Lately, I have been looking back over my life and taking stock in my creative side. I now have over half a century to ponder! I imagine it is somewhat genetic, my grandmother was into macrame, embroidery, crochet, beading, etc. and my mother sewed many of our clothes. Although, that might have been more out of necessity than prolific inspiration. There were six of us! With all that creating happening around me, it was hard not to have it weave itself in. I still have some of my grandmother’s tools and materials to this day. Jute never seems to run out…
My mom at the sewing table…
noun
the state or quality of being creative.
the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination;
the process by which one utilizes creative ability.
Sewing
I loved home economics, sewing and knitting most of the clothing I wanted because back then it was cheaper. I took my first sewing class when I was seven years old, creating a blue skirt with rickrack trim. Even when you use a pattern, the colors and materials are all up to you.
I am on the right hand side in the blue skirt.
I like to say there isn’t anything I haven’t tried to sew, from my wedding dress to bathing suits. I wish I had a picture of the oversized, button down, pink flannel shirt I made in high school class, how I loved that thing! Yep, I was that young. Oh, and that perm!
And I would be remiss if I didn’t show a Halloween costume… Yeah, that’s me in some Egyptian get-up, I hand-strung those beads!
My junior year in English class we were charged in giving a “how to” speech, mine was “How To Make A Baby” and I demo’d how to hand sew a little baby and blanket. This was possible back in the day when I had old nylons to use. Not sure what that might have looked like? Here is an example: Adorable Baby Dolls Made From Nylons.
adjective
having the quality or power of creating.
resulting from originality of thought, expression, etc.;
imaginative: creative writing.
Over the years, creativity has been more than just a side of me, I could easily say it has defined me. Whether it is creating gifts, problem solving when something goes wrong or coming up with foods to eat on the trail, being creative has served me well. I see something and naturally think, I can make that or I have just the thing. A little bit Martha with a splash of MacGyver. As I spent more and more time hiking and backpacking, I came to create gear to suit my needs that I either didn’t want to spend a lot to have or just didn’t exist like I wanted it to. Creativity also meant using every day objects in unique ways. From sewing my own hammock, to using produce bags for storage in my pack to crafting a case to hold my Green Trails maps, getting outdoors has offered many opportunities to create.
Drawing and Painting
I don’t have many photos of my younger childhood art but I took all the art classes in high school and graduated thinking I would be a graphic designer. Of course, that is back when we still using film and the Mac had only just come out. I keep a large portfolio envelope under the bed with some of my creations, nothing particularly gifted and yet examples of my creativity flowing out.
I love how many of my drawings were of nature. The ability to sketch out designs comes in handy when, say, coming up with your next tattoo design… I have always had a notebook of some kind to jot down thoughts in and there is a box in the shed with some of my handwritten assignments on lined paper from a college creative writing class (yes, I am that old).
Most of my writing has been just for me, a way to capture feelings and observations but the internet has made it easier to put words out for the world to see. The last 7 years my creative efforts have focused on writing and journaling my life online, not only here on Must Hike Must Eat, but on other platforms, as well. Must Hike Must Eat as a website has also provided endless design outlets, either with its pages or when promoting on social media or search engines like Pinterest.
Cooking
I haven’t always thought to think of cooking as a creative avenue until I spent time in the kitchen with my lovely husband, Gary. He is a great cook but is totally lost without a recipe. Where as I can just throw things together when needed and come up with something tasty, he needs a guideline. I have an image in my mind of when I was in grade school, outside in the yard mixing up some kind of concoction to eat and it’s main ingredient was not mud. A1 sauce, crackers and raisins come to mind, how far I have come!
These days, I just need an ingredient or two for spark and I have something yummy to eat. When the pandemic hit in 2020 and I was stuck at home for work, the school desperately asked staff to offer virtual clubs for the students as a way to have social interaction. I would have loved to offer something outdoorsy but in taking stock, cooking was the easiest thing to offer.
It has been three years now and my Cooking and Eating Club is the most popular at school with over 125 students. Kids love being in the kitchen! My favorite thing is to get them to think outside of recipes and use their creativity when we don’t have everything for what they want to make. We actually offer a home ec type class for students but this itself is a dying breed. The teacher hopes to retire but has been putting it off because she knows she might not be replaced. We got to talking one day in the staff lounge about knitting and she blurted out, “You should teach my class when I retire.” I contemplated briefly but really don’t want to get back to school (AKA take on any unnecessary debt). I get to have fun with kids and cooking creativity now, why add that and the obligation of curriculum restrictions?
Knitting
If you follow me on Instagram, you also know that knitting has taken itself back up as my latest creative outlet. I’ve been knitting since high school off and on, the majority of which as been hats and scarves. Simple stuff. But during the pandemic, a friend at work suggested we get together on Zoom to knit and it has been nothing but a rabbit hole from there. Practicing different stitches with the help of Youtube, adding stranded colorwork to create designs on hats, and imagining what a beautiful skein of hand dyed yarn might work up into all has my creative self passionately immersed. A serious lace pain in the butt but turned out amazing in the end. A quick blanket I made while at the beach cabin.
The last few months, my bestie Elizabeth and I have been talking about why she loves to write for herself (no one else sees it) and I am out of control with the needles right now. It was funny when she sent me this podcast interviewing Liz Gilbert because I have talked about my favorite book, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, and how we really don’t have any control over inspiration. Our job is to give it space in our lives when it calls, for its own sake. You can’t force creativity, it is a force that flows from inside you and shows up as an outward representation of who you are, a desire for something, or what you are feeling in any given moment. That force is intoxicating, a ride you can’t turn down. It is all for you, it doesn’t matter if anyone else gets or appreciates it.
So how about you? How does creativity show up in your life? Is it an occasional visitor or a part of your personality?
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