creativity without a computer ...

It's Tuesday. I'm working on my computer with the damaged disks and its 5 "critical" error messages, waiting for the computer guy to show up. I'm working in "safe mode with network connections." And, this is very limiting to the technical side of a person's creativity when so much of their creativity derives from using the technology. Unh!

Yesterday, when the problem began, I was able to (Thank You, God!) transfer all of my files and photos to an external drive. Whew!  (Comment: I just happened to have a 2 terabyte external drive handy. Do you realize how much 2 terabytes is? It is MASSIVE! And, for us hobbyist photographers, storage of those digital images is everything, right? The drive is about the size of a Kindle and very easy to use.) So, anyway ... while the transfer was in process, I had to keep my hands busy. I rubber cemented restaurant business cards onto a notebook page and made notes about when we were there, with who, and how the food and service was.  I painted a tag with pale pink acrylic paint and set it to dry. I cut papers from The Breathe Paper Collection and glued them to other tags. The tags are leftovers from my husband's VanHeusen polo shirt purchases. They're nice thick cardboard about the size of a business card with a hole punched, ready to be remade into something else. I'll take pictures and try to remember to upload them later, WHEN I have a computer with programs to work from!

I have no programs. No software applications! No Microsoft anything. No Acrobat. No Photoshop. No QuarkXPress. No FrontPage or Expressions. Limited web access. This is torture. I have so many things to do that require this technology, and NOT having that access causes anxiety.  Then, there's the added pressure of analysis of what happened and what the best next step is. Is it time to replace the computer and move into Windows 7 with Microsoft Office 2010? 

Things change at warp speed. Adapt.
Good thing I have stuff stored on line at Picasa and Flickr!
At least I have some images available to me ...

Okay. Fine.
I've got to go wash a paint brush.
And, see where the computer guy is ...

Playing Catch Up!

I haven't been here in a while, but I've been being creative all over the place! In February and March, I organized, promoted and hosted two, count 'em! 2! art socials at a little park in my neighborhood. The artists are so wonderful and they delivered a lovely evening of art and food and friends! Maybe, with a little luck and a lot of help from neighbors, we'll do it again next year!

In April, it was the children's art exhibit, "Everglades Eyes." I started this as an annual event in celebration of Earth Day back in 2006 and it's definitely taken on a life of its own! My boss was amazed that this year was the "fifth annual" and he was impressed with the amount and quality of the art submissions! 105 students from five area schools produced some amazing images! Like, this one ...

In May, working with my Soroptimist club, we presented the "Live Your Dream" Luncheon. I posted all the collateral I worked on at my Veer page, here, if you want to see. And, now, I'm working on a Barbie doll exhibition at the Old Davie School! (http://www.olddavieschool.org/)

I'm a huge fan of Kelly Kilmer, a mixed media artist and instructor, and, while my pages look nothing like hers, she inspired me take pictures of what I've created and share it here, on my blog. So, here you are!

The left page above is my first draft of my "doll list" for the upcoming exhibit at Old Davie School. I know the school's four rooms really well, so my goal has been to link the dolls to the exhibits (however thin that link might be!) and create an experience that is entertaining AND educational.

The page on the right is my notes from a meeting on a capital project that I attended for my day job. The flower doodles didn't get colored until after the meeting, during a phone conversation that involved a good deal of time "on hold."

These pages are what's happening right now. My "to do" lists, a new vocabulary word (and, what a word it is!) and paperdolls I cut out during a brainstorming session. I think it's clear what's on my mind! Dolls and their fashions!

So, there's my creativity contribution for today! I've got to design a "tee shirt" for the special Barbie event in July, so I'm off to do that now. I'm so glad it's Friday, aren't you?