It has been over two months since I last posted. The Art Garage has had quite a whirlwind of activity, but because of the Covid controversy I decided not to post. I hardly want to be the one to set an example of what to do. It is enough to say the kids have enjoyed their time, and no one has gotten sick, thank goodness. The group is getting older, and I am calling it The Summer of Love. We already had a couple start dating and break up all in the same week. That is love at 13. There have been many love poems, and as we have recently added ukulele to to mix, a few love songs have emerged. We were given some donations of watercolors, ebony pencils, and nice watercolor paper books. We have been looking at some artists work for inspiration. Klee, in particular, has been a favorite. I feel the continued connection of community through this project, and can see how some of my socially challenged members are benefiting from the process of discovering who they are through self expression. It is amazing to watch. It has inspired me to write a book. It is a compilation of my own beliefs and experiences with creativity. I guess getting started writing again is what has inspired me to start sharing via this blog. So what is creativity. I believe it is simply free self-expression. I found an article by Abraham Maslow himself talking about what he termed the SA creative--Self-Actualized Creative. He described it not as something realted to "genius" which he considered not to go necessarily with Self-Actualization, taking for example psychologically unstable minds that are great artistic genius. But rather the Self-Actualized creative is a spontaneous, freedom of thought that allows for new ideas to flow into a problem space.
Children have this more naturally, and it begins to be stunted as we grow older and judge our works based on some value system. We tend to give responses that we think other's will approve of, rather than flowing and creating our own solutions. I believe this form of creativity can also contribute to Self-Actualization. As we express ourselves freely, we begin to accept ourselves. We see parts of ourselves that may have been hidden. As we express ourselves through creativity we develop awareness of what is stirring on the inside. This self awareness leads to self-realization and this self-realization, self-acceptance and self-love leads to Self-Actualization. Plus, we get to live a more fun, joyful and inspired life. So go ahead! Give yourself permission to BE CREATIVE!
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Abigail LarrisonEducator, Scientist and Art Maker. The purpose of all life is to spread joy. What brings more joy than making art? Archives
November 2023
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