You may recall me mentioning last month that
I was joining up with some other artists for a Crafter's Devotional group based on
the book by Barbara R. Call by the same name.
The purpose of the book is to help unlock your creative spirit and the purpose of the group is a sort of support group for all of us trying get out of our creative funks.
Today is our first. . .blog hop/check-in/thing on our progress with the book. The book has daily inspirations, activities, tips, tricks, etc. to get your creative juices flowing. While you don't have to work through the book in order, I've decided that was the best way for me to keep track. Let me admit that with our vacation and other busy activities, it's been hard for me to keep up DAILY. However, I have attempted to catch up when I've fallen behind on the days.
The book has definitely gotten my wheels turning about a variety of topics and has helped me explore some of the inner workings of my mind. And, I kinda like that. It's also pushing me to write in the suggested journal and I realize how much I miss putting pen to paper in that manner. (I used to be a devout diary/journal-writer.)
ANYWAY. . . onto the questions for the hop
**Questions for the blog hop: What activity has inspired you the most? Or if the book hasn’t grabbed you, why?
The book HAS grabbed me, so I'm going with the first question. Yet, I had to go back through my journaling to answer it. I think the activity that really inspired me the most was
altering the front of my journal. There was a lot of introspection on this one for me. I know it's weird that something so simple as decorating the cover really had my wheels turning. However, it wasn't about how I would decorate it. Instead my thoughts were tuned toward the actual act of altering something from it's original state.
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| My journal in its original state (actually this is the back, but the front looked the same before I altered it) |
While I'm a self professed 'Mixed Media Artist' and make altered jewelry, I realize that my first thought isn't always how to personalize or change up something. Instead, it's often a forced process. As long as I can remember, I've admired people who weren't hesitant about painting a piece of furniture or slapping stickers on their laptops or performing other acts of altering something from its original state. I think I know where this stems from as well. Growing up on the lower side of middle class, we were encouraged to respect and care for our belongings as they needed to last as long as possible. In addition, there was a lot of renting of homes so all decorations had to be removable. Through all of this, I never really learned to throw caution to the wind and permanently change anything for fear of RUINING it.
The act of personalizing the front of that journal (even though it was just with some scrapbook paper and glue) really helped free me from that mindset. Well, let's not say I'm completely 'free' from it, but I don't feel as caged in by it.
Oh. . .and here's my journal cover. I want to change it up yet some more, but this was a liberating start for me.
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| My altered journal |
A big thanks to
Elisabeth at Beads for Busy Gals and Patty at My Life Under the Bus for starting up this little group to kick-start us out of our creative funks. I definitely think the Crafter's Devotional is exactly what I need right now and I don't think I would have discovered it without them. As well, without the group and this upcoming blog hop, the activities might have fallen by the wayside. Having a deadline like a blog post has definitely pushed me forward in getting through the book. So THANK YOU!! I'm definitely looking forward to next month.
Here's the list of the Crafter's Devotional group so you can hop and see how they're doing with the book.
Finally, if you are interested in joining the group or getting any other information,
Elisabeth has a Crafter's Devotional link at the top of her blog. Happy Hopping!
