Category Archives: Get Creative

That’s art; isn’t it?!

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It really is looking like fall on Morter Farm in the last few days!  The volunteer pumpkin vines are dying off and leaving the most amazing bounty of pumpkins we’ve had in recent years!  Notice I said, “volunteer.”  That’s because the pumpkins we planted only produced two small white “ghost” pumpkins.  The remainders pictured are the hardy gypsies that appeared to rise from the mist of the compost pile.  What a happy surprise that was! 

So, I took this as a sign.  Time to tie up corn stalks to the gateposts and scatter these pumpkin gifts around them . . . even though temperatures are still in the 80s.  Ugh!  However, with the approach of Hurricane Sally, my fingers are crossed that the 80s will turn into 70s, and the evenings be true fall material.

Also, in celebration of my official proclamation that “It’s fall now,” I got out my favorite fall book, Autumn – From the Heart of the Home by Susan Branch.  

Susan’s books are unique because they aren’t typeset in the traditional sense. Instead, every letter, every word, even the index is hand lettered.  Every page is a work of art in watercolor.  And, if that were the end of it, that alone would be amazing.  But, there’s more!  She has the most amazing recipes, holiday suggestions, poetry, quotes and stories to share.  

The layout of the pages, the artistry, the lettering combined with the prose, all make up a complete package, which is so much more than just a sum of the parts.  

Of course, that’s art, isn’t it?

For Me, Fall Begins September 1st!

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Oh, it’s happening!  I’ve made the official proclamation in my house that fall begins on September 1st this year.  Usually I wait until the temperatures are lower, fall decor is everywhere, or at least until after the first Razorback football game.  But this year?  I’m taking charge.  I need a change.  And so, I’m putting Harvest Blend essential oil in my diffuser, drawing a pumpkin on the chalkboard, and getting the show on the road.  It all started when my Country Living magazine arrived in the mail this weekend, and I became somewhat giddy at the sight of pumpkins and “Creativity” splashed across the cover.

Country Living Cover

And, like a bear coming out of hibernation, I saw the light . . . my answer.  Fall is my absolute favorite season, and since it’s almost here, why not just hurry it along a bit!  So, to get up-to-speed, let’s start our fall education, shall we?  Perfect for back-to-school I think!  How about a little game of “Did you know . . .” to get the party started!

  1. Did you know that it takes 36 apples on average to create a gallon of cider?
  2. Did you know that 90% of pumpkins grown in the US are raised within a 90-mile radius of Peoria, Illinois?
  3. Did you know that the tradition of carving pumpkins originated in Ireland? The Irish would carve jack-o-lanterns out of turnips to scare evil spirits during the Celtic holiday, Samhain, the night when spirits of the dead would walk the earth.
  4. Did you know that autumn babies, or those born between September and November, are more likely to live to 100 than those who were born in other times of the year?
  5. Did you know that each fall, the Black-capped Chickadee’s tiny hippocampus enlarges by 30%, which enables it to remember where it collected seeds in different spots in trees and on the ground?
  6. Did you know that while Americans typically use the word “fall,” the British use the word “autumn,” though both terms date from around the 16th Century?  Before these terms, the period was called “harvest.”
  7. Did you know the word “harvest” comes from the Old Norse word “haust,” which means “to gather or pluck”?  As people moved to the cities, “harvest” fell out of use and the city dwellers began to use “fall of the leaf,” which was shortened to “fall.”
  8. Did you know that while heart attacks and car accidents increase after the start of daylight savings time in the spring, that the opposite is true for the end of it in the fall?  Heart attacks and accidents decrease the Monday after daylight savings time ends.
  9. Did you know that a study in the journal Perception noted that men think women are more attractive in the cooler season?
  10. Did you know that according to superstition, catching leaves in autumn brings good luck?  Every leaf caught means a lucky month in the next year.
  11. Did you know that Americans consume about 600 million pounds of Hershey bars, lollipops, Milk Duds, Twizzlers and Clark bars as Halloween candy?
  12. AND, did you know that each autumn, monarch butterflies migrate from the US to Mexico and some parts of Southern California?  They fly at speeds ranging between 12 and 25 miles per hour.  Monarch butterflies are the only insect that migrates to a warmer climate which is 2500 miles away.

