Creative Talents

   Son often comes to my rescue when I am in a quandary about how to achieve something.  His method of observing, contemplating then attempting is to be admired, to say the least.  He never dives into things headlong like his old mom.  I have a tendency to start midway into a project then become confused when the end result is not to my liking.  Not him....think it through BEFORE beginning, gather necessary supplies and tools, then and only then, delve into the solution!  His method has proven logical and was, once again, put into use with my home/Christmas decorating.

  I have often stated that I was born in the wrong era.  I feel a certain awkwardness with the current trends and prefer things from centuries past.  This year, I gave into that mood and decided that the living room (with all of its antique furniture) needed to be somewhat Victorian.  Yeah...the Little Bayou House is an oddity but it makes me happy.  One of the needed changes was from the simple, canvas curtains to rich, velvety draperies complete with embroidered sheers.  Not a problem.  This change was easy with fabric and curtains from other rooms but I also wanted tiebacks.  I tried the lovely satiny rope and tassel things but did not have enough on hand.  Son came to my rescue!  He created my tiebacks and I could not be happier.

  For those who do not know me, I am somewhat of a "clutterer" as I save things that may have a possible use.  While Son was scrounging about the place to find components of "Victorian tiebacks", he came across my stash of some things salvaged from discarded items.  He suddenly changed from scrounging to creating!  Using a wood backing, he quickly attached a ceiling fan blade bracket.  This was attached to the window frame with the wood hidden behind the curtain!  Yippee!  There was a tieback!  Three more were made and his old mom was one happy camper!

  I am fully thinking that we should all follow his example and think a bit before jumping into action.  (Me, especially!)  That observing and thinking sort of go out the window when I face problems.  Son's method serves him well and I have my "quasi-Victorian" Christmas room!  I feel perfectly at home!

The Black Rose of Creativity!

  Back before Christmas, I started a project that was new territory for me.  The more I age, the more my kids keep after me to "learn something new"...so I thought to give this a whirl.  With the internet and a computer generated photograph as inspiration, I attempted to create a rose.  Since I am not very up on computer things, my rose was to be crafted from tin cans.  It seems a shame that so many cold drink cans just get tossed in the trash so I snagged a few and went from there.  Did I have a plan?  Did I know what I was doing?  Did it seem daunting?  Nope...nope and yep.  With an old pair of scissors and three cold drink cans, I started.  I am one of these people who sort of wing things and do not use a pattern. I just started whacking away at those cans.  Once I cut a goodly number of petals and leaves, I was left with an unsightly mess of tin pieces.  Paint and then 6 coats of polyurethane brought up my spirits and made me feel that I could do this!  (Whatever it was I was doing.)

  The project got put the wayside over the holidays and through a bout of illness.  Finally, I was inspired to tackle it again.  The rose was finished and showcased in an altered frame/shadowbox.  (I had to add depth to the frame so I added to the back of it.)  I was pleased with my finished product so it became a "gift" for me.  

  Since completing this project, several people have questioned my thoughts in the creation.  Why make something using nasty old cans?  Why make something that is just more clutter?  Why a black rose?  To answer all of those...why not??  It made me happy!

  The completion of the rose has the crafting urge in full swing.  After working through one lousy illness four years ago, a "pandemic", two hurricanes and a full-blown attack of termites, I am tired.  It is my goal to get back to creating, having fun and being myself again.  Perhaps the black rose...which is said to represent power, mystery and eternal love...is my key of kicking it back into gear.  Here is to creating...to happiness...to self love! I am ready!  I have said it before and I will say it again..Life is good only if we choose to make it that way. Now is the time!

  

Quirkiness in full swing!

   To be honest, it has taken more days than I wanted to take down the Christmas decorations even though not nearly as many were in place as in years past.  The holidays came and went with little fanfare other than the delightful visit of my oldest son, daughter-in-law and grandkids.  If I could have had them here without all of the hullabaloo, things would have been far more perfect.  Still, I did what was expected and, albeit, minimal, the place was decorated.  Then...the virus struck (or was brought to us) and I endured 8 days of fever.  I had no other symptoms...Son (younger) was not so lucky.  He ran the full gamut of symptoms so taking down decorations was solely up to me.  

