Its #30daysofreuse day 4 and we reused plastic container lids as paint trays for our Messy Toddler Art morning. They were perfect for finger painting.They would even be great for water play!#thinkagain
Yearly Archives: 2019
Reuse is fun!
Monday, April 1, 2019
I am so excited to kick off April with our new CReATing at home Coloring page! You can download it here.
It’s just in time for Earth month. I have compiled 30+ idea sparks for easy creations kids and adults can make at home with everyday items found around the house! It’s right in line with our ongoing CReATing at home page and social media shares to inspire families to think about the things they recycle or throw away. I want to inspire fun new ways that instill new reuse habits and ways of viewing the packaging and parts that move through our homes, often be thought of as trash.
The coloring page itself is meant to be colored and doodled square by square to bring each creation image to life. When I was younger, I loved to make xerox copies of photographs then color them with colored pencils my own colorful way. I am sharing that inspiration here. I just love the way the artistic combination looks. Try it at home with the page when you print it. While Global Warming and Environmental Impact are huge issues to address we can all be a part of the change we need to see in the impact itself. By rethinking the often single use things you have around the house and using them in playful new ways you are doing something powerful to reduce the impact on our planet, one creation at a time.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said ” Nothing in nature is exhausted in it’s first use. When a thing has served an end to the uttermost, it is wholly new for an ulterior service.” I deeply believe in what Emerson had said. I have felt inspired to enter into my studio’s reuse odyssey to make the process of “uttermost use” inspiring and accessible for everyone through creativity. Come along in your own creative way.
Noticing Nature
Monday, March 25, 2019
I’ve written about nature’s awe before, but the beauty of it always bears repeating. Today as I walked my dog Barley I spotted this little pine cone and I was awed by it. I marveled at its symmetry wrapped in its durable frame. It’s so even. That is what I am striving to be.
Albert Einstein once said, “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” I get that. The world can feel complicated and I can get caught up in it but nature and it’s evenness is a fresh breath I breath. The balance of things in nature, it’s all on time. Nothing is wrong or a mistake or too hard. It’s just even.
I found myself breathing deeply as I stood staring at it, this pinecone had sparked a zen moment for me and I wanted to relish it.
To keep my mind from running away in thought I have been trying to get outside and notice the nature around me in whatever I see, a blade of grass or a fallen leaf. There is always wisdom in what is before me. I think nearly time, I can learn so much from nature.
Mother Earth
Monday, March 18, 2019
Last year I started our monthly Spotlight on 12 material genres we reuse at the studio and some areas to explore about them. We explore what we’re do with them, what local artists are doing with them, where they come from and whether they’re recyclable or not.
As we’ve queried each month I’ve been getting more curious about the materials thinking about how they are produced and only recently, what their origins are.
I was surprised that I hadn’t known the very beginning of where plastics come from. I knew that they are largely man-made but there had to be a beginning. I discovered that they are often made from oil that is extracted from the deep recesses of the ocean and land. Oh my! I think of how much is made of plastic in our day to day lives and further how much is made for single uses like various plastic packagings, zip-loc baggies, utensils, water bottles and on and on. That’s a lot of oil to benefit all of us people. It’s left me thinking that I can do more, we can all do more by at least using things more than once and with care.
I know there is so much to do to cut down initial uses all together but I am thinking of the uses we have already in our lives as we we shop.
Thoughtfulness is a beginning, being aware of the origins of things from our beautiful earth, she always gives with love and the very least we can do is appreciate and relish the gifts she shares. A tin can comes from metal that is mined, a can has so many reuse possibilities-if nothing else it’s a pencil holder.
In our consumerism we forget to do what Marie Condo, author of The Life Changing Magic of Tiding Up does and inspires in us, to thank and bless the things we have while we have them. We can be proactive by finding ways to use then reuse them before they must pass on. Marie uses shoe boxes with out the lids to organize drawers. This use concern isn’t just about plastics, or any other material genre we focus on, its about all the materials that are intended for single or temporary use. Try reuse at home, if you have a box, make it a play thing or use it to organize or share it with a friend who may be moving.
The things we have, are gifts while we have them. Let’s thank our Mother Earth for always giving to us with open arms. We can show appreciation with our mindful uses. At the studio we reuse things to make art, sharing a piece of ourselves with the word. Art makes the world more beautiful, that’s a great way of saying thanks.
Happy St. Patty’s Day
Monday, March 18, 2019
I’m reminiscing over this little homage to my girls Irish Great Grandma who came to American through Ellis Island as the first in her family.
My daughter and I created her as part of a school assignment when she was in second grade.
