creating something

Putting together ideas gathered from the shreds of your day. Building something out of bits and pieces of nothing. Searching for words to form a clever or colorful sentence. Arranging bits of plastic and toilet paper and painted wood to create a story. Having some of this in your day is what makes it sing! Snowdrop would agree. Yesterday, after we had had our fill of reading, she went off to the playroom and brought together these important elements of a story that was churning inside her. She worked tirelessly in arranging everything on the table just so, in the same way that I might struggle with a sentence in one of my book projects, or reach for threads of the day that might create a post for Ocean. (Today she returned to it.)

People say you need nothing tangible to spark an imaginative thought. Creativity will allow you to use anything within reach or nothing at all to build something satisfying. Maybe. But we have our muses and props and candles and plastic Lego pieces and glass birds and toilet paper rolls that fuel our creative juices. So, what did you use today to help you along? Me, I stuck with the candle (Holiday Pine, by Kobo) and some rose hips in a vase. Same stuff that adorned the kitchen table at breakfast.

I like small props. A cup of tea, a tiny Christmas tree in December. Beautifully crafted chocolates. Things that relax the brain and inspire me to look at life in a new way. 

Lately, I haven't been writing much (except for Ocean posts), but today, as we went through typical November stuff -- a wet mix of rain and snow -- I had that urge to put the candle on my writing table and dig out my Great Writing Project no. 2.

November is the perfect month for writing. I did not get to it, but it doesn't matter. The strong urge is there -- that's a step in the right direction. A gift from a beautifully wet November day.

 

 

(Do you remember a school day from your past when the first snow came down outside? A child would notice the wet flakes and spread the word. Kids would be on their feet, the teacher would seek to restore order, but there would be a smile tugging at the corners of her or his mouth. The first snowflakes are always magical!)

Today's moment of snow-showers:

In the afternoon, I again bring the little girl here after school. By then, any wet flake of lingering snow has melted. But the memory is there. That and the promise of more to come in the weeks ahead.

For some known only to her reason, Snowdrop goes immediately to the art room and begins to draw. She has an idea (it has to do with love) and a need to run with it.

I think kids have a constant stream of sparks pushing them to create. Me, I'm still feeling good about my one moment of inspiration from this morning! Hmm... maybe I need to bring together a few more small props...