  It was while I was on a ladder removing garland that a thought occurred.  I was musing how happy it was to bring the Little Bayou House back to its mysterious, magical place when the mind began to wander to those who have stark, vacant homes.  I could not live that way.  White walls, few (if any) decor pieces, and always matching furniture has to be boring.  To my way of thinking, it would remind me of living in an institution where all points of interest have been removed.  There is nothing to stir the mind.  My mismatched conglomeration of oddities evokes curiosity.  In turn, curiosity evokes creativity and creativity brings productivity.  If you cannot lead a productive life then what is it worth? 

  Granted, each of us have our own ideas of how things should be and none of us are wrong.  The only "wrong" thing is when others try to force their ideas down your throat by either bombarding you with unwanted advice or by trying intimidation to achieve their goal.  Thank you very much but...no, thank you.  The Little Bayou House shall remain a "house of curiosities" where the weird and wonderful things come to reside and be appreciated.  In fact, I have often been dubbed as the "Keeper of Weird and Wonderful Things" and I happily accept that title.  If that bothers others...so be it.  You keep being you and I shall keep being me...quirky, curious, creative and productive...all of those things that go hand in hand.  I refuse to live a bland, stark life to please anyone!

Art In The Making?

    Every now and again, I find something that strikes a notion in my brain..."I can use that!"  Although, I have no earthly idea just how the item will be used, it is toted home and stuck aside while those wheels in the brain turn and turn.  Eventually, some creative notion shapes and the "thing" is put to good use.  Usually.  Occasionally, the item either goes back where I found it (if it a natural occurring thing), I give it to someone who will use it or I discard it.  Those choices are easy.  The hard part is to never pick it up in the first place.

  This morning, there was not much going on in the way of a sunrise nor were there any critters doing spectacular things to divert my attention.  A lone piece of driftwood was the only thing that caught my eye.  "I NEED that!" my brain told me.  "Get it!"....so I did.  A knot of pine was fished out of the mud and rinsed clean.  After sitting in the sun for a while, the piece of wood dried out nicely and appears in much better condition than I originally thought.  It has a very attractive shape and some interesting worm holes and barnacles for added flair.  Now, to figure out just how to use this fine piece!  Perhaps some bauble could be framed in that center hole????

 

Gray is a Good Color

  Well, imagine that.   It was another dreary day here on the Bayou.  Rain threatened to pour down upon us at any given minute and, in fact, did a good job of soaking us several times.   Late this afternoon, a terrific storm pounded the area with high winds, lightning and torrential downpours.  Then it was over and the sun made a feeble attempt to make up for its "no-show" status of the day.  This was nothing new, however, since we have had more than our share of rain for about a year now.

  All of these gray days have a lot of folks complaining.  The drear is just too much for some people to handle.  It is a proven fact that the lack of light can do some mighty strange things to the brain and I suppose that gray skies can be considered a "lack of light"...well, maybe a lack of sunshine anyway.  Those living in darkness can be prone to bouts of depression caused by changes in the brain.  I can remember being told stories by Granddad about how the coalminers back in his time had to be careful if they worked the day shift.  It seems that working with the small carbide lanterns did not provide suitable lighting to help with the mental state of the workers. Then, when they left the mines, there was little time before sunset.  It did not take long before the workers attitudes were not desirable so it became the custom to "swap shifts" periodically.  Granddad had worked the mines as a lad and saw firsthand how this worked.  He stressed to me at an early age how important it was to get a "healthy dose of sunshine" each day.

  Granted having so many cloudy days pales to compare to the hard work and terrible conditions of the coalminers but people are whining about the dark, dreary days.  I, on the other hand, have no problem with the dreary days.  As a matter of fact, I find them inspiring.  The days make me feel creative, imaginative and energetic.  Perhaps this stems from growing up on the farm where rainy days meant a day off from working in the fields or doing other farm chores.   Or maybe my brain is just wired a bit differently than other folks' brains and I need darkness to function properly.  Whatever...I really do like my gray days and rainy nights!  Complaining about the weather never has changed it anyway.  So I might as well enjoy whatever the day brings.

