Mater

I suddenly have so much going in my mind that I have a bit of a job trying to make sense of it all and allot the fragmented (sometimes seemingly demented) thoughts to appropriate files.

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I don’t mean computer files either, but ‘files’ within my overworked brain. It seems to have gone from ‘sorry, no posts to display’ (yes, I pinched that from the Blog - or is it Blogg? Why the double ‘g’?) to a rush of ideas, too numerous to attempt at once - and mostly in a bit of a muddle.

As I start writing on one subject, my pen constantly drifts off on a tangent and my writing is off in a different direction. I supposed that it's well suited to my drifting thoughts, but not to coherent writing.

Well, my thoughts have drifted on to the subject of creativity. For some reason or other, I have suddenly decided that I should take up drawing again. But why? I don’t have enough time for my writing, let alone taking up something I gave up years ago. Perhaps my sub conscience is trying to tell me something.

I have decided to start with portraits of my grandchildren, with no idea of whether I still have the ability to draw as I once did. I’ll soon find out, I suppose. I always thought that once my time is up, I’d want to die with a pencil in my hand, as creativity was always an integral part of who I was. I seem to have changed that to a pen, but I reckon I’d be happy with either.

But back to the point I was trying to make before (almost) losing my thread. I wonder if it’s thinking about using a different medium, as opposed to ‘just’ writing, that has triggered an avalanche of creative thoughts and ideas et al? It’s a possibility.

I did some work on ‘creativity within education/ in the classroom’ a few years ago, including using creativity throughout the curriculum - not only to enhance the learning experience, but to make learning accessible to those pupils/students who might otherwise fall by the wayside. I noticed, when doing workshops in primary schools, that some pupils were singled out as not suitable to take part. The reasons varied from disruptive behaviour, to lack of concentration or disinterest. I’m happy to report that I managed to persuade the staff that they should all be included, and it soon became evident that some of the best work was produced by these children, much to the teachers’ surprise. Of course, it was not just the use of creative tools that made the difference, but the fact that they were treated the same as all the other pupils and given the same opportunities rather than being excluded from the fun.

So, how to apply this to myself? Creativity comes in many forms and some of them are out of my reach. I can’t work on large designs for fabric or wallpaper anymore, or work on big paintings or textile art. That’s life. These things happen. But I can draw. Using the creative side of the brain enables the analytical side to function better - it restores balance. Creativity boosts memory and brain function. It’s high time I took my own advice.

And then my pen wandered off, to scribble away about the whys and wherefores of not having done any art and design work for so long (all scrubbed out). It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I have reacquainted myself with an old friend (my pencil) and that the pencil might just liberate the pen in some way. We’ll see. In the meantime I have to download some errant thoughts onto paper, through my pen, before I feed it back to my brain for possible future use.
Watch this space.