Creativity....Pass it on.....

Welcome to Week Three 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 Creative Inheritance. Do read to the end of this post for a full list of carnival participants. 

Join the Carnival and be in with a chance to win a free e-copy of The Rainbow Way! Next week is our final week!
December 11th: The Creative Process.

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Creativity.... Pass it on......

(The arts) "are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practising an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possible can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.” ― Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country

Creativity to me isn't about being able to create something that others like; it is about creating something that touches your own core regardless of the end product.

When we do this, when we really allow a piece of ourselves into our work, others will see that beauty and resonate with it and that is why creativity for so many people is so scary because we have to give a part of ourselves to it.  Which means you have to own it, take responsibility for it, put yourself out there, make yourself vulnerable to attack......

We spend so much time worrying about what others think of us or what we have done that we miss the whole delight of doing it! And this is what we feed our children. Their inheritance is the desire for other people's approval, to follow what others have done, to never take a risk or test their theory or embrace change because it might not work or other people might not like it.....

In education we are conditioned to believe that we should only do something if we can succeed in it, do it well or win, particularly in creative subjects.  For example, how many of us were told at school or by our families 'You can't sing' and so for the rest of our lives we suppress our voices because we don't think we should sing simply for the joy of it?   I taught art after school to a group of 8 year olds and to my great sadness when asked to listen to a piece of music and simply draw to its flow and rhythm, they all felt it had been a waste of time because it didn't 'look like something'.

This conditioning is a great disservice to our children because creative activities are often the reason human hearts feel alive, connected, inspired, contented - regardless of how 'well' they do them.

I was blessed to have a family that encouraged and supported me in failure!

 This was perhaps one of the greatest gifts my parents gave to me.

We were taught to do things that we enjoyed not what we were necessarily good at... which is why I did ballet even though I was not blessed with dancers feet and why we sung at the top of our lungs in the car and in the home whenever the urge took us and why I wrote poetry to express my thoughts and acted out plays and drew pictures to celebrate the day's events....

All this experience has given me a creative outlook on life which means I can see things from different angles, put problems into different perspectives. Liberate, understand and own my emotions (and take responsibility for them) through sound, written word or pictures..celebrate the small things and delight in the beauty of everyday.

So my gift to my beautiful daughter will be to encourage her to do what makes her heart sing, her soul soar and her face smile.  Because the skill to understanding and expressing ourselves and what we truly need to be at peace in our hearts is the greatest of inheritances.

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25% off ALL Lucy's books, 4th Dec only. Use code RAINBOW25.

ORDER YOUR SIGNED COPY of 

The Rainbow Way direct from the author and receive:

• 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 from your local bookshop.

• Carnival host and author of The Rainbow Way, Lucy at Dreaming Aloud celebrates her creative fairy godmothers, and gives thanks for the creative blessings that each has gifted her.
• In 'From Trash To Treasure: Christmas Decoration' Laura from Authentic Parenting shares fond memories crafting with her mom and a little project her mom did recently. 
• Lucy Pierce from Soulskin Musings celebrates the rich creative inheritance of her mother's poetic soul and artful ways. 
• Is thinking differently a curse or a gift? Zoie at TouchstoneZ susses out whether her family legacy might hinder or encourage creativity.
• Dawn Collins at TheBarefootHome Dawn thinks we're all born with a creative inheritance from the mother we all share…Mother Nature.
• Licia Berry at Illumined Arts looks at the creative inheritance passed on by our ancestral lineage, discovered through sexuality and the Sacred Feminine within in "Sexuality and the Sacred Feminine"
• Alex at The Art of Birth explores the nature of creativity. 
• Handcrafts are prayers, that's what Corina from PatchScrap learned from grandmother.
• Jennifer at Let Your Soul Shine retraces her creative inheritance from her childhood and all the way back to the 19^th Century.  
• Kirstin at Listening to the Squeak says "I have always known my creative inheritance and it is so very important for my children to know theirs."
• Becky at Raising Loveliness reflects on her experiences of creativity.
• Creative Inheritance is a Beautiful Thing, says Aimee at Creativeflutters and discusses where her creativity comes from and what influences in her family have helped her on her artistic journey. 
• Georgie at Visual Toast shares her creative inheritance.
• Esther at Nurture Workshop expresses the gift of a creative mind and the doors that are waiting to be opened for those who are willing to explore.
• Whitney Freya at Creatively Fit is inspired by the sacred spark within each of us, a spark that transcends time and is infinitely creative.
• Denise at It Begins with a Verse  looks back at her family's creative inheritance.
• Womansart shares her reflections on creative inheritance.
• Lys at Stars and Spirals looks at the creative inheritance as described by the astrological chart, drawing on her personal journey into motherhood and reawakened creativity.
• Biromums wrote poems about their creative inheritance.
• Kae at The Wilde Womb reflects on the various artists within her family and how it has shaped her identity and what impression she wishes to leave her own children. 
• Marit's Paper World shares her creative inheritance.
• Lucy at Capture by Lucy  reflects on her experiences of creativity.
• Knitting blankets and the inner landscape--my mother's life's work, writes Nicki from Just Like Play. 
• Something Sacred - Sadhbh at Where Wishes Come From writes about how the creativity of the women in her family has influenced her.
• Mamma Bloom at Breathe and Bloom writes about her creative inheritance.
• Mama is Inspired shares how she loved to make holiday ornaments as a child, and now is continuing that tradition with her own child.
• Ali Baker is a creative mama to twin girls who reignited her creative energy and sense of who she used to be by just doing it and creating whatever needs to be created in an imperfect way. 
• KatyStuff hopes inheritance is a long way off, but, when the day comes her woodworker father has already said he is comforted by knowing his work is in so many homes.
• Jasmine at Brown Eyed Girl realizes that the creativity she craves for so deeply may actually be something that runs deeper than just her imagination.
• Darcel at The Mahogany Way shares her creative journey.
• Rising on the Road shares her experiences at Finding Life in a Death.
  
  

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)

 The Genius of Natural Childhood by Sally Goddard Blyth

Music in our bones research

The Music Bus

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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ORDER YOUR SIGNED COPY of  The Rainbow Way! 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.