Channeling Our Inner Weirdness

  Whenever you get two creative people together things are bound to happen.  Get two creative people that have a quirky streak in them and weird things are bound to happen.  Darling Daughter and I fit the bill on both ideas.  While we love to create, we have a bit of inner weirdness that comes blaring out in our creations.  This is not bad since we are doing what we like.  Others might not see it as such but who cares? Not me.  I have decided to embrace that inner weirdness and let it come to the surface in flying colors!  This inner weirdness has served me well in the past with the Clue Hunts On the Bayou.  I sort of like the unexpected eccentricity that adorns the Little Bayou House during those times so I figure that I should just keep it as such at all times.  I know there will be those that question my sanity but, once again, who cares?  Not me.

  The upcoming clue hunt's theme centers around an old time alchemy lab and all of the weird and wonderful things found there.  Of course, any respectable alchemy lab is full of fanciful bottles so Elizabeth and I set to work to fill shelves with bottles.  Not just any bottles but decorated bottles.  Since my clue hunt budget does not allow for me to just run down to the local shops and buy such props, we make them. The fancy shops shan't get our business!  As we were transforming the bottles, I could not see sticking them away in some cabinet for the next few months.  Instead, these repurposed bottles now adorn the mantelpiece in the living room.  Yep, there will be those folks who question my sanity AND my decorating tastes (or lack thereof) but, once again, who cares?  I surely do not.  

  Every bottle that we have used, found, begged, borrowed or fished out of the trash is being transformed into a thing of weirdness or maybe it is beauty!  Yes, beauty!  Actually, I think they are pretty.  We have added cords, bits of broken jewelry, spoons (yes, spoons), furniture knobs, corks and even stones to our bottles.  What good alchemy lab would be without such?  Pictured are just several of the  many we have completed but an interesting lab needs hundreds so we will be busy for a while.

  While these are being made specifically for October's clue hunt, my inner weirdness says do not keep stowing away the props.  Hey, I might as well leave them year round and enjoy the results of all of our hard work!  So, from this point on, even more weird and wonderful things will be on display in the Little Bayou House.  Personally, I like it that way!

Taking the Byways!

  With arthritis setting in on the poor, old hands and the eyesight dimming with age, I was beginning to think that my "artist" days are behind me.  If I do things now, it will have to be "large scale" projects and no longer the intricate detail work of days past.  That does not mean that I still do not get the urge to create.  Just the opposite is true.  I do, more so than ever.  Because my days are not filled with projects, does not mean that the mind is not filled with creative endeavors.  The mind still works somewhat!  The body just does not want to cooperate.  

  However, I still "see" art in everything from the kaleidoscopic displays of sunrises to the mundane, muted colors of a dead leaf.  All things are beautiful when one can view them with the right attitude.  Just today on my hike about the hillside, I found an intense beauty in the commonplace hickory nut.  A squirrel had gnawed the nut right in half and inside was the most delicate design!  The inner portion of the nut (sans the meat) formed almost a mirrored image of itself.  I was intrigued enough to sit and examine the nut while ignoring the billion or so mosquitoes that buzzed about my head.

  The half of hickory nut reminded me of a necklace that I had as a kid.  Granddad had carefully cut slivers off of a hickory nut and stained, then polished them until they sparkled!  The slices of nut were carefully threaded on some twine and then tied to form the necklace.  Not only was I so very proud that Granddad had taken the time to make a special necklace for me, I was enthralled by the design.  Thus, a love for nature and all things of beauty therein, was starting to grow inside me.  

  Now decades later, a single half-gnawed hickory nut brought back, not only a flood of memories of one of my best friends (Granddad) but, also, a renewed idea that perhaps I could still create.  I would just have to retrain my mind to accept boundaries and let the thoughts run wild in a different direction.  Life is good that way.  There are never-ending opportunities if we sort of take the byways instead of always traveling down the straight and narrow highways.  Thanks, Granddad.  Even though you have not been with me for decades, your lessons are still speaking loud and clear.  Geez!  I miss you!

Raging Storms, Backwards Steps and GOURDS!

