Day 250

Day 250

It was a horror show. The old folks get just as hyper and loud when they have sugar as kids do. Add the late lunch and the band and my ears didn’t stop ringing for hours. I want a good day. Just let me do what I say I’ll do without giving up and sitting instead. New page on the calendar and in the paper journal. I’m ready to have a positive attitude and take care of myself.

November Senior News

Creating does not mean that a masterpiece must be painted, the next best seller must be written, the sculpture must resemble Michelangelo, or that a lot of materials are needed. Creating means getting in touch with the Spark that is always present and waiting for attention. Maybe the Spark has not been visible since Kindergarten when creating was natural. To get to that freedom again requires a few things and a playful attitude. It could be an opportunity to share with a friend.

Take a walk down the aisles dedicated to art supplies or craft materials and see what appeals to that inner creator. It might be a box of crayons and a coloring book, or a paint box with a pad of paper. Mixing paint in the little pans can make a beautiful rainbow. It does not require a block of marble, hammer and chisel to sculpt. Michelangelo took off the parts that were not David. Take a bar of Ivory soap and a potato peeler and take off the parts that are not a bear. The shavings can go in the washer later. Not a big investment and it is fun. Dinosaurs can come out of a lump of modeling clay with ease. Play dough feels good to handle and interesting thingamajigs can emerge with smiles. There are recipes for homemade play dough on the internet. It is another inexpensive creative play material. A roll of plain shelf paper can become a mural or for the bold creators, a place for finger painting with liquid starch and a dab of tempera paint. Imagine the fun of making gloves out of the wonderful texture and color of the finger paint. Paper beads can be made out of old wrapping paper, especially the foil kind. Just roll tiny triangles of paper around a toothpick that has been rubbed with waxed paper. A bead of white glue holds the paper in place. After the beads dry, pull them off the toothpicks. They can be strung together and attached to bookmarks or name tags, or made into bracelets.

Once I took art classes with 6 and 7 year old children. They didn’t mind that I was a bit older than they were. The instructor at the art gallery where the classes were held presented a different media and different techniques each time so we students were exposed to a variety of creative choices. Surprise yourself by going out and providing your Spark with ways to play creatively.