. I've been told that in summers past the spring-fed pond sometimes is more of a puddle but since my December 15th arrival the tree has been partially submerged. I wonder how deep the water is here. Many mornings I see geese floating and playing on the pond. I love it!

Another thing I love to find and photograph is statues and sculptures at libraries. This interest too can be laid at Journey's feet. Journey is an amazing letter writer and since she learned of my love of books and libraries during our early pen-pal relationship she has sent me some amazing pictures made from the different libaries she visits during her extensive travels. Although I've always loved libraries, it had never occurred to me to seek them out when traveling. Last week I was at one of the Knox County Public Libraries and noticed this interesting little guy....

Knox County Public Library System - Fountain City Branch.

This little guy looks like he should be holding a book, I wonder if it was past due!

And of course, my favorite photographic hobby, capturing pictures of my fur-babies. Here is Daisy, Dandy's twin. Daisy is so different from his twin (yes, Daisy is a male but was named before we discovered that little detail and it's such a fitting name that I just can't bring myself to change it!) Daisy is much calmer, is very gentle and sweet (he reminds me so much of my Tyler kitty). He doesn't like to be held and prefers ankle time to lap time. His coloring is lighter, more yellow and white (like a daisy) where Dandy (whose official name is Dandelion) is a brighter yellow.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I look forward to hearing about any creative outlets that you find satisfying and/or rewarding.

Have a lovely day.