Would you call yourself creative?

Everyone "makes" something. Think about making a living, or making dinner, or making babies. What about making a date to do something? Or making room. Or making excuses....

In Spanish, the verb hacer means both "to make" and "to do." A similar verb exists in most Romance languages, because the notion of Doing almost intrinsically connotes Making something. The two concepts are so closely aligned that in many cultures, there is a belief that everyone is creative.

How, then, did we come to believe that creativity is limited to a minority, to the ones we ordain as Talented?

Most people will agree that children are innately creative. The prevailing wisdom is that we chase creativity out of kids when we drill in order, and form, and adherence to rules. Yet every artist or athelete or musician or writer will tell you that her work contains order and form and follows rules, even if they are expressed in a non-traditional manner.

Could it be then that our notion of creativity needs to be re-examined? Dare we believe that each of us contains, still, the ability to be creative? And that we could develop this talent, just like any other skill, if we "make" the effort?

I believe we are all creative. And since "she who writes the first draft, wins," (i.e., it's my newsletter so you get stuck with stuff that interests me), we'll be exploring this topic from several angles in the weeks to come.

On Creativity, Part II

Until the latter part of the twentieth century, we all pretty much measured intelligence by tests, by school grades, by academic or career achievements.

Since psychologist Howard Gardner introduced his theory of multiple intelligences in the 1983 book Frames of Mind, however, that new theory has largely replaced the earlier ones. Educators now assume seven measurable intelligences, with at least 25 subdivisions.

In case you were otherwise occupied in 1983, the seven accepted intelligences are:
Logical-mathematical
Verbal-linguistic
Spatial-mechanical
Musical
Bodily-kinesthetic
Interpersonal-social
Intrapersonal (self knowledge)

Thus, when we watch Olympic athletes push themselves to new records, to quadruple loops that could not be accomplished a decade ago, we are actually witnessing the growth of intelligence in bodily-kinesthetic movement.

And when we marveled at Mother Theresa's ability to gain commitment from world leaders based on nothing more than her vision and charisma, we saw evidence of her intrapersonal intelligence in action.

An equally important corrolary of this expanded definition of intelligence is: learning does not take place only in the brain.

So, it is possible to be "smart" with your fingers. Or a paintbrush. Or on the dance floor, or with clay, or with beads, or a pencil ... or a gardening trowel.

Well, why am I talking about intelligence when I said we'd be considering creativity? It seems to me that we consider someone smart or "good at" something when they follow the instructions that someone else has figured out before them. But intelligence turns into creativity when you know the rules ... and find a new way to interpret them. In any area, not just in the arts or in scholarship.

So if pesto is made with basil and pine nuts, but a cook uses alternate ingredients of cilantro and walnuts ... that is creative.

If the pattern calls for blue wool and you make it instead with gold cotton and orange mohair ... that is creative.

If the toddler just won't stop screaming and you make her run around the room 10 times to use up that energy instead of sitting quietly in her time-out corner ... that is creative.

Are you beginning to believe that you might be just a little bit creative after all?

On Creativity and Aging

Although most of us have read (and reluctantly believe) that after 25, we lose brain capacity on a daily basis, recent studies have shown that this does not have to be true.

Our neurons are capable of making increasingly complex new connections throughout our lives. And, our neuronal endowment is so great that, even if we lost a thousand brain cells every day for the rest of our lives, it would still be less than 1 percent of our total. (Source: How To Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci, Michael J. Gelb, Delacorte Press, 1998, p. 5)

In fact, current research shows that while we might take a little bit longer to retrieve the information we have stored in our brains, "the power of the aging mind in areas of interpretation, judgement, creativity, and imagination is undiminished and continues to benefit from educational stimulation." (Source: Longevity Revolution, Theodore Roszak, Beverly Hills Books, 2001, p. 273)

Think about that. Our ability to create, to make judgements, to dream new dreams, is unaltered as we age. In fact, many contend that without the overriding pressures of career and raising children, we are actually freer to recognize our creative impulses, and more able to act on them now than at any other point in our lives.

