I found this article recently that resonates my feelings about stained glass and creativity. Connecting with your Creative Soul by Ami McKay Many of us have lives filled with deadlines and daily routines. Tapping into our creative energies is often the last thing on our minds. Perhaps you think that you don�t have a creative side, perhaps your wild sense of imagination left with your childhood, perhaps you don�t even realize what�s truly within you just waiting to be set free. Why choose a creative path? Fostering your sense of creativity can give you feelings of freedom, delight and passion. It can help you see your life in a new light and help you to tackle situations that you thought were hopeless. When you express yourself through creative action you find gifts such as: happiness, self worth, healing, and inner joy. Don�t let society�s picture of the �artist as virtuoso� scare you into not trying. Self-expression comes in many forms and in varying degrees of ability. We all have a creative artist within. Whether or not you choose to call on these amazing gifts is up to you! Some examples of Creative Endeavors 1. Music hath charms� (Reminds me of my sweet Spanish Guitar) How many of us like to sing in the shower or in the car during rush hour traffic? You can take this idea a step further and use music as a way to find creativity. In this age of CD�s, we have access to any type of music we desire. Try experimenting by listening to various types of music. Find out what soothes your soul, what gives you energy, which music sets your thoughts free. Keep pen and paper nearby and write down any thoughts that come from this experience. Before long, you may find yourself writing an essay of inspiration or simply dancing around your living room with abandon. When my son was four, I started hearing music from his bedroom after I had tucked him in. I was curious as to where this sweet music was coming from and peeked in to see what was going on. I discovered that he had started his own evening ritual. He was singing the events of his day to himself. With great passion he would sing of his disappointments, accomplishments and joys. I�ll admit that I have since tried this myself and found it to be one of the most freeing experiences I have ever had. 2. Art of Expression You don�t have to have a professional set of oil paints or be schooled at the finest art institute to express your artistic soul. I�m talking about art that comes from the very depths of your being and isn�t meant to be pleasing to anyone else but you. �Dharma Art� is a kind of artistic practice where you begin to gather things from your surrounding environment and rearrange them in a creative and artistic way. There are no rules, just simply collect what you find interesting and then create something new. An easy way to experiment with this idea is to make a collage from magazine clippings. Take an hour and create a collage that truly reflects your passions in life. Incorporate favorite quotes and sayings that inspire you. Who knows, one day you may be gluing old clock parts to a worn out straw hat as a personal commentary on time. An old college roommate of mine recently sent me a small mixed media painting as a token of friendship and thanks. Here is what the enclosed note said: "this is what I did the night I talked with you on the phone. You were inspiring. To me, it looks like something a teenager would do but it reflects how I feel these days�whatever that means." It meant the world to me! Creativity helps us unlock our inner selves, but it also needs to be shared.
