3 Magical Steps for On-the-Wall Creativity

I've been talking to friends about creativity, and they are sharing fascinating tidbits about their art lives. For example, Barb, a former college classmate, paints. Her work is beautiful.

I love to paint Trompe L'Oeil murals (www.trompe-l-oeil-art.com). When my children were small I painted a lot of murals in their schools and around the county. I made a little money painting murals, shirts, ties and eggs.

I assumed she was doing it fulltime but learned about the obstacle that prevents her:

I now have carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis in my hands so it is difficult to paint large murals anymore for other people because I may be able to paint 2 hours or I may only be able to paint 15 minutes.

I feel a bit of inner reproof when I read her testimony because my excuse for not writing is that I only have 15 minutes. I mean, what can I accomplish with such a small chunk of time? To repent from that mentality, I will write this blog post in 15 minutes. Not just because Barb inspires me, but also I have beans on the stove that will burn if I don't attend to them.

And since Barb doesn't have a studio, here's where she paints:

I am only painting murals in my own house where it doesn't matter if I paint for just a few minutes, or take several months. I have considered it more of a hobby than a business, but with the economy the way it is I believe I will have to supplement my income with oil canvas paintings.

My other excuse for not writing is I don't have a fancy office. Just a family room with non-ergonomic equipment. Poor me.

I have also started a doorway on a wall in my living room which will give the illusion of being able to step through it onto a veranda overlooking the Mediterranean sea and the coastline of a village.

Don't you wish you could go to her house when she's finished? I'm going to make her send me a picture of that mural so I can post it here later.

The lessons I have learned about creativity are these:

1) Do what you can. Do not whine about what you can't do.
2) Work in small increments. Less results in more in the long run.
3) Make use of the limited resources at hand. That's probably all you need.

My time's up. Barb has given me the framework for greater productivity. How about you? How do you create in the midst of your life?