What Feeds My Soul/Spirit

As I write this I have the back door open to keep an eye on my boy who is digging in the dirt while the next door neighbors play basketball.  It is a beautiful, sunny day with temperatures in the mid 60s.  If only it would stay this way.

Awhile back I sat in church and in my little journal wrote a list of all the things that feed my soul.  I keep this journal with me almost all the time to jot down everything from a to do list to quotes to words that strike me in some way.

Last week I set aside some time while in my office at work to take my feeds-my-soul-list and find miniatures and place them in my sand tray.  (Incidentally, this sand tray was a gift from a former student who had remembered that many semesters before I had mentioned in a play therapy class how much I was coveting Eliana Gil's sandtray in her family play therapy video.  So very grateful for this gift.)  The ironic thing about this activity is I had just come from teaching about socioemotional development in infants.  It was another beautiful day but the air conditioning wasn't working right in the classroom.  I was nauseous.  Perhaps I should have just gone home, but I was determined to do this tray.

What Feeds My Soul/Spirit

All things creative:

music, drama, books, visual art

young children for so very many reasons

being in nature:

the trees, flowers, and water

sitting by a roaring fire,

looking up at the sky,

walking along a bridge,

listening to a water fountain

the beach:

the sun, the sand, the waves

finding shells

making sand castles

the grace, the freedom, the nurturing of birds and butterflies

fresh, local, organic food

sipping tea with a friend while having a heart-to-heart talk

I need to find a little table for those tea cups

sitting.

be still.

meditating.

my meditative like figure just seemed too big
so Gumby came to the rescue

The other two items in the tray were a bottlecap that said "play" and a knobby, colorful ball.

What do these things all have in common?

Taking the time to be quiet

to listen

to reflect

to be grateful

to remember what is really important.

To know we are all connected.

Namaste!

What I Believe with a Capital B

taken with my iPhone

Play, creativity, and self-expression in all its forms:

poetry, prose, storytelling, visual arts, drama, music, photography, dance, humor, and physical touch are the antidote to all the ills of the world.

Why?
They make us feel alive.  We are valuable.
They remind us there is beauty and goodness in this life.

It takes courage to play, be creative, and express oneself as an adult. 
We might be criticized.
We might be rejected.

But it's still very important indeed.

my daughter's doodle

Picture the Holidays -- Days 6 and 7

Theme for Day 6 was Every Little Thing.

On a table in my office at work are these two Hallmark ornaments.  They are miniature versions of the classic Fisher-Price toys that I remember playing with as a child.  The clock has a knob on the back that can actually turn so one can hear the familiar tune.  The school has a tiny bell at the top that one can ring.  Cute little reminders of play.

Theme for Day 7 was Express Yourself. 

Many who are doing Picture the Holidays right along with me have chosen to do a self-portrait for this prompt, but I just wasn't feeling up to it.  So I got the idea for this photo yesterday when this sweet book of poetry arrived in the mail.  The poems were written by Tara Sophia Mohr.  (You may recall that I joined in her Girl Effect blogging campaign last October with these two posts.)

Also, in the photo above is this original painting seen here by Danielle Daniel, of Her Painted Word.  She is called Hazel--she write one poem a day.  For now she sits right by my bedside as a reminder to not forget to express myself through writing.

(All photos taken with my iPhone and uploaded to Instagram.)

This is Fun!

I just saw this posted on twitter by Jennifer Lee, author of The Right Brain Business Plan.

Go to http://www.drawastickman.com/.

Be prepared to have a little fun.  Just use your mouse to draw what it tells you and watch what happens!

A List of Children's Books with the Theme of Creativity

The following is a list of some of my favorite children's picture books that involve the topic of creativity.  I love, love, love them!  I shall be reading and rereading them until I am an old lady who will listen to my great-grandchildren read them to me.


The Dot and Ish by Peter Reynolds

Art by Patrick McDonnell

Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg

Willow by Denise Brennan-Nelson

and the classics:

The Art Lesson by Tomie dePaola

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson

Incidentally, I'm not the only adult who is fond of children's books.  Gretchen Rubin, the author of The Happiness Project and blog by the same name, also is a lover of "kidlit" as she calls it.  Here's a post with her suggested list.

If I've had a bad day, I can pull out just about any of the many, many children's picture books in my household, some as recent as my own kids' childhood and others as far back as mine, and read and smile.  And feel all warm and cozy inside, or as Gretchen would say, "happy."

Do you have a favorite children's book that makes you all happy inside?

Play Therapy Helps When Life Wreaks Havoc

Miles with his beloved Honda Civic, Sept. 2010

2 happy kids on the day we got our new car
Sept. 25, 2010

I have missed you blog.

