A creative mind is a happy mind

Sunday, May 12, 2019

After watching The Creative Brain, a documentary now on Netflix, it’s confirmed, we are all creative! At the studio we say, “creativity is a thinking muscle in your brain” and like any muscle, it needs exercise! As film maker and neuroscientist David Eagleman states “creativity is what brains do”. It’s really what shapes our whole world and when exercised not only fulfills us but can heal us and help us meet the demands of our changing world. The creative brain is a must see, kids can watch it too.
Our family lives are so scheduled an it’s taking it’s toll. Let’s heed our mental call to be more present, calm and creative. I see how positively creativity affects people, it brings balance to living. So this week I have 5 simple actions you can do to help spark your creativity and your connection to the present moment. Being creative doesn’t have to be fancy or hard, in fact, it should be enjoyable. It just needs some space in our thinking minds to flow through and into the ways we see many of the things we do each day, giving them a boost of fulfillment and flair.
Try any of these 5 creativity boosters to help your creativity flow.
1. Sit down and just listen to a favorite record or playlist.
2. Get outside and take a walk in nature.
3. Grab your phone or a camera to take 25 pictures of things you think are interesting.
4. Take a walk around a hardware store.
5. Read a magazine

(photo credit -Netfix.com)

Join me

Monday, May 6, 2019

Tomorrow night is the big night!
It’s time for the 360 Talks. It’s an 8 speaker with 10 minutes of talk time format to inspire and inform. The event is hosted by The Las Virgenes Unified School District and Community 360.
Join me, Jemma Wildermuth as one of these 8 at 6pm tomorrow night in the Agoura High School PAEC where I’ll be talking about creating a reuse mindset. The Community 360 community cultivated 6 attributes aimed at helping all grade level students grow and develop as whole children. I am inspired to be a part of it!
Learn more about the program here
The 360 Talks are hosted at Agoura High School PAEC at 6pm.
28545 Driver Ave. Agoura Hills. CA.
Tickets available at community360.me/events
*photo credit Community 360 for LVUSD

Recycled Fashion For Good

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Our Third Annual Recycled Fashion Show is this Saturday and we want to have you there! Kelly Moore and I have loved bringing our community together to do something to support an organization, Casa Pacifica that we admire. They are a wonderful resource for families in need of help, hope and healing. Many of their clients have suffered abuse, neglect other traumatizing experiences.Hosting this fashion show, and inviting kids and families to be a part of it is really what community s about.Learn more about all they do here.

Everyday is Earth Day

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Our donators just get it.
While I strive at the studio to connect kids and adults to the value of reuse for it’s own “perfectly cool to create with” sake, I work to infuse the importance of it’s practice for our planet too. Oftentimes kids see the materials we have for them to use as just another material source to create with without the burden of why.
Our donators know the burden of why. They know the impact that everyone’s stuff has on our landfills and recycling centers and that there is no such things as “away”. They are relieved by the idea that their things can be used again. That feels so much better than sending things to their end by recycling or even throwing them away . Though they may not be interested in the act of creating, they see that everything has potential for reuse. They are the hero’s in our eco efforts. I am grateful that thanks to their contributions we can all be a part of the solution for our planet. In that way, everyday is Earth Day for us.
Learn about the history of Earth Day and more by visiting earthday.org

Reuse inspires nostalgia

Monday, April 15, 2019

The other day a gentleman was walking past our studio and stopped to look in. Our reuse style seemed to inspire him. He looked around for a few minutes taking it in as he drew himself to the counter where we have our giant ball of masking tape on display.
He told me a story about being a boy in Los angeles during World War Two and how during that time there was a competition with the families in his neighborhood about who could make the biggest aluminum foil ball. They were all was saving every scrap of foil they could find to add to their balls, even gum wrappers. That memory brought a few more that he shared about that time so long ago. He said he hadn’t thought about any of those things so long. It was seeing the tape ball that brought it all back. We were both inspired by what seeing our tape ball triggered. Nostalgia is funny like that, it rides on the wings of subtle things like something baking in the oven a song that’s playing in a store. Even a funny tape ball can do it taking us both back to a moment in time where saving things was a thing.
I loved seeing his memories unfold. Hearing them was like going back in time.

Think Again.

Friday, April 5, 2019

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

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