Then read the clipping which appeared this week in an online publication:
"Researchers at the Harvard Mind/Body Institute recently found out what women have known for centuries, knitting is relaxing. The process of knitting lowered heart rate and blood pressure and reduced muscle tension. Knitting classes are offered as stress therapy....New research has found this type of brain stimulation might help to prevent the development of Alzheimer's disease. The lifestyle histories of 193 Alzheimer's patients were compared with 358 people in the same age group who did not have the disease. Researchers found that people ages 40 to 60 who pursued intellectually stimulating activities like knitting, reading, crossword puzzles or playing a musical instrument had a significantly lower risk of developing the degenerative disease than those who engage in more passive activities like television watching or listening to music."

So what are you waiting for? Get out there and Make Something.

Essentials of Creating

Like most of us, I have taken a few classes on Making Stuff. I have read some books, studied (and taught) creativity, practiced techniques, and I keep searching for that elusive experience that will take some basic materials (i.e., yarns), a tool or two (hook, needles), an interesting idea, and turn them into Something Wonderful.

As I said, I keep on trying.

Because it seems to me, the only way to make something beautiful is to keep making lots of things that are just fine. But that's all. Then suddenly, when I least expect it, one of them is going to turn out to be terrific. And the more I make, the greater the odds that The One is just around the corner.

Try to imagine that Mozart simply sat down one day and wrote the perfect sonata. Or that Michaelangelo suddenly picked up a paintbrush and declared, "Now, for my first masterpiece...." Of course, they each had talent that ultimately became genius. But we would never have known that if they hadn't studied, and practiced. A lot. And turned out a bunch of truly mediocre pieces, in between the memorable ones.

It also seems to me that many of the things one has to do to produce Something Wonderful are pretty elemental.

1. Just show up.
If you don't do it: knit or write or garden or paint, you will absolutely never produce your masterpiece. Heck, you won't even produce a failure. Oh, but that is a lot safer, isn't it?

2. Have access to the materials you need.
There's not a lot of gardening in the tundra. And not a lot of knitting without yarns. So don't begrudge yourself your paints or clay or plants or computer, or whatever you need to take starter steps toward your dream. The worst thing is never to start.

3. Have a support system.
A cat is not a support system. No, you need friends (friends are better for this than spouses or relatives) who understand what you are going through. Some people benefit from other artists in their field. Others just need a good friend who'll say "Wow! I don't know how you do that!" Still other need someone asking "What are you working on? What are you going to do next?"

What none of us needs is a critic, while we are engaged in Making Something. Afterwards, criticism is optional. But during the process: no kibbitzing allowed. After all, it's your work, not their work. Right or wrong: it is You who are making this.

4. Do it again.
And again, and again, and ... don't stop. Because the seeds for our next work are always in the one we've just finished. The stitch that was hardest will inspire your next design. The character that wouldn't come to life may be the antagonist of your next story. The colors that clashed will show you how they can sing when you use them differently.

5. Listen to your work.
Assuming that you have acquired some basic technique, everything you need to know about your work is contained within your work. Truly. Be open and as objective as you can be, and ask your work what it needs. If you need to work on color, or finishing, or design, or attention to details ... your work will tell you that. You don't need a judge to evaluate you. Just be sure you get credit for all the things that are right in that piece, too.

So there you have it. A low cost, low maintenance way to improve your craft. Right now. Without taking classes, or ordering books, or miring yourself in insecurity.

'Anybody got a problem with that? (grin)

The Grandma Knitting Stigma

I rarely relinquish my soapbox to another writer. (And I couldn't resist adding my two cents as an Afterward.) But I wanted to share the concept posited by Jessica, a graduate student who teaches Fiber Arts for Artists at a Boston university. In describing her class the first week in March, Jesssica wrote:

We discussed the GRANDMA KNITTING "STIGMA" and the consensus is that our culture does not value older women. A reknowned knitting author and editor I have had the good luck to become acquainted with has told me she aspires to be a knitting grandmother, with her tea and her cozy rocking chair, and she wants to know what's wrong with that image. I concur with her. These cultural matriarchs have been fonts of nurturing support for families through thick and thin. You know that phrase, "behind every good man is a great woman?" Well, behind every good family is an AMAZING grandmother.

