Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Look at your creative side

     A few of us were talking yesterday about creativity. 
     What would life be like if you fully tapped into your creativity? 
     One person said they'd even found a blog that asked "What would it be like to be re-energized and re-inspired?"  She said the blog had talked about having times when we're going through the motions or approaching life the same old way.  She wondered what our library had that might perk up her interest.
     Another friend asked almost the same question.  She said she wanted to learn something new this summer, start a new project while she was on vacation, and since she didn't have the money to take a class at the arts center, she wondered what our library might have that could help her.
     Of course, after I left my friends, I also wondered what we have that would re-energize me...re-inspire me when I take my almost-three-week vacation starting June 1.  I mean, I take time to write all kinds of things.  And I read lots.  But what else would I want to do to fully tap into my creativity?
     Snooping around our library has always been one of my passions.  I love looking in the stacks at all kinds of books that show me what a big, wide-open world I live in.  And I don't even have to get in a moving vehicle of some kind to travel around the world to see it all.
     I took my pen and paper into the stacks, and I found all kinds of things that a person could teach themselves.  A summer project that could lead into a winter project and back into next summer.  A project that could become a life-long passion.  Look what I found.

     * Creative Canvaswork - 646.2C
     * Creative Ways to Paint - 751.4F
     * Creative Knitting and Crocheting - 746.43C
     * Think for Yourself (creative thinking for those with curious minds) - 163C
     * The Creative Book of Gift Wrapping - 745.9B
     * Creative Carpentry - 684C
     * Room for Improvement (interior decoration) - 747O (that's an O, not a zero)
     * Listening to Music Creatively - 780S
     * Creative Divorce: a new opportunity for personal growth (now, this one surprised me) - 158.2K
     * Creativity in Flower Arrangement - 716.2B
     * Three Genres: the writing of poetry, fiction and drama - 808.02M
     * Creative Costumes for Any Occasion - 391W

     I found information on creativity that included table settings, ideas for Christmas, basket making, art ideas for third and fourth graders, claywork, leather, mythology, macrame, science experiences for the young child, fingernail art, grandparenting, rugs, and on and on.  There are over 300 items of information in our library to give anyone a new project (and they don't have to pay for a class anywhere), to pump up their intelligence, to re-energize their excitement, and re-inspire them for a lifetime.
     By the way, do you know you can take a free craft class at the Doerun Library each month on the second Tuesday at 12:30 p.m.?  Get that?  FREE!
     I've found my new project for the summer months, beginning during my vacation.  I have always wanted to know how to wrap gifts in such an interesting and gorgeous way that the people who receive them don't want to open them.  I envision myself practicing on boxes and bags of all sorts, with ribbons and feathers and glue and...and...I don't know.  But I'm excited just to think about it.
     What would life be like if you fully tapped into YOUR creativity?  Think about it.
     And visit our library.  Your answer may be right here.  Be sure to bring your library card.  You're probably going to go home with several books!

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