Still today I love the versatility of wooden clothespins. They can do and be so many things, even an Irish Grandma.
Happy St. Patricks Day!
I’m in.
Monday, March 11, 2019
I think I first read this quote by John Wesley, English Clergyman as I was sorting through a bag of donations at the studio and the moment I read it I was in.
Ok, I thought. I can aim for that. It rumbled in me like a truth I was unlocking for mankind, a secret for how to get along in life. Originally written by the author sometime during the 1700’s it read to me as a modern day proclamation-maybe that was the typeface and the simple name noted. No matter, it is a timeless statement. It doesn’t matter who we are, what our beliefs, it’s message just fits. I mentioned in my last post that we are all stewards of the earth. This quote could weave into that idea, entwining the aspects of our lives – Do good no matter who we are.
There are two charities we support, Charity Water as Spring Members and Impact Club as Community Members. I believe they both model this quotes challenge. You can learn more about them through our e-newsletter. The older I get the better I want to do, the farther the reach I would like to make and the bigger connection that would come along. I am inspired by these organizations and the chain reaction of good they do.
So John Wesley, I am in.
Great idea!
Saturday, March 9, 2019
Loving this clear carry-all tote.
As Dr Wayne Dyer once said, “Change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change.”
I think that includes plastic bedding package sleeves.
We’re 10!
Monday, March 4, 2019
WOW! We’re 10 this month!
Tuesday, March 6th was our opening day back in 2009. What a journey it’s been so far. I started building the studio with an inspired Idea that I actually followed through on (not my usual m.o. back then). I worked to create the studio using some hard learned lessons from having a tiny quilt company of fun and funky children’s quilts called, “Story Quilts”. I did that with my friend Roberta Durra, a fellow Costumer I got to know in the early 90’s. Our ;little company’s rise and fall centered around our artful blankets and, a super tough Rep at the Mart that all met it’s end when Barney’s went Bankrupt! Basically Roberta and I quit that business after the Barney situation and went on to start families, never looking back. Years later when I had the idea to create CReATE I found myself drifting back to our Story Quits saga and realized we had quite before we really saw where it could go. This time I wouldn’t quit. That gave me the steam I have needed to keep on trucking through these last ten years of creativity, reuse, business and tons of donations! I am so happy I have. At year 10 I am stepping into some bigger environmentally sustainability shoes as we deal with material donations way outside my comfort zone in terms of quantity and variety. It gets me thinking, how can we reuse these things and who can we share them with? Landfill is not an option.
It’s a good thing we’re here. Reusing is a cohesive and practical way to keep post-use items and materials out of land fills. Reusing them is our fun. Thinking back to the beginning I knew that using recycled materials was the way I wanted to create freedom in art but what has unfolded is just sheer creativity. The exciting challenge that comes with exploring concepts and ideas with the materials all around us sparks joy and creates a shift in how we see the everyday things that are donated to us. I think we are creating change if even just a little. To me a cracker box will never be just a cracker box again. It has becomes limitless possibilities for me and I hope it does the same for others too. We are all the stewards of this planet, as they say, there is no planet B.
Year 10 is marking the next wave of creativity for CReATE and how we make reuse THE way.
Though we don’t have that little quilt company anymore I see it’s lessons unfold for me all the time. Stay with it they say. The best is yet to come.
It’s March!
Sunday, March 3, 2019
Happy March!
We’ve got lots of free style fun to share with you through drop-in creating, machine sewing, Pinspired crafting for adults, messy toddler art fun, free community crafting with the City of Malibu, school field trip explorations and leprechaun trap supplying.
We also turn 10 this month-woo-hoo. To celebrate we’ll be talking a trip down memory lane and sharing some good vibes with you. Let’s create together.
Cleaning up
Monday, February 25, 2019
I got a 4Ocean bracelet in the mail the other day. Selling bracelets is how they fund their ocean clean-ups. I first saw their story on instagram and followed their story from there. They use a simple model to address a really big problem-trash on our oceans, most of it being plastic.
I see how litter happens, seems innocent enough to drop something unbeknownst to you and there it sits, perilously close to a gutter drain (which drains to a lake or ocean). I walk my dog a number of times of day and see trash along the way during every walk. I feel responsible for picking it up and I am, I want to be an action taker. If the noticer doesn’t do something who will? We are the change we wish to see when we see. 4 oceans is out there on the high seas picking up other peoples trash but I don’t think they mind it in a sense. They have purpose and intent and they are creating change for our oceans and sea life and inspiring people like me. It’s the ripple effect. One good turn turns to another and another.
To learn about 4Oceans and their bracelet for a pound of trash plan check them out and let the good vibes that come with taking some action inspire you.