“diy” it’s in our “dna”

the urge to create is something that is an innate part of being human. its one of the things i love most about people. everyone has it, everyone does it!

here in new zealand we have a saying “diy it’s in our dna”. we are known as a nation of people who love to “do it yourself”, sadly that creativity has been slowly eroded and attacked over the years. sometimes for good reasons sometimes for sad reasons. local body laws mean that you can’t just whack an extension onto your house without the proper tradespeople and inspectors to make sure you do things according to ‘spec’. while this is a safety thing sometimes they go too far and the red tape means you get a two inch thick folder of paperwork in order to do anything. but i better not digress too far here.

diy – i love that term – do it yourself! It’s the kiwi mantra or was. nowdays though so many people have lost their ability to do it themselves and experts are called in for things that used to be dads or mums domain. its not always true that the new way is the best way. but there is a quiet revolution underway and people are beginning to get back to wanting to ‘get their hands dirty’ doing stuff themselves.

crafts of all sorts are on the rise again from crochet to woodwork and families are once again going to be the richer as things that are created get passed down the the next generation. my daughter is learing to sew and has been creating for herself and her friends. my son has got his ‘shed’ where all sorts of creating happens – usually with blowtorch and screeching metal. and i am happy!

to know the next generation will get their hands dirty, their hearts satisfied and have fun as they create gives me great joy. all is well and another generation  knows the pleasure of diy!

a couple of photos of my kids creativity for you to enjoy –

dans steampunk goggles

tanya's playhouse - made for a friend

the woodcutters daughter

creativity runs rampant in our family and we usually have something on the go. at the moment it is all about christmas but that’s for another day. a while ago my son went through a stencil art phase no doubt inspired by Banksy to start with but then he deveoped his own style. he created a painting for his wife which i loved so he did me my own version on an old suitcase. its called “the woodcutters daughter”. i now have a computer case that is unlike any other and I love it.

The Woodcutters Daughter

love that creativity!

i love creativity and i love peoples different expressions of it. i stumbled upon this site using stumbleupon – a highly addictive computer site that randomly shows you websites and blogs that match your interests. i love this guys creativity and repurposing of old objects – who woulda thought floppy discs could look so good. the artists name is Nick Gentry and his website is www.nickgentry.co.uk

The tears of God

A few years ago I held an exhibition – the theme was the cross and its effects on my love. I took aspects of my life and painted them but also wrote poetry for each artwork. This piece is called “the tears of God” and tells the story of how as i child I used to sit on our doorstep and wish that I could be rescued from the hell i lived in and the abuse I suffered. I longed for someone to love me and all the time I was loved by the one who had created me. I look back now on that child and am thankful that she found the love she was looking for, love that healed and brought laughter and joy.

the tears of God

silently she sits

on the doorstep

alone in her fears

her voice silenced

her emotions

locked up inside

the prison

that is her life

thinking

that no one cares

she doesn’t see

the tears of God

as he longs for her

longs

to wipe away her tears

and dispel her fears

waiting

waiting for her

to discover he’s there

heart of hearts

he hurts as she hurts

heart of hearts

he longs to comfort

and heal

heart of hearts

shown

in the tears of God

Free the creative you!

Creativity is such a wonderful part of being a human – animals don’t have it, fish don’t have it! Nothing else that was created has the gift of creativity except humans. The sad thing is a lot of people don’t believe they are creative. I have eight sisters and brothers – everyone of them is creative in many different ways, they write, paint, sculpt, do woodturning and more. Yet there is one of them who feels she was left out of the creative gene pool. She looks at the rest of us and makes comments like “you guys are all so creative and I’m so not”. The crazy thing is she knits wonderful things (sometimes without even using a pattern) and makes amazing beadwork jewelery and artworks. But because she has to use a pattern she thinks that disqualifies her from being creative. It doesn’t!

Creativity is not about using a pattern or not using a pattern. Creativity is about making something. It’s about taking a substance and turning it into something that expresses and satisfies the creative urge within you.

You are made in the image of the Creator – you were given a part of him that is unique to humanity – the urge and ability to create. Make sure you place a high value on your creativity – after all no one else can express your creativity. Only you can do that and without your creative voice the world is a less rich.

“It is the creative potential itself in human beings that is the image of God.” – Mary Daly

“Unless we are creators, we are not fully alive” – Madeleine L’Engle

His banner over me is love

For the last few days I’ve had the old but classic Kevin Prosch song “His banner over me is love” playing over and over in my head and this morning I gave in to it and let the reality that those words portray wash over me. So I thought I’d try and portray it using word art. The concept isn’t new by a long shot but I had fun coming up with words that described the love I was feeling. SInk into Jesus’ love and soak in it. Enjoy!

Outrageous Grace

I love the outrageous grace of God that’s found in Jesus. I had so much fun designing this  as part of the advertising for our coming “Outrageous Grace – religious detox day” thats coming up next weekend.

The writing on the front of the box says this – ” Outrageous Grace – religious detox – Flush out your system – guaranteed to bring clearer thinking, sharper focus, more strength – guaranteed 100% pure blood cleansing power”.

The copy on the side of the box says ” Flush the religious toxins right out of your system with this amazing product. It is made up of 100% pure bliss. No additives – grace in its purest form. Satisfaction guaranteed!”

Life, so they say…

Years ago ‘Seals & Croft” sang these words “Life so they say is for fools and they let it slip away…”. This collaged artwork done on Photoshop was created out of the frustration of helping a young girl who had become pregnant – she wanted to keep the baby and recognised the preciousness of it’s life but both her parents and the boy’s wanted her to have an abortion because the cultural shame was so great for them. Her and her boyfriend stood strong and now they have a beautiful child who they love with all their hearts, more so because they fought for her life at that early stage of development. They are now reconciled with their parents and no doubt the parents dote on the child too although that is purely a guess – try telling me any grandparent can really stay unattached by the heart to their grandchild. So this piece is simply called “Life”. I hope it speaks to you of the preciousness of each life – born or unborn.

come sit by my creative fire

Come sit by my fire and be warmed – my creative fire that is. I love being creative and this blog is where I will post stuff that I’ve created or that inspires me – everything from quotes to jewellery, fashion, crafts, design, art and more. Today I want to leave you with a quote –

“why do we dream of being heroes when we’re a kid?

because that’s our destiny as an adult. we dreamed

of the impossible as kids because our destiny

is to live the impossible as adults.”

– Lyn Packer