If we willingly give away our inner wisdom and sense of connection to our grandmother's wisdom, we can be more easily manipulated. We as women find it easier to fall into the patterns of buying youth through innumerable beauty products and magazines. It's a huge industry: the culturally-created insecurity of women facing the inexorability of time. When older women have so much experience, so many skills, so much to give; when Grandmothers have been the invisible hands doing the work underlying families for generations.

I feel blessed to have many Grandmothers, who have given me so many skills and hints. Even those who have been wounded by our culture who ignore them, having refused to listen to them for years. My LYSO has complained of the indecision of some older women, when she asks them what they want. My answer to that is, These are women of a generation who, for the most part, were NEVER asked what they want! So of course they are not going to know what color they like better, or what they feel. One grandmother customer makes incredible intarsia sweaters, designed as she knits them. But if you tell her that it is beautiful, she won't hear of it, and will tell you what a good liar you are. I am angry at the world for stripping from this woman the sense that her work is valued and beautiful.

... <sigh> Stepping off sentimental soapbox now. Today was a day of remarkable conversations around this issue of the 'image' of knitting and what it can be used for...Don't even get me started on the "feminists" at school who look down their noses at using knitting to make art! That's an oxymoron of sorts, isn't it?

Jessica in Boston

Dear Jessica,

Please forgive me for cleaning up your punctuation, but leaving your participles dangling and modifiers mismatched.

I am a grandmother, although I hope I don't share the insecurities you described so achingly above. What I do share is your outrage, your indignity at a world that disparages the customs and cultures of a former era.

It seems to me that we are expending a great deal of energy these days in being openminded toward the cultures of other nations. And that is, as Martha says, a good thing. But at the same time, are we closing our minds to the cultures of generations that preceded our own? For that is not a good thing, not a good thing at all.

I hope, too, that your concept of grandmother does not exclude women "of a certain age" who aren't lucky enough to have grandchildren. Because the wisdom we accumulate comes from lives fully lived, whether or not that includes raising children who have children.

I like your point, Jessica. The women who started life before we did have much to teach us. And we who are now ourselves the older generation hope that you will be open to learning from us, too. But here's our heady little secret: we don't need your approval or your participation in order to enjoy our knitting or gardening or painting or acting whatever brings us sanity and satisfaction. 'Cause one of the very best things (there are a few of them) about growing older is that we are finally freed from looking over our shoulder. We can wear purple; we can throw away painful shoes, and we can do things Just Because We Feel Like It.

So bring on the Grandma Knitting Stigma. We can handle it. Heck, we can lionize it. And don't mess with us: we've got two pointy sticks, no inhibitions, and we fill out the tee shirt that tells you.

Sheila in Ajijic

Gifts From the Heart Or Make-Do Giving?

Those of us who make things are True Believers. Whether we garden or knit or paint or quilt or pot or cook, we are totally sure in our heart of hearts that if we make something wonderful, with thought and care and love and intent, we will present the best gift in the universe when we give our the fruit of our efforts to someone else.

If only we could ensure that the recipient will agree.

Haven't we all experienced the disappointment when that lovingly made and carefully wrapped gift turned out to be so NOT what the celebrant wanted to receive? You labored for months over that argyle sweater. You thoughtfully chose colors that would complement, stretching the budget to include the soft, warm cashmere that will feel so good next to his skin. You knit love into each stitch and persevered when the colors got twisted and the gauge was off by an inch and you had to frog a whole sleeve. You even blocked the darn thing, after cursing while assembling and weaving in all the loose ends. But it was worth it, to give the proof of caring and personalization that says "You matter to me."

