Welcome to The Creative Naiad where I explore nature, art and the thoughts that tend to tumble through my mind.
Thank you for landing here and I hope you find something in these pages that feeds your soul.
I am a creative and have been my whole life. Whether it is:
A blank canvas begging for a new inspiration.
Textiles waiting for the splash of color from flowers and other natural dye processes.
My journal sitting patiently for the next group of thoughts to tumble along on the page.
Planning gardens of flowers and vegetables, both to nourish, but in different ways.
Creating a home that wraps me up like a soft comfortable blanket when I walk in the door.
I have always had to create…..
I can hear people saying, creativity….who has time?
I understand. There were times that I painted a piece of artwork with a toddler sitting on my lap. Painting fine line work with a wiggly toddler, adds an extra element of a challenge, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
But…. I have nowhere to set up my art supplies!
I look at magazines, like Where Women Create, and think, oh to have that kind of space. But I am here to tell you, I have had everything from two rooms holding all my art supplies and tables, to a little art table set up in my upstairs tiny furnace room. My art space has changed many times over the years!
Currently, I am writing to you from my art room. It is an enclosed and insulated porch, where most of my art supplies and easel are set up.
My sewing machine is in the guest room and a stack of blank and painted canvases in another room. In the basement I have my extra art supplies.
Oh, and the garage has an area set up for dyeing fabric and to hang drying flowers and herbs from the garden.
A little peek at my art room. I will do a blog later on its transformation after it flooded. This is the after pictures. 🙂
My little table where I sit to journal, paint and blog, my grandmother’s easel, and a cupboard full of candle and soap supplies.
My grandparent’s old dresser that I painted and holds my many paints and supplies and a bookshelf I saved from the dumpster and restored.
A Hoosier and cupboard I refurbished; they hold a fair amount of my eco dyeing supplies. The old antique cupboard on the right is stocked with many wonderful wood and metal pieces waiting to be painted.
So…. what I am trying to say is that I hear and see you.
I am now an empty nester, and have room to sprawl about, and more time to create. But that was not always the case.
So here are a few ideas to tuck in some creativity in during your busy day:
- Plant your flower garden or arrange a bouquet of fresh flowers.
- Take a moment to doodle during a phone call or tuck a sketch book in a backpack to take to the park while the kids play.
- Get up before everyone else and in the quiet of the morning, journal for a few minutes while the coffee is brewing. Maybe even light a candle.
- Go on a walk through a forest and really look around you and see the textures, shadows and color. Snap a picture or two of moss on a tree, a little grove of mushrooms or a pretty delicate flower.
This is working your creative gene. No one way is the correct way! More than ever, I see so many creative people thinking out of the box and coming up with the most extraordinary ideas.
So again, Welcome! I hope to see you again soon.