With just about a month left in 2011, people are all a flurry making holiday plans, buying gifts and finishing up year end projects. It’s the proverbial "time crunch" — busting ass to fit in every possible thing you pledged with your heart and soul to do before year end, but some how fell to the wayside. Creative mojo is replaced with a sense of obligation, and attitudes quickly shift to grouchy, irritated and rushed. Throw in family obligations, year end commitments and the looming thoughts … [Read more...]
The Idea of “Perfect” Blows Giant Holes in Creativity
November 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
You engage in creativity all day long, even if you never thought about it that way. Fantastic, fun, creative ideas can show up at any time, thrown in amongst thoughts of errands, irritations and obligations. And as those moments of creative brilliance shine through, do you say WOO HOO! I gotta write this down! Or do you immediately start picking them apart, reviewing all the angles to convince yourself why it will never work, why it’s not perfect? Humans have super powers when it comes to our … [Read more...]
Life is a Conga Line Not a To-Do List
January 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The holidays are gone and you are once again alone with your thoughts. Are you racing to start a million new projects? Tweeting your heart out? Or have your copious 2011 goals combusted into oblivion already? Maybe you are stalled at the starting gate as your ideas run amok like M&M’s on crack? What ever your reasons (or excuses), I think one very important thing is usually missing in people’s big ol’ life plans -- daily fun. Sure, you can write all about that amazing fantasy trip you … [Read more...]
Expanding Creative Boundaries by Channeling my Inner Hippie
July 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Tie Dye: An art form usually associated with unwashed hair, joints and general hippie-dom is much more than a throw back, its a great lesson in creative flow and inspiration. Yes, I was a tie dye virgin. I often admired the colorful, bleeding shapes on T-shrits and tanks, but never actually attempted this mystical, infamous 60s art form. So, when a girlfriend hosted her annual blowout tie dye fest to color her own clothes and make some gifts, I was all in. Watch Out Jerry Garcia I collected … [Read more...]
Release the Old to Inspire Creativity
June 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment
As we move along in our hurried lives we collect. We collect ideas, habits, people and thought patterns. Then the realization hits us; we are bogged down feeling heavy, stuck or even trapped. The sudden desire to change something in our lives, anything, comes bubbling up in ways we never expected. We search for any way to find just a little breathing room, and that where the tough part comes in… figuring out what to release to regain flexibility and creative inspiration. Its easy to keep … [Read more...]
Creative Kickstand: Time to Rev Up or Take a Break?
May 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment
People often think creativity as an act of doing, when really it starts as a act of being. Being in the moment, being aware, being open to and delving into feelings; that is where you dive into the creative meat, the real deal. Seeds of inspiration come from observing so many things; yourself, your surroundings, your past, but they don’t always show up when you want them to. So, when you come to a creative pause what is best? To try and push through the barrier with the … [Read more...]
The Fort Collins Taste Blends Community, Creative Food for a Good Cause
May 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment
"The Taste", hosted at the Fort Collins Hilton last week was about more than fancy food samples; it was about bringing together caring members of the community to raise money for the Food Bank of Larimer County and Neighbor to Neighbor. Over 30 local, non-chain restaurants from Fort Collins, Wellington, Windsor and Loveland participated and prepared food for an expected crowd of over 700 potential tasters. Some offered special menu items just for the event prepared in the on-site kitchen, … [Read more...]