My spirit animal

Have I told you how much I love fall? I suspect that’s why my favorite holiday is Halloween. I have a tendency to slow down in the fall. I also feel the need to create something more this time of year than any other. I’m not sure why, but I’m grateful that the cooler weather wakes up the right side of my brain.

I firmly believe that my ‘spirit animal’ is a Raven. I, like the inky black bird, share the same folkloric love for shiny objects and a little mischief. My love of shiny objects also extends to include beautiful fabrics, colorful yarns, and whimsical pieces that can result when these materials come together – in just the right way. “Red” is my biggest fan and supporter of my creativity – but also refers to our home as my ‘art supply storage unit’. Okay, okay, at times it does resemble the inside of a craft supply store, but with all those wonderful things to make who has time to clean-up?

I find that I can’t help myself. At times I fall down the rabbit hole that is also known as Pinterest and see things that I just have to try. Isn’t that point to life? In order to keep from getting stale or bored, you need to try new things! I’ve tried many different “artsy” endeavors over the years. Some I’m fairly good at and others – well, I figure that I can always keep trying and maybe one day I’ll succeed.

Some people feel that they don’t have an ounce of creative talent. I hear friends make this statement all the time. I like to remind them, “it’s not that you’re lacking talent, it’s that you haven’t found YOUR specific talent yet.”

My mom was a wonderful artist and I recall asking her to draw flowers for me so that I could color them. I still think fondly about one of my favorite Christmas gifts as a child, Crayola-Crayons. Coloring with them was fine, but I recall vividly when my mom showed me that I could also make ‘stained glass’ with them. Neither wax paper or mom’s iron were safe in our house afterward. I also recall using permanent markers to ‘color in’ the flowers on the sofa in our family room. Thankfully, I had forgiving parents because sometimes you just can’t control when the creative bug bites you.

-M.M.