Growing Sunflower Children (57 Days) Posted Jun-30-2007
Being Part of the FLOWering of Creative Intention (Part II)
I last wrote about my Sunflower Children on May 14 (see Sunflower Children: 11 Days). So how's it been going? I initially planted 13 sunflower seeds and by day 11, only one had sprouted. After giving the rest of the first-sown seeds a week or so more to emerge, I planted a second batch of seeds, and eventually one by one, little green emerglings began poking through the soil! ...

Lynda Lehmann Interview: On Being an Artist
Posted June-27-2007
"I don't recommend being an artist to anyone who is frightened of freedom."
Lynda Lehmann has been one of my favorite contributors to the Creativity Portal Web site ever since she debuted in July 2006 with her essay "Art and Power". She's since followed up with nearly a half-dozen more penetrating essays on art, the creative process, spirituality, and consciousness.

Lynda's most recent contribution is An Interview on Being an Artist with Molly Anderson-Childers for the Creative Careers in the Arts Series. In this interview, Molly leads Lynda with a number of curious questions to help aspiring artists gain insight and understanding into what it takes to break into the business, manage an art career, find inspiration, and capture creativity.

This interview is one of the most inspiring testimonies I've read to the richly rewarding, spiritual depths one can experience on the path of being an artist. Lynda's words will resonate with anyone aspiring to live authentically, create more deeply, and make meaning in their lives as an artist... of any kind. •

Chris's Collage Cubies: Innovative 3D Paper Art Sculpture
Posted June-23-2007
Collage Cubies Project Updated & Expanded!
In 2005 I invented an innovative form of collage art I named "Collage Cubies." The concept involves creating a collage flat on a paper template I designed and then folding it up into a 3D cube ("Cubie"), producing a wonderful twist of art and an unexpected surprise revealing itself at the end when the collage is cubed.

In sharing this innovatively fun form of art, I developed a free, step-by-step project tutorial for my Collage Cubies on the Creativity Portal Web site, and spent several days this week updating the project with more information, expanded details, and a second larger printable Collage Cubie Template that can be printed on an 11 x 17" piece of paper.

So if you're looking for a creatively different project to try out that incorporates a passion for paper, collage, decoupage, and paper model folding, try my Collage Cubies and see how quickly YOU will begin "thinking outside the box." •

Inspirational Duirwaigh Film: "The Heavens Rejoice"
Posted June-20-2007
New Flash Film by Angi Sullins and Silas Toball
Angi Sullins is an incredible soul artist who also happens to be an inspiring contributor to the Creativity Portal Web site. Angi told me about her new Flash-based film titled "The Heavens Rejoice" and sent me the link to view it on the Duirwaigh Gallery Web site. ...

The Girl Blue Project's 2007 “GIVE ME 5” Campaign
Posted June-19-2007
A Creativity Fostering Self-Awareness Program for Teenage Girls
I first learned about The Girl Blue Project in 2006 when I published an interview on the Creativity Portal Web site "Spirited Woman" Nancy Mills had with its founder and director Marlow Wyatt. I was so moved by what I read that I immediately sent a small donation through PayPal to help support the organization. ...

Photo courtesy of Scrapbook-Crazy.com

Scrapbook Crazy: Paper Bag Album Instructions
Posted June-16-2007
Lunch Bags: Not JUST for Lunch!
Here's something you won't find down the scrapbooking aisle in your favorite Art & Craft store: scrapbooks made from paper lunch bags. Yes, how about us sloganning this fun concept "Scrap-bagging". ...

Action Prompts and Blog to "Act as if" Posted June-16-2007
Creativity Coach Follow-up
If I can inspire people to think about their creative lives, I've accomplished something worthwhile. And if I can encourage those same people to write about their creative lives, I've accomplished twice as much. Three times a charm: If I can motivate people to share their creative lives, I'm confident that what comes next for them will be self-initiated "creativity investments" with bountiful returns on their invested time and energy.

Albert Einstein said, "Nothing happens until something moves." which is why I've expanded my "26 Ways to Nurture Your Creative Life" series to include follow-through blogs for people to declare their creative intentions and put their thoughts and desires into life-fulfilling motion. This is a start. Perhaps for some, it's the first step forward on the 'journey of a thousand miles.'

Encouraging people towards taking action in support of their creative lives (and dreams!) is what I do. If I shall be remembered for anything during my tenure as a human being on this planet, let it be this. •

Yahoo! Headline Humor: Fake Colgate Toothpaste
Posted June-16-2007
"Colgate says counterfeit toothpaste a low health risk"
Ever since I heard about the "imposter" Colgate toothpaste originating from China being sold in U.S. dollar stores this week, I've had the perfect marketing slogan running through my brain that I must record in my Creative Slush scrapbook.

My slogan is:

"Phony Toothpaste: Perfect for False Teeth!"

According to the news article:

Colgate-Palmolive Co. said on Friday counterfeit toothpaste that may contain a toxic chemical posed a low health risk, and it was picking up suspected fakes labeled "Colgate" brand from discount stores in four U.S. states.

"It's a low health risk but the bottom line is, it doesn't belong in toothpaste," said Doug Arbesfeld, a spokesman for the U.S.

And here I thought counterfeiting and fake knock-offing was for purses and t-shirts. Well, that's another item to add to my list of "Things NOT to buy at a dollar store." The other two are: scissors and crayons. You'll be lucky if the scissors cut and you'll get more pigment from a wax candle (Crayola ® is the only way to go when it comes to crayons). •

Nit Wits #34: Chicken Eggo Posted June-10-2007
Which came first, the chicken or the eggo?

BONUS: Learn How to Draw a Chicken

The first definition of ego in my Merriam-Webster Dictionary is "the self as distinguished from others." And as I'm pecking my way through Murray Stein's Jung's Map of the Soul, its glossary defines ego as "the center of consciousness, the 'I.'" Yes, two ways of saying eggproximately the same thing. ...

Christine Stefanitsis: Chicken Scratch Posted June-6-2007
Are you too chicken to write?
Which came first: the chicken or the novel? Oh, that's a novel way at looking at it. And to further egg you on and unscramble my thoughts about chickens and writing and pecking at prose, I recommend you hopping on over to this coop of a blog run by Christine Stefanitsis called Chicken Scratch.

I don't know why, but there's something very compelling about the combination of Courier font, chickens, and scratching that might make you REALLY want to start clucking writing as soon as this site loads in your browser. (Ha, and I used to think that using fowl language was for the birds!) •

Book: Driving with the Top Down Posted June-2-2007
Telling the Stories of Your Life to Awaken Your Creative Spirit
One of the biggest secrets to "writing engaging stuff" is the inclusion of sensory information: how something looks, feels, smells, tastes, and sounds. Describing human sensory input in vivid descriptive language engages the readers' own senses, draws them in, and resonates with familiarity. ...

How to Deepen Your Life Experiences Posted June-1-2007
Tombstone, Arizona, Photo Prompts
One way we can deepen the experiences of our lives and relish in the details is by writing about them. This can be done in any number of ways no matter how skilled you think you are as a writer.