Wednesday 20 November 2013

Imagination ignites the ordinary

Welcome to Week One of the month-long Carnival of Creative Mothers to celebrate the launch of The Rainbow Way: Cultivating Creativity in the Midst of Motherhood
by Lucy H. Pearce

Today's topic is Nurturing a Culture of Creativity at Home. Be sure to read to the end of this post to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.


Join the Carnival and be in with a chance to win a free e-copy of The Rainbow Way!

November 27th: Creative Heroines.
December 4th: Creative Inheritance.
December 11th: The Creative Process.

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Creativity isn't just art it's about looking at the world with different eyes, new perspectives and approaches. Which encourages you to see the beauty and joy in all the ordinary things that are happening everyday.  
So here are a few ideas of how to ignite your imagination and unleash your creativity!

SINGING
We sing regularly... there's a song for every activity if you want to find it!  I don't have the space to tell you how important singing is for all of us but suffice to say that there are a great number of reasons to express yourself through sound so have a go!   (There are some links on this page for you to look at if you wish)
I've also written a little song book which were all inspired by Eartha and our trips walking in the countryside and being at home in the garden....
Here's one of them....

There's a tree on the hill and it's standing very still
There's a tree on a hill near the wood
There's a tree on the hill and it's standing very still
There's a tree on a hill near the wood
In the Spring the flowers come
Then the Summer brings the sun
The Autumn takes its leaves
And the winter makes it freeze... brrrrrr...
There's a tree on the hill and it's standing very still
There's a tree on a hill near the wood.

You can buy my song book and CD for just £10.  Please get in touch with me at nurtureworkshop@gmail.com 

THE ART OF SEEING
If you spend a little moment everyday just watching.... stop and stand for just a few moments and you will start to notice all the things that you've been missing in the rush.  First look with your eyes open, then try with them shut, What differences do you notice with each experience?

  • The cloud formation in the sky... can you imagine what it behind them?  
  • The way the light hits an object and the shadows it creates.... if you move the object what happens to the shadow?  
  • What's the smell in the air...... can you describe it... can you write a poem about it?
  • The colour of the apple skin..... can you see all the colours.... can you paint it?
  • The sound of the birds tweeting... can you make that sound too?
  • What happens if we put this object in paint and roll it or squash it on paper?
In an art club I ran at school the most fun the children had was an Autumn day when we collected berries, fruit, leaves, twigs and mud and made pictures by squashing  and smearing them onto the paper!  Have a go - it's great!


DON'T GET HUNG-UP ON THE END PRODUCT
No matter how we try we often become incredibly judgmental about our creations.... but the key to getting the most out of anything and indeed making activities fun is not to worry about what it looks like in the end - This is the death knoll for the creative spirits in all of us!

There is no right or wrong.  Test things out, try it and see what happens.  The process of all that creation was fun, educational, inspiring and playful.... which is all you want - lots of smiles!  Enjoy!


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and grab your free extras 
(first 200 orders only!):

- exclusive access to a private Facebook group for creative mothers
- a vibrant greetings card and book-mark of one of the author's paintings.




Kindle and paperback editions from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Book Depository, Barnes and Noble
or order it from your local bookshop!

  • Carnival host and author of The Rainbow Way, Lucy at Dreaming Aloud shares an extract from the chapter Nurturing a Family Culture of Creativity.
  • Lilly Higgins is a passionate food writer. Now a mother of two boys, she's discovered a new calling: to instil in them a love of food and creativity in the kitchen.
  • DeAnna L'am shares how visioning the New Year with your child is an invitation to be inspired: use creativity and resolutions to create a fun road map for the year ahead.
  • Molly at Talk Birth on Releasing Our Butterflies - balancing motherhood with creativity.
  • Laura shares some of the creativity happening at Nestled Under Rainbows and a few thoughts about creativity.
  • Georgie at Visual Toast celebrates her own unique culture of creativity at home.
  • Esther at Nurtureworkshop spreads the love of the ordinary, the delights of everyday things that can be an adventure of the imagination.
  • For Dawn at The Barefoot Home creativity is always a free form expression to be shared by all in a supportive environment where anything can be an art material.
  • Naomi at Poetic Aperture is a mother, artist and photographer who tries to keep her daughter away from the expensive pens and paints.
  • Aimee at Creativeflutters writes about keeping your sanity and creativity intact with small kids in the house in her post: Mother + Creativity - They Must Coexist.
  • Amelia at My Grandest Adventure embarks on a 30 Days of Creativity challenge...you can too!
  • Becky at Raising Loveliness explores creating with her smaller family members.
  • Jennifer at Let Your Soul Shine reveals how children help us connect to our souls, through music and movement.
  • Mary at The Turquoise Paintbrush shares her experiences of creating with kids.
  • Joanna at Musings of a Hostage Mother explains why creativity at home is important to her in her post "I nurture a creative culture."
  • It took until Amy at Mama Dynamite was pregnant aged 35 to discover her dormant creative streak - she has found lovely ways of tuning into it every since.
  • Emily at The Nest explores how creativity runs through her family's life together.
  • Jennifer at OurMuddyBoots sees that encouraging creativity in children is as simple as appreciating them for who they are: it just means overriding everything we know!
  • Lisa from Mama.ie has discovered that a combination of writing and traditional crafts can provide a creative outlet during those busy early years of new motherhood.
  • Anna at Biromums shares what nurturing a culture of creativity means to her.
  • Zoie at TouchstoneZ argues that the less they are interfered with, the more creative children become as they grow up.
  • Darcel at The Mahogany Way celebrates creating with her kids.
  • Sally (aka The Ginger Ninja) of The Ginger Chronicles is continually inspired by her own mum and grandmother.
  • Just being creative is enough, says Nicki at Just Like Play, as she ponders her journey of nurturing a creative family.
  • Allurynn shares her creative family's musings in her post "Creativity... at the Heart of it" on Moonlight Muse.
  • Laura at Authentic Parenting explores how being creative saves her sanity.
  • Mama is Inspired talks about how she puts an emphasis on the handmade in her home, especially in the holiday season.
  • Kirstin at Listen to the Squeak Inside shares with you several easy ways for busy mamas and dads to encourage their children to be creative every day.
  • Mila at Art Play Day always lived in her dreams, sleepwalking through life ... now she is finding out what creativity is all about.... her inner child!
  • Sadhbh at Where Wishes Come From describes how picture books can nurture creativity in young children.
  • On womansart blog this week - nurturing a creative culture at home.



6 comments:

  1. Love this post! Have you come across Juno magazine (where I'm contributing editor?) the feel of your blog and writing would sit really well in our publication I think.

    Thank you for taking part in the Carnival.

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    1. Hello Lucy
      Thank you - yes I am a reader of Juno magazine - a great comfort to me when I'm battling against society! I'm pleased you like my writing. I've been thinking about trying to put something together to submit to the magazine for a while.... just getting the right subject! Any thoughts would be welcome. Thank you for your comments they are appreciated. Blessings to you.

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  2. Not working toward the end product is excellent advice. I enjoyed your post and was sparked to thinking out of the box. Sometimes I try to speak my gratitude out loud so that my daughter will hear me and incorporate that into her own perspective. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't!

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    1. Thank you Naomi. Lovely to know the blog is sending out sparks! Gratitude is a wonderful gift for your daughter...

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  3. I think singing is so important too. You've hit on something I hadn't thought of when thinking of creativity, the value of our senses. My children seem to naturally start humming or mumbling songs when they're concentrating on something and they love nothing more than a song that has numerous verses or a short one sung twenty times!

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    1. Thanks Joanna - May you sing, hum and mumble for many years!

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