hostpam's Blog

  • entries
    191
  • comments
    795
  • views
    20,291

CREATIVITY


Guest

608 views

This morning I am pondering if being creative is a natural born talent or is it something that I've seen or read and regurgitated into my own style? Pre stroke I was highly creative.

Nothing was safe from my eye looking at it and seeing it as a vessel for an arrangement or a use to make my home more welcoming. I even did it with people's clothes. I'd see someone wearing a floral skirt, blouse or dress and I'd finger the material rubbing it between my thumb and forefinger and declare, "This would make really nice throw pillows!" I'm not to sure how most felt hearing their clothes would look good on my sofa, but that was me then.

Many of my friends would come back from a trip or a craft fair and tell me about things they had seen and they would all say, You could make that easy. Which was true. I should have gone into theatre design, I loved setting up displays for seasons. I wasn't adverse to hauling in hay into the house come fall for a fall display of pumpkins, scarecrows and goards and mums. My brain never stopped spitting out the creative ideas.

Until I had the stroke. Then it seemed as if the ideas all dried up and went away. I'd pull out things I had decorated with in previous years, set them all out in front of me and stare at them, trying to decide what I wanted to do with them. Nothing came, no inspiration. When I'd say to whomever was around at the time, "The stroke took away my ideas" I'd burst into tears because I really felt the loss. Post stroke, I hated decorating our house for christmas. We had three double doorways and I had made garlands one year and decorated each doorway differently. One doorway, I used to decorate in a victorian look and that garland pre stroke took me 8 hours to assemble. Forget it post stroke.

So the reason for this rambling entry is this- yesterday I went to Michael's ( a large craft supply store) and I bought all kinds of things to decorate for fall. My sister in law was with me. The ideas and inspiration was flowing rapidly. My sister in law kept saying I was making her spend too much money, but she was enthusiastic with my ideas. My brother just shook his head. My nephews kept pointing out the prices that Michael's was charging for pre made arrangements. "You can do better Aunt Pam!"

But I'm happy to report that I came home from my shopping trip at Michael's inspired and motivated and my house is decorated for fall at the beginning of August.

Pam

5 Comments


Recommended Comments

 

 

Pam

 

When I worked for a large floral shop (for ten years) in addition to do all their wedding orders I did all the window and store displays and at Christmas time I was hired out to decorate rich people's houses. Being creative is a combination of both natural talent and learned principles of design, I think. If you look at a lot of magazines I think you also absorb stuff that feeds into your general sense of knowing how to look at elements of the whole.

 

Glad your creative spirit is coming back!!!!

 

Jean

Link to comment

Hi Pam..

reading your blog has me wondering about my creativie streak .. Is it oriiginality, creativity, ideas. and thoughts that are diminished post stroke or is the confidence in yourself to express them.. which I think is the culprit in my case..I am not the most creative person in the world but I made a living in marketing and advertising, small business and most recently pre-stroke, creative arts and crafts .. i find my creative juices flowing just as before but i lack a little of the self confidence that is reqiuired to implement them... which i think is stroke related..anyway.. just a thought.. glad to hear you doing better with your ideas..

 

Tom

Link to comment

Pam:

 

it is great that your creativity is back, I was zero in creativity prestroke now tht I m post stoke, I m developing interest in arts and crafts. my vision therapist was telling me that right brain is for arts and crafts, and left is scientific oriented, since I had right side damaged, I told her woohoo nothing is lost since there wasn't much there to begin with biggrin.gif

 

hey can you share some of your home decorating styles with me, I love to decorate my house but don't know how

 

Asha

Link to comment

We would get along so well... I am called almost daily with an idea someone saw. Some of the ideas I make for them, others I just keep in mind for a future occasion. In my mind, everything can become something else.

 

Link to comment

PAM, I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM TILL RECENTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

i used to write poetry and be creative, and it dried up afterthe stroke. i didn't think i'd ever get it back!!!!!! wah wah however, RECENTLY, i have a new inspiration in my life and am writing my second poem!! it is therapeutic and fun and WOW does it feel good!!!! maybe i'll make it to short stories by the end of the year!!!!! lol

 

 

 

love ya

kim

i'm "almost" me again!!!!!!! pash.gifpash.gif

Link to comment
Guest
Add a comment...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.