creative mother heroines

Welcome to Week Two of the month-long Carnival of Creative Mothers to celebrate the launch of The Rainbow Way: Cultivating Creativity in the Midst of Motherhood

by Lucy H. Pearce. 

Today’s topic is Creative Heroines. Be sure to read to the end of this post to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

Join the Carnival and be in with a chance to win a free e-copy of The Rainbow Way!

December 4th: Creative Inheritance.

December 11th: The Creative Process.

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woe to the creative mother earth

she has been given up to corruption

her new seeds die before the market and her mantle stripped bare

wracked with trembling ailments

and overcome by waters

and seething pots of fire

you can almost hear her groaning and the mothers of the earth with her

cry out cry out to our sweet Mary

whose arms have held us safe through many storms

to Mother Mary send your plea

O mother Mary comfort me

and all the wounded souls on mother earth

O mother Mary comfort me

and all the wounded souls

O mother comfort all the wounded souls

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ORDER YOUR SIGNED COPY of  The Rainbow Way!   and grab your free extras  (first 200 orders only!): – exclusive access to a private Facebook group for creative mothers – a vibrant greetings card and book-mark of one of the author’s paintings. Kindle and paperback editions from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Book Depository, Barnes and Noble or order it from your local bookshop!

• Carnival host and author of The Rainbow Way, Lucy at Dreaming Aloud celebrates her creative fairy godmothers, and gives thanks for the creative blessings that each has gifted her.
• And on her other site, The Happy Womb, Lucy expresses her sadness at a lack of real-life female mentors and Wise Women in her life so far.
• Becky at Soul Sunshine shares the creativity heroines– her Saviors– who reactivated her creative heart after a near-20-year-hiatus.
• Lucy Pierce from Soulskin Musings explores the ways in which three artists have inspired her to follow the inner wild of her own creative narrative and it’s interface with the forces of nature and of Spirit.
• Kae at The Wilde Womb shares how she invokes her inner child when summoning creative juices. 
• Zoie at TouchstoneZ reflects on the women who have inspired her most. 
• Alex at The Art of Birth shares her Journey of a Creative Mama which is all about liberating the Feminine through Art.
• Laura at Authentic Parenting is grateful to those women who have inspired her.
• Who most inspires Georgie at Visual Toast? She’ll tell you here!
• Please come to the dinner party, invites Nicki at Just Like Play, where we will celebrate Judy Chicago, art, womanhood, and the creative kitchen table.
• Becky at Raising Loveliness shares her creative heroines.
• Dawn Collins at The Barefoot Home honors three artistic mothers in the post:her strong willed Nona, her free spirited mother and the best solo artist ever… Mother Earth.
• Angela at Peach Coglo looks to her grandma and granny as her creative heroines when the creative going gets tough.
• Jennifer at Let Your Soul Shine wears odd socks proudly!
• Kelly at Knittingandthings shares how she turned her grief into helping others  
• Biromums remember their biggest creative heroines.
• Darcel at The Mahogany Way shares who inspires her.
• Aimée at Creativeflutters discusses which artists influence her in her creative journey. Find out how she nourishes herself as a creative mother, and finds the time to help other moms on their journeys.
• Creativity is something that’s always meant the most to Jasmine at Brown Eyed Girl and she can’t wait to take the journey in identifying herself and supporting other moms with it as well.
• KatyStuff has a mother who allowed her to make mud pies while she knit or embroidered near by.
• Ali Baker is a creative mama to twin girls who reignited her creative energy and sense of who she used to be by just doing it and creating whatever needs to be created in an imperfect way. 
• Liz at Reckless Knitting remembers her biggest inspirations.
• Milochka  at Art Play Day shares her creative heroines.

nurturing a creative culture at home

Welcome to Week One of the month-long Carnival of Creative Mothers to celebrate the launch of The Rainbow Way: Cultivating Creativity in the Midst of Motherhood

by Lucy H. Pearce. 

Today’s topic is Nurturing a Culture of Creativity at Home. Be sure to read to the end of this post to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

Join the Carnival and be in with a chance to win a free e-copy of The Rainbow Way!

November 27th: Creative Heroines.

December 4th: Creative Inheritance.

December 11th: The Creative Process.

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deny me not, says ‘creativity’; which we cannot supress even if we want to.
it beckons in the morning when the budgie and the kettle sing together, and in the afternoon when words enter our thoughts longing to be expressed. a healthy creative culture includes your daily dose of day dreaming and introspection, and the freedom to express yourself without judgement. teach your children to translate the world they live through play by setting an example – abandon the rules of rigid behaviour and bring the spirit of magic to your home.
the creative home is not fearful of getting the recipe wrong or forgetting to put the bin out. years ago parents sat down with their children and conversed, exchanging thoughts and ideas; making connections. the key to nurturing creative culture is to foster the flow of ideas and honour the creative process. allow play into your home – and play is not just for children.

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ORDER YOUR SIGNED COPY of  The Rainbow Way!   and grab your free extras  (first 200 orders only!):   – exclusive access to a private Facebook group for creative mothers     – a vibrant greetings card and book-mark of one of the author’s paintings.   Kindle and paperback editions from Amazon.co.uk , Amazon.com, Book Depository, Barnes and Noble or order it from your local bookshop!

