Creativity = hard work

I tend to be reading at least three or four books at the same time, except when I start a book that is so captivating that I read it in one sitting. For some books, reading bits and pieces here and there actually makes for better, gradual absorption. Creativity For Life by Eric Maisel is one of these books, giving me a nice kick in the b*tt each time I pick it up.

There is a prevailing myth that creativity is something that just comes to us, like lightning from the sky, or that it is all fun and play, but the reality as most artists know is that it is more often than not hard work (albeit it fun in a masochist kind of way).

While many parts of the book deal with some of the more destructive personality traits of many artists, even for those of us who do not suffer from depression, alcohol abuse etc. the book is a great resource for introspection. If you just need to overcome a creative block, get motivated or disciplined about creative pursuits, or really want to understand aspects of your artist personality this book is one of the most comprehensive I have seen. For me the most useful was the extensive chapter on the many, many causes of blocks (20 are discussed in great detail!).

I refuse to be practical

Yesterday I finally got around to sewing an apron (after ruining several shirts while cooking). I admit it turned out slightly fanciful – Tim’s exact words were "myyyyy, it is sooooo girly", but hey, who says aprons have to be purely practical – with this apron I might actually get in the right mood to cook more often and look pretty darn cute doing it :) Since I didn’t have a pattern available I just started with a two square pieces of fabric, that were stitched together to make the front and back of the apron. I then rutched the top hem and the waist to give the apron some shape.

The result is a fully reversible apron - hey that IS practical come to think of it - the other side being made entirely from the blue fabric used for the contrasting edges and strings on the "front" of the apron. Tim took some snaps as the sun was quickly setting this evening – the pictures don’t reveal how hot and humid it actually was.


I had used the same blue fabric a little while back to make a hem for our mosquito net and had a little left for use on the apron. After we bought our poster bed, I realized it was impossible to find a net that was the right size, so I made one from silk chiffon. But the chiffon is so light that without a heavier weight hem, it flutters too easily with every tiny breeze.


While the net might be purely cosmetic in some places, here it is a must. So now we can lie in our little cocoon, looking at the world veiled in silk chiffon and imagine the university right next door did not start building a huge ugly monster of a concrete building, obscuring the beautiful view of the cow farm we originally had from our balcony. The alternative was that the city would seize the land using eminent domain to build a highway. We are very happy we merely have to put up with a little temporary construction for the building instead. On weekends the kids still come into our bed, not so much for a cuddle anymore as they are too busy reading comics.

I am FINALLY blogging

I have been meaning to write this blog for a really long time, but I guess there is no time like the present!

After some back and forth experimentation and almost two days of work I have settled on a new look for the homepage of the site. I wanted to update the information and the look, make it slightly more compact, without altering it so much that our members might not recognize it. I haven’t decided which of these last two options I like best, but I guess you will find out soon, because Tim wants it ready pronto.


I am in a creative phase (read: driving my husband crazy, making a creative mess, forgetting to eat and pretty much being unable to fall asleep at night because I am still not finished with whatever project I started at 10 pm).