Rose of Sharon Jewelry

Did you know that your creativity needs to be fed regularly? It seems counterintuitive, but it's a fact. Ignore it and it will waste away. Feed it regularly and you will be rewarded. For some creativity will only thrive on wholesome "vitamin-filled" stimulation. If you devote yourself to studying your chosen art form and spending most of your time within that specific art community, you know what your meals will look like day in and day out.

For others, a "junk food diet" filled a bit of this, a bit of that, a bit of new, a bit of old and LOTS OF IT is how you satisfy the beast. Your creativity is ravenous and nothing is out of bounds. You're probably the creative mind that owns tons of books, has lots of unfinished projects and is always attracted to the new - new materials, new techniques, new crafts, even entirely new disciplines. I'm officially a "junk-food-eater" handmade jewelry artist and my 20 x 40 office plus 15 x 15 loft plus my garage proves it! Beyond my jewelry making, my creative passions - current and sleeping (they never really die, do they?) - are polymer clay beads, metal clay work, steampunk, digital scrapbooking, gardening, gourmet cooking, baking, card making, paper scrapbooking, soapmaking, photography, wirework, flower preserving, altered books, charm bracelets, mixed media jewelry, rubber stamping, rubber stamp jewelry. . . . .

The healthy and productive (yes, I do mean you have to finish something) way to feed your creativity is to have a balanced meal. Your creative heart and soul needs to be feed a balanced diet just like your body does - lots of wholesale, nutrient-rich ideas, examples, classes, books, videos and time devoted to honing your art with a bit of junk food thrown in for creative variety, stimulus, challenges, motivation, dreaming, ideas and don't forget that slice of humble pie.

Take a look at your diet and see how you can cook up healthy meals and feed your creativity at least once a day. It might just be a snack or it might be a total banquet. Here are three "creative snacks" you might enjoy:

1. Take pictures with your camera phone of things that make you feel good, happy, powerful, colorful, joyful and inspired - or maybe sad, mad, contemplative. Look at them later and remember what you were feeling at that time. How can you carry that feeling into your creative work?
2. Visit the magazine section of the library and thumb through magazines you might never have even picked up before. What attracts you to the cover? What fonts and colors are used? What annoys you? Are these emotions and trends appropriate to your artistic designs?
3. Pick a color - any color and spend an entire day earnestly looking for and mentally cataloging variations of that color. Green is pretty easy to find - how about trying goldenrod or cornflower blue?

A favorite creative lunch for me is to visit Creativity-Portal. Their site is filled with rich dark sweet and wonderful creative stimuli! For a regular meal, don't forget to subscribe to their newsletter devoted to expressing your creativity just the way you like it!

Have you stopped by our Etsy store lately? We've added new products perfect for Mother's Day giving.

Thanks for stopping by again. Don’t forget to check out the newest releases in the Rose of Sharon Jewelry store.