I've spent most of my life a creative soul looking for an outlet. I don't have the skill to be an artist, although I come from a family of them. So until I found writing, I turned to crafts. Ceramics (my aunt is a gifted potter), painting (my mother paints in oils and watercolor), loom knitting (my grandma despairs of ever teaching me to hold the tension right), beading (my grampa created gorgeous lapidary jewelry) and the list goes on. The only thing I've never attempted was drawing - and that was because it was always faster and easier to nudge my brother into drawing anything I wanted.
After my youngest daughter was born, I discovered scrapbooking and love it. Its probably the only crafty type thing I've stuck with, because its practical purpose outweighs any issues I might have with the imperfection of the final product. I'm making things my family will treasure forever. And that, I discovered, was the key. Since I couldn't create art, and my family and friends were definitely tired of the never ending flow of dust catchers, scrapbooking became my perfect outlet.I also discovered faux painting. I love color on the walls. Love intricate patterns and textures in color even more. When we put
our house up for sale in June, I had to paint most of the walls a neutral white (sob) and I'll tell you, that was one of the most uncreative months of my life. I can't write with white walls. I actually refused to paint the family room, since that was the room I wrote in, because I was on deadline and couldn't deal with the lack of color. Luckily, the house sold before my book was due, so I never did have to watch the gorgeous shades of sage greens turn neutral.I really do believe- for me -that color is a creative inspiration. Its like a key that opens the Muse's cage. But my brother, a gifted artist who makes his living off his drawings, lives in pure black and white. So for him, obviously, color impedes his creativity.
I need greens, purples, reds. Strong, intense color. Pastels won't work and neither will blue.
How about you? I'm on the road today, but I'll check in as soon as I find an internet connection! In the meantime, please share your creative outlets and what color inspires you!!! I'll pick one random commenter to win their choice of any of my backlist books!!