Friday Five: Artsy Crafty

Suggested by Reverend Mother, who says, "[Our church is] working on the notion that everything we do can be considered a beautiful thing — a creative offering to God — whether it's gardening or scrapbooking or accounting or sorting clothes at the clothes closet or child-rearing."

1. Would you call yourself "creative"? Why or why not?
      Yes. Whether individuals on the RevGal list acknowledge it or not, they are all creative; they create entries for their blogs on a regular basis.
       Here's one way to look at it: the ancient Edenic myth has it that God created us in God's image. Since God is creative, we can't help but be creative as well. It might be even more accurate to say (a) we are co-creators with God; or (b) God continues to create through us.
      Now, we often belittle our own creative efforts. "I'm not an artist or a writer," we might say, "so I'm not really that creative."
      The psalmist extolls us to "Make a joyful noise until the Lord"; notice the emphasis is on "joyful", not "tuneful". Even the word "noise" could be instructive.
      I think the same applies to all our creative efforts — when we find joy, we find the place where we meet Divine Spirit. The quality of our creative effort is not necessarily ours to judge; not even society or history is the judge, if it comes to that.
      When we offer God our joy — however it is expressed — God is well pleased.
      All that said, on my more egotistical days, I think of myself as a sort of renaissance person: singer, poet, writer (witness the current page), photographer (see also Practicing Patience), artist.


2. Share a creative or artistic pursuit you currently do that you'd like to develop further.
      Photography.


3. Share a creative or artistic pursuit you have never done but would like to try.
         Hmmm. Seems like I've tried most things that appealed to me. Some more successfully than others.
      For example, I tried to knit early in February, and learned I don't seem to have a knitting gene. Either lack of coordination or tendency to overthink.


4. Complete this sentence: "I am in awe of people who can Dance with ease."
      Likely, another one of those Y chromosome type things.


5. Share about a person who has encouraged your creativity, who has "called you to your best self." (I'm pretty sure that's from the Gospel of Oprah).
     So many to choose from - Padre, Kathleen, Dr. Omed. Who should be on that list I haven't talked about in the past?
      Brother Dave. Last time we visited, in looking at my photographs, he said "Your camera has really expanded your creative palette." Sometimes I think of Dave as a complement to Van Gogh's Brother Theo, because Dave has supported me financially (he loaned me the money for a down-payment on my house). Happily, I have not needed to call upon Dave's financial assistance as often as Vincent did, but he has always been there.
      His support has gone beyond the financial, however. His house is a loving retreat space. His admiration and love are sincere. We had our years of sibling rivalry, but it seems to me the worst of that is behind us. If not ended altogether (which seems to me to be the case).