• Carnival host and author of The Rainbow Way, Lucy at Dreaming Aloud shares an extract from the chapter Nurturing a Family Culture of Creativity.
• Lilly Higgins is a passionate food writer. Now a mother of two boys, she’s discovered a new calling: to instil in them a love of food and creativity in the kitchen.
• DeAnna L’am shares how visioning the New Year with your child is an invitation to be inspired: use creativity and resolutions to create a fun road map for the year ahead.
• Molly at Talk Birth on Releasing Our Butterflies – balancing motherhood with creativity.
• Laura shares some of the creativity happening at Nestled Under Rainbows and a few thoughts about creativity.
• Georgie at Visual Toast celebrates her own unique culture of creativity at home.
• Esther at Nurtureworkshop spreads the love of the ordinary, the delights of everyday things that can be an adventure of the imagination.
• For Dawn at The Barefoot Home creativity is always a free form expression to be shared by all in a supportive environment where anything can be an art material.
• Naomi at Poetic Aperture is a mother, artist and photographer who tries to keep her daughter away from the expensive pens and paints.
• Aimee at Creativeflutters writes about keeping your sanity and creativity intact with small kids in the house in her post: Mother + Creativity – They Must Coexist.
• Amelia at My Grandest Adventure embarks on a 30 Days of Creativity challenge…you can too!
• Becky at Raising Loveliness explores creating with her smaller family members.
• Jennifer at Let Your Soul Shine reveals how children help us connect to our souls, through music and movement.
• Mary at The Turquoise Paintbrush shares her experiences of creating with kids.
• Joanna at Musings of a Hostage Mother explains why creativity at home is important to her in her post “I nurture a creative culture.”
• It took until Amy at Mama Dynamite was pregnant aged 35 to discover her dormant creative
  streak – she has found lovely ways of tuning into it every since.
• Emily at The Nest explores how creativity runs through her family’s life together.
• Jennifer at OurMuddyBoots sees that encouraging creativity in children is as simple as appreciating them for who they are: it just means overriding everything we know!
• Lisa from Mama.ie has discovered that a combination of writing and traditional crafts can provide a creative outlet during those busy early years of new motherhood.
• Anna at Biromums shares what nurturing a culture of creativity means to her.
• Zoie at TouchstoneZ argues that the less they are interfered with, the more creative children become as they grow up.
• Darcel at The Mahogany Way celebrates creating with her kids.
• Sally (aka The Ginger Ninja) of The Ginger Chronicles is continually inspired by her own mum and grandmother.
• Just being creative is enough, says Nicki at Just Like Play, as she ponders her journey of nurturing a creative family.
• Allurynn shares her creative family’s musings in her post “Creativity… at the Heart of it” on Moonlight Muse.
• Laura at Authentic Parenting explores how being creative saves her sanity.
• Mama is Inspired talks about how she puts an emphasis on the handmade in her home, especially in the holiday season.
• Kirstin at Listen to the Squeak Inside shares with you several easy ways for busy mamas and dads to encourage their children to be creative every day.
• Mila at Art Play Day always lived in her dreams, sleepwalking through life … now she is finding out what creativity is all about…. her inner child!
• Sadhbh at Where Wishes Come From describes how picture books can nurture creativity in young children.
• On womansart blog this week – nurturing a creative culture at home.

 

the artists secret

yeah we can all paint a pretty picture.

the artist’s secret, however; begins a long time before we ever touch the canvas or the paint. the artist immerses herself in life as a life choice, the artist lives amongst the energy of the stuff of life and doesn’t shirk away. sometimes the artist loses her focus in the real world because she is looking very closely at an issue that would never get the attention of others. the artist learns to give and hold attention.

think of the tip of the iceberg analogy. it fits here. the artist, swimming underneath the water, not only sees the remainder of the iceberg; but experiences it’s gargantuan weight, it’s glasslike shimmer, unnatural cold and the otherworldly silence down there. yep it’s a whole different world.

the artist has a hold on this territory. it is so beneficial to the soul, so alluring and endless, unlimited. you hardly ever find anyone that can, or anyone who is willing; to show you the way there. it’s hidden below the surface of life in the real world but we don’t acknowledge it being there. after all it is remarkable scary, resembling at times something like Pandora’s box, a can of worms or large sticky spider’s web on which we could get caught and never return.

the artist investigates what’s there, examines ands works it; then feeds it back. the artist goes in to places others refuse to go and pushes the boundaries. the artist searches for truth where you wouldn’t even dare to go. the artist gets to the bottom of the subject and then presents the evidence.

the artist’s secret is focus. the artist grabs a piece of the sticky spider’s web and follows it with intense focus. the artist mulls, ruminates and stews, all the while collecting bits and pieces that fit; considering every aspect of the subject with sustained intense focus. the artist marinates herself in the subject of her focused attention. when the artist is completely saturated by the subject the artist will naturally be creative.

research, revel in memory, doodle, daydream and muse. surround yourself with the aroma of the subject, the images, the sounds; voices or the words. be, feel and live your subject. sustained attention on a single subject starts the creative juice flowing, more ignites the creative fire.

coming from this place of focus on the subject the artist can create with full power having carefully examined the subject, gained insight; perhaps understanding. having dwelt on the essence of the subject the artist can express what she has perceived through her practice of sustained attention. the practised artist spends most of her time in focused attention knowing that when complete, the subject will naturally bear splendid creative fruit.

bravo to those who search the hidden depths of life for jewels, they are hard to find but valuable.

womansart