One reason I've been away is a car wreck last Monday.  No one hurt.  I wasn't even in the car.  Long story involving a hill, another car, and a ditch.  But my son's beloved Honda Civic is all bunched up, so to speak.  And it's probably gonna be awhile until it's fixed.  If it's worth fixing at all.

After it happened, I picked up Miles from school and told him the story.  (He wasn't present when the accident occurred.)  He seemed a little sad.  When we got home he immediately got out a bunch of his cars and crashed them over and over.   A couple of days ago he drew a picture of the car before the wreck. 

Today he's been asking each of us in the family to draw pictures and put them in this old tie box.  He referred to it as a jewelry box, illustrating the preciousness of its contents.   So I have carefully added mine and have become a part of my son's creative ritual.  I didn't teach him to do this.  I didn't tell him to do this.  It came completely on his own.  Miles, in his 6-year-old wisdom, is using his play as therapy.  Because play heals.


Earthquakes, hurricanes, events in Libya.  Births and deaths.  A cancer diagnosis.  New jobs, new bosses, new schools.  The usual transitions.  Sometimes life wreaks havoc. 

Even we adults can learn something from young children.
We too can use art and play and ritual to bring us some peace.

Last night my friend Liz wrote this post that I didn't read until now.  She shares a story of what could be called a little ritual with her daughter.  Just hearing her voice brings me some peace.

Peace to you in whatever might be wreaking havoc in your life.

A Week of Joy

As I've stated in an earlier post, it's been a rough summer.  Things aren't really better, nor are they worse.  Okay, maybe they're a little bit better.  But I'm tired.  Of all of it.  So for this week I'm going to attempt to do something and focus on JOY.  And I just thought of this right now, this very moment.

I recently bought another necklace from my friend Liz when she was running a special in her etsy shop.  She included one of her soul mantra necklaces with my order.  When we returned home from vacation last week I was thrilled to see the package had arrived.  As I tore it open, I thought to myself, "the soul mantra necklace is gonna say JOY on it."  Yep!  Liz knew what I need to focus on, even if I didn't know it myself.  She's such a wise soul.

Looking back on the day I can think of two things I did that brought me JOY.

1) Miles and I filled up the blow-up pool with water.  Despite the warm air, the water was cold.  But he and I sat and talked.  And then we did yoga poses in the water.  And danced together.  And were silly.  Even though we don't have a fenced in backyard and all the neighbors could see if they wanted to.

2)  I painted a background painting for the How to Paint an Owl ecourse I'm taking.  Yes, it's led by a woman named Juliette Crane and no, I don't think we're related.  I didn't paint like I usually do.  Instead I painted with my fingers.  Just like a child.  Mixing hue of pink.  And then the fun, fun of spray paint.  When I think of JOY, I think of the color pink.

JOY in the simple moments. 
JOY in art and creativity.
JOY in play.

Will you join me this week?

BE TRUE - Full moon dreamboard

It’s been a rough summer for me personally for reasons I can’t go into right here.  (Not a great way to start a blog post, I know.)   As the cliché goes, experiencing a difficult time forces you to discover what’s really important to you.   I’ve been thinking A LOT about this.  A simple mantra keeps flowing through my mind lately: CREATE WHAT YOU NEED.  (I first heard this either from Jen Lemen or Andrea  Scher as part of a Mondo Beyondo class.)

Meanwhile I’ve been wanting to participate in Jamie Ridler’s Full Moon Dreamboard.  I’ve done dreamboards and vision boards before, but not at such a trying time.  Dreamboards are an easy way to concretely display what I want to create, what I need.

This month’s full moon is called the Buck Moon.  Sounded strange until I looked up its meaning.  “July is normally the month when the new antlers of buck deer push out of their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur. It was also often called the Full Thunder Moon, for the reason that thunderstorms are most frequent during this time” (Farmers’ Almanac).

Yeah, you could say I’ve experienced some storms.  And yes, I’m ready for something new in my life.

Jamie asked, “what do you want to step into and create this month?”  I sat down to work or would it be play?  This time it did feel a bit like work.  I struggled at times.  In the past when I’ve done this activity I’ve been drawn to images.  Not this time.  Words and more words.  But then I was wanting images.  And I just couldn’t quite find the right ones.

To me it all boils down to BE TRUE.  Being true to myself.  Before I made the dreamboard I was surfing the net and saw the famous Shakespearean line, To Thine Own Self Be True.  Somehow this all fits together for me.

To thine own self be true.

Create what you need.

Beyond the storms are rainbows.

Promises of new beginnings.

Be true.

Blue

Over at Creative Every Day, the theme for July is blue.
I decoupaged the paper mache heart you see above and below with scrapbook papers.  I can't remember if I've ever done this before.  Perhaps as I child.  An easy and not very time consuming project.

