Play Everyday!

Deep Breath….. I have a hard time with commitment… my take on a recent challenge extended to me as part of the Kelly Rae Roberts’ Flying Lessons group is committing to “Play Everyday!”

A little over a week ago, Stephanie Cant, a fellow member of the Flying Lessons group set an intention and asked others to join in setting a creative goal (Art 101 Challenge). The following is from Stephanie’s post:

I have this idea. A few days ago, I saw a TED video about an artist who set a goal to paint 100 paintings in 100 days in order to build her confidence and spark her creativity. (Building an Artist’s Life: Jolie Guillebeau at TEDxConcordiaUPortland). So what if we collectively set a goal to do 101 paintings (or whatever art) in 101 days? [starting June 1st] Are you up for a 101 day challenge to build your blog and artist portfolio?

My initial gut reaction was, “I loved to, but…. I don’t stick to one art form, many of my projects take way too long, I have company coming, my kids have camp and I’m volunteering, I need to help my sister-in-law (who’s on bed-rest during pregnancy) with her other kids, we have travel plans, yada yada yada… not the best time.” Of course, there will always be life excuses, so I’ve decided to take on the challenge anyway… in my own personal way… committing to play everyday (in some creative way).

Knowing my personality, I could easily fall into the trap of making art and creativity a chore if I chose the goal of one painting per day. Instead, I want to focus on the joy of creating for the sake of creating, but I don’t want to use this as another excuse to withdraw from the challenge. Therefore, I will seek ways to incorporate playful creativity into the busy summer days ahead, whether it be photography, painting, fiber, mixed-media, poetry, or even a little dancing. 🙂 While I do hope to find ways for my creative efforts to contribute to my family financially (such as etsy sales, local boutique sales, etc), the primary drive behind these efforts is to find and share positive energy, prayer, healing, inspiration, and encouragement. Hence, I’m participating in the challenge without a sales goal and in a very flexible way in an effort to follow my heart. Since joining a few facebook groups with fellow creatives, I’ve been delightfully inspired, but also tempted to compare my own creations (and feel a lack of talent!). I want to remember to be myself and play.

I have been blessed to re-discover the joy and therapeutic aspect of creating (forgotten or lost since childhood until recently) and hope to help others do the same. Feel free to join me… let’s play! 🙂