 

You’re Ready Right NOW!

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Steal Like An Artist

I was perusing the Barnes & Noble website some months back, (a dangerous activity for me for sure!) when  I came upon a selection of books for writers and creatives.  And right then and there, I plummeted  down the rabbit hole!  I can certainly lose myself for a good long time reading titles, descriptions, reviews and the “those who purchased this also purchased this” recommendations.  In the end, of course, I ordered MORE books!

Oh, I love SO much when my order comes in the mail!  It reminds me of when, as a kid, I used to get to order books from the Scholastic something or other at school.  I’d bring home the little catalog and I’d get to pick a few books.  When they arrived, I was SO excited.  Very similar to now when my Barnes & Noble order is on my porch when I get home from work!

So, one of the books I got is called Steal Like An Artist – 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon.  This little book is full of gems for the creative or wannabe creative.  On the list of the 10 Things, #2 is: Don’t wait until you know who you are to get started.  This really got my attention.  I have waited on things.  True confessions.  I have tried for years to decide who I am.  Am I a writer?  Am I an artist?  Am I a crafter?  Am I a graphic designer?  Am I a farmer?  The answer?  YES!  I’m all of those.  The revelation from this tome?  I don’t have to wait to find out who I am.  I just have to DO.

Here’s a little excerpt from this book.  Let me remind you, this doesn’t just apply to artists, writers, creative sorts.  This applies to e v e r y o n e.  Making and Doing are one in the same if you think about creating your life – however that looks.  So here’s what Austin writes:

If I’d waited to know who I was or what I was about before I started “being creative,” well, I’d still be sitting around trying to figure myself out instead of making things.  In my experience, it’s in the act of making things and doing our work that we figure out who we are.

You might be scared to start.  That’s natural.  There’s this very real thing that runs rampant in educated people.  It’s called “impostor syndrome.”  The clinical definition is a “psychological phenomenon in which people are unable to internalize their accomplishments.”  It means that you feel like a phony, like you’re just winging it, that you really don’t have any idea what you’re doing.

Guess what:  None of us do.  Ask anybody doing truly creative work, and they’ll tell you the truth:  They don’t know where the good stuff comes from.  They just show up to do their thing.  Every day.

I’m always moved by ways people find out who they are.  I like this.  A lot.

Preparing for V-Day!

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onmorterfarmI fondly remember when Valentine’s Day meant we decorated a brown lunch sack with crepe paper squares pressed over the head of a pencil and glued in clusters to form hearts or words or whatever.  We’d hang our amazing creations on the fronts of our little desks and wait for everyone in the classroom to go around and deposit their Valentines into the bags.  What fun!  So also back in my day, the Valentine’s looked like the picture above. I ordered a whole slew of these vintage gems on eBay some time ago, and they are so great to photograph all together like this!

I’ve never stopped loving receiving Valentines.  So, I’ve taken to making my own each year and sending them to my parents, the kids, grandkids and other special people in my life. This year, I’ve been really into watercolors, so that’s how I created my cards.

onmorterfarm2 Here’s a sample of one of the designs.  I did four different ones and then decorated the envelopes, too.  Because . . . who doesn’t want to see a very special envelope decorated and addressed just for them, sitting inside their mailbox?!

onmorterfarm3And then of course I bought LOVE stamps, too.  Who wants a flag stamp on their Valentine?

I have found the real joy in Valentine’s Day is showing your peeps what they mean to you by taking the time to create something special for them.  And that’s what’s been going on in my art loft at Morter Farm!  Do creative today!