objects within my family’s home, photo all rights reserved copyright 2011
I feel a bit stuck this summer. Part or most of it is for personal reasons outside of my creative pursuits. A whole summer of plans turned upside-down. Future goals reevaluated. Thankfully, I am enjoying my new plans of family bonding time. With that, however, comes a history of expectation and behaviors; specifically, I have never made room for my creativity in this space.
I didn’t realize environment was so important to my creative endeavor until I returned home to a bedroom I never grew up in. It is filled with memorabilia and nostalgia of my youth. I’m drowning in memories… visiting old friends, cleaning out drawers filled with clothes from high school and even worse, photographic evidence of my middle school years.
But, as I began to look around and cherish those moments: a field hockey plaque, a favorite childhood book, I was reminded of how much meaning can be imbued in objects around you. We take for granted everyday the objects or small moments in our day that could fuel our creative fires.
I realized how much inspiration was surrounding me when I stepped outside of the creative expectations I have for myself. I began to observe the world around me more carefully. Now I have so many photographs I want to take I could spend weeks within my parents’ home and create a body of work.
I grew up in a house filled with objects from history. My Dad collected artifacts from WWI and WWII. My Mom has an obsession with the Christmas holiday season and decorates her home to rival the best decorated in Better Homes and Gardens. Today I can wander around their home and find dinosaur fossils (no joke). If anyone should realize the power and awe inspiring nature of objects perhaps that should be me! (No wonder I wanted to be an archaeologist as a child.)
Take some time to think about the history of objects around you and let your unplanned change of events direct your life in a flexible, creative and positive manner.
BE COURAGEOUSLY CREATIVE: Try moving around an everyday space and observe it in a new light. Is there a wellspring of inspiration hiding right before your eyes?!
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