my collage

This is my collage from the collage exercise we did in class. I really enjoyed this exercise because we didn't have to create a collage based on anything in particular; we were just free to make whatever we wanted.    I especially like the gold that Dr. Specht added at the end, right before he pressed it together.  I enjoyed making it so much that I'd like to find art stores that sell supplies so that I could make more.  In fact, I'd like to take a class in collage art at some point.

 I haven't gotten around to framing this yet, but I will be very soon. 

drawing

I'm posting the drawing that I did when we had the exercise that Dr. Specht talked us through.  This drawing is what I saw the elderly woman-my late grandmother-put in my hand.

So, I imagined her to give me this illuminated cross because she was the one who taught me about the Catholic faith and why I have continued to be faithful to this day.  She had a difficult life but she never lost her faith, even as she was terminally ill with cancer.

I'm the first to admit that I'm not an artist-I'm an admirer of artists.  However, I really think that art is subjective, anyone has the potential to create art.  Some people may look at this drawing and think it's awful, some may think it's ok for someone who isn't an artist, and there may even be a few people who look at this and think it's decent artwork. 

creativity in gratitude

Yesterday morning, I gave a present to a classmate who helped me with work throughout the semester.  I had been considering giving her a gift before the semester ended, and fortunately I knew what she liked: monkeys. She had monkey stickers, monkey key chains, etc.  So, I found this ceramic monkey bank and knew that she'd like it. And, sure enough, she did.  She kept thanking me over and over.

I would say that gift-giving in general requires some creativity.  I would also say that I have picked up the ability to notice what people like, and therefore I am able to pick out gifts that suit people's tastes. My mom and grandma taught me that ability:  they knew exactly who in our family liked what.  We had one relative who decorated her whole house with watermelons, another one who loved cows, another one who loved cats...

I would say that I took creativity and gift-giving a step further after I took History of Puppetry last semester.  After the semester ended, I still had a lot of puppet-making supplies left, so I used them to make puppets and give them out as Christmas gifts.  I would say that crafts are always good for gifts because they're enjoyable, relaxing, and affordable to put together and give out.

Ad for show

This was a promo that was made for a show that Paula (the woman in the bottom picture) and I were in a few years back.  She was a musician and I was a poet.  We performed at Virgo Bat and Leo Phrog's on Genesee Street.  I posted this because it's an example of what people can do with their creativity when they work together.  Not just in the show, but in this ad.  My photo was taken by a friend who was a photography student. I took Paula's photo and the picture of the flower. My brother made the candle with the date on it and he put the whole thing together using Photoshop.  We were all pleased with the result. 

creativity in public speaking

About a week ago, I purchased an audio lecture called "Praying The Rosary Like Never Before."  The lecturer is Dr. Edward Sri, who is a Catholic speaker who is also a Theology professor.  He began his lecture by discussing how people cannot tell what nationality he is by his name or even by his appearance.  He then told an anecdote about a Benedictine priest who could tell anyone's nationality by looking at them.  However, he was also stumped by Dr. Sri's nationality at first.  He examined his profile, and determined that he was Italian (Dr. Sri is half Italian) and he determined his Thai heritage by looking at his incisors (teeth). And, lo and behold, Dr. Sri is also half Thai.
I enjoyed this introduction because, first of all, I enjoy hearing anecdotes at lectures because they make the atmosphere less formal and they help both the speaker and audience relax and enjoy the lecture.  Secondly, I have had the similar problem as Dr. Sri.  People look at me and they can't tell my nationality.  I'm actually half Italian on my mother's side and I'm half Jewish on my father's side.  Some people recognize "Lowenkopf" as a German name, in fact some people even know that it's German for "Lion's Head."  However, people see me and they think I'm either Native American (because of my hair and the shape of my eyes), or that I have some Hispanic or Asian blood.  Anyway, I found Dr. Sri's anecdote to be interesting and relatable.

So, the real reason that I purchased this lecture is because I wanted to learn more about the meaning of the rosary.  I say it from time to time, but, like many others, I get distracted or lose my place often.  Dr. Sri addressed this issue in his lecture, and he said that many people get discouraged or worry that messing up the rosary may somehow anger God.

Dr. Sri related the difficulty of the rosary prayer by talking about his daughter when she was two years old.  She started drawing pictures and she would give him these pictures when he'd come home from work. He'd ask her, "What is it a picture of?"  And she'd reply, "That's you, daddy!"  Dr. Sri said that the picture was just a bunch of scribbles and therefore, he couldn't recognize that it was actually a drawing of him.  However, he was moved by his daughter's heart; she had been thinking of him and she showed it to him by drawing him a picture.  It didn't matter how good or bad the art was, it was the thought that counted.  He then explained that God does not get angry with us for messing up the rosary, as long as our intentions of praying it are sincere.  Dr. Sri continued that God sees us all as works in progress, so there's nothing wrong with making mistakes as we pray, as long as we have a sincere desire to improve with time.

I considered this lecture to be very creative because of how Dr. Sri connected with his audience in a personal way.  He isn't just relaying information about the Catholic faith like a person would read off of a clipboard.  As a result, I became more interested in Dr. Sri's teachings.

I have been searching for poems that I'd written a long time ago, and I wanted to share some of them with you.  My reason for sharing them is, if anything, this blog has given me a chance to express my own creativity and to give my opinions on different facets of creativity.  Hopefully, all of you have benefited from your own blogs in a similar way.

I created these short poems online when I would log in to poetry.com.  The site used to have a contest called Poetry in Motion, which gave you letters, words, and phrases and you'd create the poem from them.  It was a lot of fun to do, but unfortunately I never won.

The following poems are all untitled:

Their mothers' families fading like
Time's silky sensations--all embrace
within iron wombs


The moonlight sight
Translucent shadows in the night
Magic Star shimmers so bright


The images of angels light
Raining on our souls
Transparent shadows absorb visions
Of  eternal dreams


Dawn's horizon
brushed away sleep
softly I contemplate
the dreams that claimed my thoughts


Splendorous dreams
Shadow her sleep
And brighten her earthly world

Frolicking in innumerable flowered leafy desire
Brushed with summered sunflowers
An isle of self-exiled warmth


September winds blow up the hillside
Young crowds seek desire
I respond to his tantalizing eyes
With every September wave