While what he wanted was a Palm Pilot, all shiny and black and state of the techno-art.

Yet still we persist, and make things for others. We can't help ourselves; the very act of creating involves sharing with other people. In the aftermath of September 11, craft guilds and knit groups and quilting groups and stitching clubs worked tirelessly to produce socks and blankets and caps and toys to say "I care about you" to victims and workers from that travesty.

In relief camps for Afghanistan (and earlier for Bosnia) the women refugees request knitting needles and yarn and instruction. They say that they feel less helpless and devalued if they can be making something for their families or for other refugees.

So while there will always be people who feel that a gift counts only if it is purchased, there will also be people who know that a present made from the heart is the best gift of all. As the Mastercard marketeers remind us, " Soft yarn to knit sweater or afghan or baby blanket or tot's cardigan, $60. Pattern for project, $5. Hours spent lovingly crafting a keepsake and remembrance of the maker, priceless."

If you plan to make even one present for Christmas this year, now is a good time to start. It ALWAYS takes longer than we expect to make something, external circumstances always arise, and we always lose interest when we are part way through a project. Plan for that, and you'll be a much happier camper come October.

Making Art Is Not For Sissies

Life is short, art long, opportunity fleeting, experience teacherous, judgement difficult.
Hippocrates (460-400 BC)

In their wonderful little book Art & Fear, David Bayles and Ted Orland make some salient observations for artists and would-be artists. The points listed here (in boldface) are theirs; only the elaborations are mine.

1. Artmaking involves skills that can be learned.
Genius doesn't just happen. Neither does being "good enough." We have to study, observe, and as the cliche goes, practice practice practice. And then practice some more.

A naif style is quite wonderful, if it is indeed a style. If it is just a lack of skill, it belongs on a refrigerator, where the mother of the perpetrator can love it. It is one thing to admire the novelty that a child can bring to an enterprise. It is another to romanticize it as better than a trained, skilled practicioner's work. Grandma Moses was no novice. It took her decades of effort to achieve the "unspoiled" look that brought her a fortune. And just supposed she hadn't lived as long as she did ....

2. Art is made by ordinary people.
That's right: folks just like you and me.

Not geniuses, not savants, not wealthier or poorer or more indigenous or more cultured or less restricted or less bound by society: just people. You, too, could make art. If you really want to. You don't have to be gifted, or special, or have artistic relatives, or unlimited time.

You just have to want to, and then work at it. You might not make great art; you might not even make good art. But you can make art.

Because you are people, too.

3. Making art and viewing art are are different at their core.
For someone looking at your completed project, what you have made is what matters.

But for you as the maker, the process is ALL that matters. Not the finished object. Because making something is about the doing. It is about learning how to make it right; about saying something (I am a technically correct knitter but I have to follow a pattern precisely as it is written); about getting better at what you do (I made this without a pattern, and hey, it actually looks like a sweater. And I'd wear it!). It is about learning from your mistakes (this purple and that orange are definitely not a fit), about experimenting (writing with no punctuation is OK for e e cummings, but maybe not for me), about improving (I made an entire meal without a can of soup or a bottle of ketsup and nobody got sick!).

So if all you want to do is finish the project you have just started ... perhaps you need to find a new skill to practice. Or at least a new project. Of course, we all reach the point where we can't wait to have "this one" behind us, mostly because we want to start The Next One.

But if you don't ever get excited about The Next One, trust me: you need a different medium for your message.

4. Artmaking has been around longer than the art establishment.
And critics can be the death of beginners, and intermediates, and all but the masters of their medium.

Art remains art, whether it's sketched on the wall of a cave, or stitched in the canvas of the tapestry. It's a way to say who you are, and what you see, and to leave your message. And who is some third party to tell you you don't have the right to do that?

Heck, even Outsider Art (l'Art Brut) has its critics and promoters and cataloguers. Isn't that oxymoronic: that art outside the establishment is evaluated by people from inside the art world?

