Creativity Blitz

Have you ever experienced chapters in your life with wide-ranging titles? Perhaps a period of years was punctuated with raising children and all the liveliness associated with such tasks. Or another life chapter is reflective of the adjustment to an empty nest – children spreading their wings and flying the coop while the parents adjust to the quietness, the emptiness.

A new chapter in my life book has emerged. I find myself submerged in a “Creativity Blitz”. This blitz occurred without warning. One summer day, I found myself in a writing, creating, photographing, designing frenzy. Perhaps it is my body’s attempt to camouflage the pain and brokenness of my physical body with things lovely. Or I’ve considered the possibility that an infusion of creativity is enabling me to live life fully in the midst of a summer fraught with all things medical. This bombardment of my mind with new projects is thriving as it guides my hands, heart and mind.

The desire to return to my love of writing and the creation of my blog was the first sign of the Creativity Blitz creeping into my midst. Always the writer, I suddenly discovered myself awakening during the night with topics for essays or poetry. My mind which never rests, began composing narratives faster than I could type the words. The stacks of papers and journal entries became overwhelming and the thought to establish a blog emerged. A new medium by which I can compile my writings for generations to follow had immense appeal. Thus, the birth of the blog!

I had buried my photography passion for many years. And while I must admit the motivation to purchase a new camera came mainly in the form of a new grandchild, I also felt the creativity burning within me to begin a photography project focused on the numerous covered bridges in our region. I had never visited all of these historic bridges and decided that the travel to all of the bridges, combined with a photographic record of the bridges, would be yet another creative project that would expunge pain and facing difficult medical decisions.

I have continued through the summer, editing and designing an electronic newsletter for a local nonprofit organization. While I have a graphic eye for artistic projects such as this and it combines my love of writing, I never fully arrived at a summer project solely focused on artistic, mixed media endeavors. Enter my world a woman named Pat.

Pat is a fellow voyager on this leukemia journey. We “met” online through a leukemia support group. She has amazing artistic abilities and she has spurned me on to the place I am today of adding endeavors in mixed media and fiber arts to my ongoing “Creativity Blitz”. She mailed me a creativity package from Maine and I am in the midst of completing my first mixed media creation.

The summer of 2008 – I’ve truly had no other summer like this one. I’ve never found my creative, imaginative, inspired spirit moving like it has these past few months. The physical pain has been immense this long, hot summer. The decisions that I have faced this summer have been overpowering yet have been tampered by things beautiful that have entered my life.

I can rest in bed, feeling physically unwell and unable to participate in many of the activities I so love. Yet, in that quiet, restful place, I have been joined by my creative writings, photos, art endeavors, graphic design projects, and other objects that are beautiful. I am grateful for this foray into creativity. It has been healing and helpful