At last week’s meeting, I led an exercise to help reinforce creativity in each of us. I had been reading a book called Living the Creative Life by Rice Freeman-Zachery, and one of her suggestions inspired this exercise that I adapted for the group.

I passed around blank 3″x 5″ index cards, and asked everyone to spend some time thinking about and writing down times, places, or situations where they seemed to get the most ideas. Then we went around the room and each read off a few.

• Lily - sometimes takes notes on steno pad, with necessary information on one side, fantastic ideas on the other
• Carol - often writes notes on bank deposit slips during sermons an found her students needed “incubation time” for new ideas, so would introduce a new project BEFORE the finish of the old one
• Emmie - likes isolation for thinking
• Lettie - finds inspiration in colors and designs
• Cathy - must have order and tidiness to create
• Dianna - if she sketches before working directly with a material, she has many more ideas
• Diane - doesn’t mind clutter, but needs absolute quiet for creating and looking at photos, but only in color, not black and white
• Donna - inspired by travel, old ruins and primitive art

These are just a few tidbits that I remember, but there were many more reveals and interesting discussions about ideas, creativity, and work habits. We can all be distracted by the difference of our lifestyles and art styles, but this was a great way to reconnect with what brought us together in the first place — the desire to create and to support each other in this endeavor.

Christine Marcum - Road Rage

Dianna Callahan -Sharing

Lilly Kerns - Sunbonnet Su: Extreme Makeover

Lucy Silliman - Interweave

 Lucy Silliman - Lionfish

Maureen Ashlock - Summer Spendor

Yesterday I was at the Driskill Gallery taking down my show, when Lettie Blackburn started to bring in her new work for her solo show that opens tonight. Her newest piece is very dense, covered in stitching, and I was interested in what Lettie had to say about this:

“I decided to write on it with the sewing machine…my personal thoughts and experiences with trees, starting with my grandfather’s saw mill, and my other grandfather’s love of carving.

I am writing on it with the machine in a spontaneous way…just writing what I am thinking of at the time…It is very hard to see because I am using variegated thread, so I have to stop every once in a while and write the words down on paper. It is a very personal writing, and will not really be visible to anyone else…but I do want to remember what I said. A very deep approach when compared to other work I have done…but very satisfying.”

On Friday evening a reception was held for the opening of Uncommon Threads exhibit at The Waverly House. Following are some snap shots of various members and their work.

Lettie Blackburn

Cathy Jeffrey

Christine Marcum

Dianna Callahan

Maureen Ashlock

Merrilee Tieche

Pam Rubert

Maureen and Diane Steffen

Emmie Seaman

Just thought you might like to see what some of the artists look like. We may not win any beauty contests, but we had a lot of fun and even sold a few pieces.

Trees And The Infinite Sky
Lettie Blackburn

Another intriguing work was shown by Carol Borman. Though difficult to see in the photo, this is a three-dimensional photo collage, embellished with machine embroidery.

Carol’s Life in the United States Along Route 66
Carol Bormann

And a new, huge multi-panel work by Susan Leslie Lumsden. Please, go to Susan’s blog site to see it in it’s entirety. It’s beautiful and it’s enormous.

Detail of Slip Stream
Susan Leslie Lumsden

Carol Bormann’s piece “Ice Storm: Broken Limbs and Hidden Beauty” has been accepted for the Wearable Expressions 2008 international exhibition at the Palos Verdes Art Center Beckstrand Gallery from February 22 though April 20, 2008, followed by “Off the Wall and On the Runway” on April 26. Congratulation, Carol!

Donna