All of which just goes to say: if you want to make art, make art. Bite the bullet; seize the moment; get out and do it.

'Cause if not now, when?

Books ...

Fifteen (15!) new books on yarn, knitting, crocheting, design, and fiber creativity arrived on my doorstep this week. I don't sell these books (I would lose money), but they are always available for you to look for inspiration, ideas, tips and tricks. Come and browse; all 15 will be on the tables for perusing this week.

HANDPAINT COUNTRY THE luscious new book this season. Focusing on hand dyed yarns and the people who create them, with patterns, tips, and some of the most magnificent color photography you will find anywhere, on any topic.

HAVE YOU ANY WOOL? While not new, this inspiring book by British author Jan Messent is off the charts in presenting creative ideas for yarns. Not your usual sweater book, this presents other ways to play with yarns: yarn wrapping, objects, wall hangings, scultures ... you'll be dazzled!

CHUNKY KNITS A Vogue publication with fun, bulky sweaters that work up quickly, and are super stylish. Great for gifts.

BEST IN CONTEMPORARY BEADING Inspirational for the use of color, design, and concept. Not much bead knitting or crochet, but one needleart deserves another. If you already bead, don't miss this book.

HOW TO CROCHET Designed by England's Pauline Turner to be a series of workshops, this book covers the waterfront with stitches, technique, and projects.

JEAN MOSS WORLD KNITS Published back in 1995, but I'm taking a Jean Moss Knit and Garden tour in May, so I had to own this one. And the garments, inspired by ethnic textiles from around the globe, are ALL on my wish list.

TWO STICKS AND A STRING Designs inspired by nature, quite a few borrowing from Native American themes. Enriching.

45 FINE AND FANCIFUL HATS Laid out by style (beret, pillbox, etc.) these are colorful, fun, and festive. Great for devotees of fair isle or charted knitting. Some are daunting; I wouldn't start a beginner with this book.

FABRIC AND HAND DYERS HANDBOOK Over 100 tempting recipes to dye and pattern fabric. With names like Persian Berry and Madder Ball, what's not to like?

FABRIC DYEING AND PRINTING Another wonderful English publication, considered one of the ultimate in how-to and why. A graduate school education in textiles, without leaving the village.

KNITTING WORKSHOP Elizabeth Zimmerman, may she rest in peace, was the mother of courage for all new knitters in the century past. This classic reminds us of her humor, her practicality, and her wonderful nurturing spirit. "Knit on, through all crises." EZ

MONKEYSUITS If this isn't the most adorable collection of kids knits, show me a better one! Simply the cutest patterns, from newborns to elementary school sizes. Dress your darling as a bumblebee, a puppy, or in coveralls with a blankie to drag along. If you don't have a wee one to knit for, you'll adopt someone else's after seeing this book.

KNITTING FOR THE HOME Let's face it, you CAN have too many sweaters (but I'll deny I said that). Or you live in Mexico, and just don't wear sweaters most of the year. What to do with those nimble fingers? Why create a pillow, an afghan, a lampshade, a bowl of fruit ....

WOOLY THOUGHTS How to knit anything, without using a pattern. The two authors are math teachers, who contend that anything worth knitting can be knit in squares, using a garter square. Cute illustrations; thoughtful concept.

THE VERY STUFF Poems on color, thread, and the habits of women. Stephen Beal takes one DMG embroidery floss color per poem, and weaves us a tale for it. To close out this week's mailing, here is his 3607, on an assertive fuschia/mauve:

I have to admit I'm suspicious of this color.
Wary, even though I've come to use it a lot.
For one thing, if my daughter were going to the prom,
I would not select this fuschia for her gown.
On the other hand, she might.

I mean, here we are, the kind of folks
who button up the house by ten,
having guaranteed
that the dog has been walked
that the cat has come in
that the African violets have been watered
that the basement lights are off.
And all the while we are doing our duty,
tucking in the little ones and saying our prayers,
3607 is out at the roadhouse,
dancing the Monkey with a man named Earl!

