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Tactile

Nothing like good ol’ fashioned finger painting. Children seem so in tune with their senses and being in the now.

Nostalgia

Our #30daysofreuse campagine on instagram for day 5 is nostalgia. Collect things like this old rent book.
This “rent receipt ” book was a donation dated back to 1934 when apparently some rents were $5.00. Can you imagine?

Almost here!

It’s almost here! Come see our recycled Fashion Show benifiting Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families this Saturday! It features kids and teens who have made their own costumes from recycled materials.
Tickets can be purchased at the door with 100% of the proceeds going to Casa!
Learn more about Casa here http://m.casapacifica.org/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.casapacifica.org%2F&utm_referrer=#2745

On the road…

Had fun with an on-campus field trip visit to a Spring YMCA camp yesterday. The campers had a blast creating, constructing and building whatever came to mind.

I’m not creative.

I have heard this sentiment before. “I’m not creative” so I ponder it.
It sounds like a disclaimer, and it may be in the way that not knowing what to do in obviously creative spaces can calm the discomfort the space brings.
I believe they are creative and I often say so.  Who decided who was creative anyway? An uncreative parent comes to the studio because their child likes art. They are creative they say. That’s Interesting. They can recognize their child’s interest in art, which is a creative outlet but not creativity itself. Art and artistic fields have been places under the umbrella creativity but what about all the other fields there are in the world? That may have to be another blog post someday.

I have had Parents express that they feel like they have to lead their kids in our open space, give them directions but because they are not creative as they say, they don’t know how to get started. It can be uncomfortable for a few minutes as they settle in, especially if they like to follow rules. Self doubt seems to be a factor in the sureness of creative lack these parents have. Perhaps along the way during their growing up, creativity wasn’t nurtured. But now, as parents creativity is back on the table. Don’t worry, creativity is kind.

Through my work with the studio I have come to understand that we are all creative. I believe it’s wired into our thinking capabilities, a thinking muscle in our brains if you will.  The great thing I’ve noticed about creativity is that it strengthens when it’s nurtured and, ironically when we are helping to nurture it in others, it gets nurtured in us too.

During their visit to the studio children start creating in the organic way that they know how, letting what they are doing unfold into simply exploring their ideas and curiosities about what happens and how. In this process they are free to think their way and creativity just flows.
It is my desire that after a session at the studio, the adults who weren’t creative when they came in are creative when they leave.

It’s Countdown time!

We are so excited for our Recycled Fashion Show next Saturday from 2-4pm at CReATE STUDIO.
My event partner, Kelly of @glamourpartygirls has been gathering awesome raffle prizes for our show. You can purchase raffle tickets for $1.00 each. Here’s what you can win during the show.

We have Dojo Boom VIP passes,
A Glamour Party Girls party for up to 8 girls,
A Sparkles and Spikes haircut,
Hideout play passes
A Brilliant Smile teeth whitening gift certificate
Usborne set of 3 fashion books
A Massage gift certificate
An Art Wagon mini paint night certificate, two Sassybagz kids’ aprons and a CReATE STUDIO create date for 5 friends.
All proceeds go to Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families!

Family Fun.

I had a great time teaching these ladies to machine sew. The family that sews together has more fun together…

Our Arpil sewing classes start on Tuesday with Intro to Machine Sewing and continue on Thursday with Machine Sewing Two.

Come build your sewing skills with us!

Love.

This was Nina’s mini-kindness wall from last week’s Girls Club Strong Kindness project. Can you think of a kinder word?
When we create from a free space within ourselves, Love it was what comes of it.

Creativity is a verb

The more I read Spark by John J. Ratey as mentioned in a prior post, the more I understand our innate need for movement and the more I see that creativity includes movement. The act of creating is physical. It may not always include grand gestures but it does call our bodies to move.
I had once heard that when babies are very young and their arms, legs and heads make twitchy, ongoing movements during awake time that’s their bodies natural action to keep their tiny muscles from getting atrophied while they are too young to move on their own.
We are built to move and we are built to, among other things, create too. I notice that the way we create at the studio is centered around movement. As Spark had mentioned, movement makes us feel good and I know creating does too. We are not designed to sit for long stints, we are designed to move and to make!
In a world where the topic of health is a primary focus I would love to see the focus points listed and communicated by health care professionals add create to their recommendation as DIET, EXERCISE, CREATE. This is a well rounded recipe for good health in our young and old. I know in my heart that when all three are incorporated into daily living we are treating our bodies and minds the way we were made to which allows us to share the good we have inside.
Go forth and eat well, move often and create what’s in your heart.

Kindness is Key!

The Girls Club girls made Mini Kindness Walls to go with the Kindness topic they discussed during yesterday’s Girls Club Class.
As they say, Let it begin with me.