  For some time now, it seems as if I move backward a lot more than I do forward.  At night before I sleep, I ponder all sorts of things that I need to do come the following morning.  I have good intentions but, for some odd reason or another, I never seem to even start.  One day, the washing machine refused to spin so I worked on it a bit until my finger became smashed beyond any use, so I went fishing.  Another day, the old Bayou Queen, Ms. Put, (the old cat) fell ill and needed attention.  You can probably imagine what the day entailed with that so there is no need in elaborating.  After cleaning up behind her for most of the day, I went fishing.  Then last night we had storms.  Torrential rains, fierce winds and....a leaky roof.  Well, there went the plans for decorating the Christmas Tree.  I did not go fishing, though, as the weather was still misbehaving a tad.  The roof was tended and hopefully drip, drip, drip will not be heard tonight as we, once again, are going to be under the gun weatherwise.  The old Bayou will be a wild place again tonight. Thunderstorms will roll through right about high tide.  The south wind will push the tide even higher so things on the pier had to be secured. The possibility of even more severe weather than last night could be interesting.  No drips, please!

  All of these distractions have kept me busy to the point that nothing...nada...zilch has been done on my mental list and surely, creativity has gone the wayside.  Today, however, I had inspiration!  A very nice lady inquired about some of my painted gourds.  I was bound and determined that I should start painting once again.  Other things can wait!   The gourds were all scrubbed clean and paints, brushes and gourds assembled.  It felt good to be back again.  My artistic side was in a giant slump until this.  

  Thank you, Ms. Marilyn, your kind words have inspired me to create! Perhaps now those backward steps won't seem so heavy and I can bounce forward with eagerness each morning!  Let the storms rage....I have a project!

Lost in the Universe of my Mind

  I ponder a lot of things during the daytime hours but even more by the light of the moon.  It often seems that on the nights that I cannot sleep, for one reason or another, problems loom larger or solutions seem much easier.  Other times, I ponder something that has no apparent purpose other than being an idea worth pondering.  Sleepless nights can see me solving the world's gigantic problems or firing up the imagination on an art project that has yet to be attempted.  My nighttime contemplation usually turns into a game of "Charades" being played out in my brain.  My imagination runs amok creating quite a mess of inane instances that might or already have occurred.  Experts say dreams are merely repressed memories from our childhood but I find this hard to believe.  My dreams are, more oft than not, repressed memories from just the day before.  I guess my brain has a problem digging too deeply into the dusty, old diaries and photo albums otherwise known as my memory.  

  What do all these ramblings about dreams and thoughts have to do with today's photographs?  Not a thing, actually, except for the fact that I find the first picture of the sun filtering through young pine saplings quite inspiring.  Any artist can tell you that a project does not have to be great flash of ideas to pull you into the fantasy world of creation.   Just a mere hint of mystery can jog one into a different world where bliss can only be obtained by releasing a suppressed idea. Inspiration and creativity come together as one to evoke a huge burst of exhilaration.  The conscious mind has no hold on the vividness of ideas wafting about on a sleepless night.  

  The second photograph screams of the multitudes of ideas that blast endlessly about the universe otherwise known as my brain.  These ideas trail like great comets or shooting stars through the ebony space.  Each star, each tiny speck of dust revolves in a huge vortex with a fiery core.  This maelstrom whirls and twirls around in the brain until one small artistic endeavor breaks forth.  All is put on hold while the hands try to recreate what the brain's eye sees.  Try as one might, it never happens.  The image held in the brain never comes fully to fruition but rather stays as an illusive thought just out of reach and always beckoning.  This is so like those thoughts that are pondered at two in the morning.  Always, always just out of reach, yet, so near.

  To be honest, I took neither photograph.  Mark wandered the hillside without me today.  His company being only Ms. Ez, the dog and my camera.  I spent the afternoon rambling about the kitchen with my son.  Together we prepared our evening meal.  He, doing the creative cooking and I, sometimes doing no more than being in the way,  I am sure.  As the sun started to slip behind the pines, Mark snapped several amazing shots.  One of my favorites being the closeup of pine needles backlit by a brilliant sun.  It is one of those photographs that draws me into a fantasy world of mythical beings and faraway realms.  I almost feel if I could just step through the branches, I could finally enter an up-to-now dominion.  The second photograph is a creative misstep.  He, not being familiar with the camera, forgot to remove the zoom lens while trying to get a closeup of the pine needles.  The sun bouncing backing into the lens illuminated all of the dust, grime, nicks and scratches on the glass lens.  My already overactive imagination refused to see this as a result of a piece of neglected equipment but rather as representation of an artist's universe..that vast space crammed with specks of creative endeavors yet to come.  Dreams, imaginations and creativity come smashing together as one sleepless night...one long, yet, far to short night.