I sat outside on the fourth of July and wrote these words.

Blue

I am blue. 

A roller-coaster of emotion.

I look up into the expanse of the sky. 

A gentle breeze against soft skin as the clouds.

Down below the water of the land, deep and churning.

Unsure of what I can’t see.

Easy and hard tears flow, cleansing my heart, soul, and mind.

Turquoise and teal.  Blue is joyful.

They swim and splash and run and play.

I smile.

Blue as the rain ruins carefully, constructed plans.

I wait.  And wait.

A couch, a soft blanket.

Journal and pen, a book.

A cup of comfort.

Nap. Rest from what my blue eyes have seen.

A cracked robin’s egg in my hand, remnants of a Spring beginning.

One can fly if the choice is made.

Kids, Crafts & VBS

This past week the kids and I participated in Vacation Bible School at our church. I have fond memories of attending VBS as a child in Iowa. Songs. Games. Snacks. Stories. Crafts. Adults of all ages assisting making this an intergenerational event. Summer just doesn’t seem the same without VBS.

This year I chose to help in the craft room.  Okay, not only did I help, but I also made crafts myself.   And I learned how satisfying it can be to wield a hammer.

We made birdhouses

before

after

flowerpots

bracelets

visors

and offering boxes.

 

Two things I love—children and art.  That makes me happy.

Home



Home
made my me
on the last day of my sister's visit

Home is...

a welcoming porch,

a feast for guests,

a source of calm for my tired feet.

Home is the place where I naturally feel safe

Gathering so much light I need sunglasses at my disposal.

A process for hiding from the outside world.

Home is where I feel strong.

The symbol of all that I value.

(A poem note written from a word list compiled by myself, daughter, son, and an "old" friend.)

Home is these three.

THE 100th Post (devoted to a special artist in my life)

Cori's palette from the play therapy conference

It's only fitting that I devote my 100th blogpost to my sister--someone who has been a big influence on my playful, creative life.  She is one of the most creative and talented people I know.  Here's her bio:

Cori Berg is the founder of Sacred Arts Studio and specializes in art for hope and healing. After receiving her Master's Degree in Art and Theology and continuing her studies at the Graduate Theological Union of University of California at Berkeley, she turned to the field of education where she worked as an early childhood teacher, elementary art teacher and early childhood director. Cori now works with organizations in the Dallas, TX area, providing live interactive art experiences for children and adults to explore creativity and life process themes. As a painter, fiber artist, and writer, her work can be followed here.

When she came to visit me in KY in August 2009, she created this lovely piece as a gift for me.  It looks very cool in my dining room against a wall painted soft rabbit brown that looks purple in the evening.  (She very well knows that purple is my favorite color.)

I invited her to be an exhibitor at the recent play therapy conference which was especially good since the bookseller didn't come.  I'm very pleased that she had such a wonderful response to her work.  Here are photos of her display.

While Terry Kottman spoke on the first day, Cori painted.  She told me that the colors reminded her of Terry, and I agree.

Here's the finished product which she allowed me to use as a giveaway.

Here's what she said about it: life can be chaotic at times but by connecting to another person you can build webs of safety that allow you to see beauty in the world.

Somone commissioned this sweet little piece which she finished at the conference as well.

 ~~~Hope her artwork brings some joy into your life as it does in mine.~~~

Be Myself (playcrane)

The message I've been getting from so many creative sources lately is to

BE MYSELF

Gretchen Rubin, New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Project, has this mantra as her top personal commandment in a list of 12.  Sounds easy enough.  But then a tendency to compare myself to others creeps in.  I wonder why I'm not-like-that.  If only I _______, then I'd be able to _______.  I think Gretchen's right.  I am much more happy when I   BE MYSELF.  Incidentally, her May chapter is called Be Serious about Play.  Aww, it all fits.

  

I recently made the artwork above as part of Kelly Barton's Find Your My Inner Icon workshop as part of the wishBIG ecamp.  I put it off for awhile since I have such trouble with drawing and sketching.  Then I realized I should stop trying to draw like an artist and then just draw the best I can and more importantly, have fun in the process.  It WAS fun.

I coined the word "playcrane" for this blog, my twitter, and flickr pages.  It seems to fit.  Of course, Crane is my last name through marriage.  The Crane is also a symbol of longevity particulary in Asian cultures due to its long life span.  It is also associated with longevity, health, happiness, wisdom and good luck--all good things.  The white crane or origami crane is a symbol of peace.  You can read more about this in an earlier post.  I am all about peace in its many forms.

playcrane: a reminder to be myself

What reminder do you have to be the fabulous, wonderful, unique you?