What do you do with a color like this?
Lock her up?
Take away her ankle bracelet?
Make her enroll in data-entry?
No, you old stuffed shirt, just let her be,
soaring on her wings of neon
to the lipstick chorus line.

More New Books To Browse!

Sally Melville Styles
Just about the best how-to book for using leftover yarns, venturing beyond a pattern, testing out your own ideas. With wonderful photos shot on location in Waterloo County, Ontario, this is a book to treasure and refer to, over and over. Best of all, its author, Sally Melville, is coming to Ajijic to give personal workshops for us in November! Definitely a book to peruse, if you don't already own it.

The Urban Knitter
Young knitters, in their 20s and 30s, are the fastest growing segment of our market right now. And Lily Chin knows how and why to appeal to them. If you know someone in this demographic segment, you owe it to yourself to see what they are knitting. Don't miss the knit shoes and knit bras!

Three in a Series:
Miao Textiles From China
Printed and Dyed Textiles From Africa
Textiles From Guatemala
What can I say that the titles don't? Only that the photography matches or excels the scholarship in these little gems. You will be in awe — and in fabric lust — for these garments. To dream for.

Kids Knitting
A colorful book for kids and those who work with them. Frankly, I think it could have been done better. But the look is appealing, even if the intent exceeds the reality.

Art To Wear
A luscious, delectible, astound-your-senses coffee table book. Julie Schafler Dale, owner of the first gallery in the US devoted to Art To Wear, assembled this magnificent book in 1986. Consequently, many of the clothes feature huge shoulders and an excess they would not display today. But the creativity of the artists who made the clothes transcends the temporary fashion blip. There are knit clothes, crocheted clothes, quilted clothes, embroidered clothes, hammered clothes, feathered clothes, iron clothes, and of course, an amazing collage of mixed media clothes. To drool for. But not to wear to the tianguis.

Nicky Epstein's Knitted Embellishments. Not a new book (Interweave Press, 1999), this was a claring omission from my library. Featuring 350 appliques, border, cords, and more, it is chock full of wonderful ideas to make an ordinary knit outstanding. With a trim called Brunhilda's Broom Border or a Gossamer Rose applique, who wouldn't feel that her garment is the most special ever?

Vintage Knits by Sarah Dallas was inspired by postwar (WW II, that is) designs at Yesterknits in Scotland, reputed to be the world's largest collection of vintage knit and crochet patterns. Each contemporary counterpart is shown with its original inspiration. It is accompanied by copy explaining, for example, that stitch structure was often used to camaflouge the reclaimed yarn knitters were forced to use. Utterly charming.

Family Circle Easy Sweaters, contains a collection of 50 knit and crochet sweaters, all at either the beginner or intermediate level. Sweaters for women, sweaters for men, sweaters for children. You're sure to find something here to spark your fancy.

Freeform: Serendipitous Design Techniques for Knitting and Crochet, is by Prudence Mapstone, queen of the freeform movement from Australia. It hits my hot spot; I'm already planning my next freeform project. (Just so you know, it's a knitting bag (!) with wooden handles I salvaged from an antiques market. I promise a photo when it's finished ... but this is a project it will take me months to make, in increments.)

Knitting For Anarchists, by Anna Zilboorg. OK, I admit it: just the title intrigued me. I'm not disappointed. Part philosophy, part reflection, and part encouragement for moving beyond The Rules, this is a great book for someone who knits not for fashion or folly, but to make a distinctive, lovely, yet practical item. See below for an example.

Celebrity Knit Sightings

Thanks to stars like Julia Roberts, Tyra Banks, Tyne Daly, Sandra Bullock, Sarah Michelle Geller, Wynona Ryder,, Megan Mullaly ... knitting is hot. Knitting is hip. Knitting is cool. Check out the two successive issues of People magazine featuring knitting and knitted objects! Knitting is not just for Wrinklies anymore.