I may lack a creative-fruit tree, but I've got the next best thing: dirty dishes. Some of my best ideas come to me while I'm standing at the kitchen sink. (Doesn't she have a dishwasher? you wonder. Yes, I have two: the older model, or myself, which has been on KP duty for decades; and the equally-aged but less-used model Mr. M, who just started doing dishes last year, bless him.)
Perhaps it's the rather mindless nature of the job that sets my thoughts free to roam while my hands do the work. Or perhaps via some strange osmotic process the soap travels to my brain and there produces bubbles of whimsy. I compose the most sparkling prose in my head whilst washing and wiping dishes. But wet hands make for awkward writing, and I rarely stop to jot these jewels down. (Who knows what gems the blogging world has lost through dedication to culinary cleanliness? And is "jotting down jewels" a mixed metaphor? I rather fear it may be.)
Housework in general has a similar creative effect on me, as does anything repetitive and requiring little concentration. (If housework be the food of prose, sweep on....) And what housework is to prose, time outdoors is to poetry. The more I ride and walk and sit outside, the more I'm inspired to write verse. It really does seem to come down to a rather simple equation: no fresh air = no fresh words. (And yet, despite these powerful incentives, I remain strangely resistant to the idea of regular exercise and weekly dusting. The mind is a funny thing.)
What gets your creative juices flowing?
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A creative fruit tree ... if only!
ReplyDeleteMy best ideas always come to me in the shower, so I have similar problems with wet hands, and not even a pocket for pen and paper!
Oh, yes, a Creative Fruit Tree!! Now, that would be fun and useful! :)
ReplyDeleteDishes and showers are my thinking times, too. I don't do much creative thinking then, though...it's mostly things of the day that need attention.
Browsing blogs I enjoy and seeing projects gets me thinking creatively, though!! I love seeing what people think of and do and I often get inspired to try something like it or, if it is a pattern, try it may try myself! Recipes, too!
My creative fruit tree right now is creating Pinterest boards at Pinterest.com. I love looking at other people's boards and creating my own for creative reference.
ReplyDeleteWhat also helps me is just taking a break from crafting and creating and allowing myself to not create for the sake of creating. Sounds like counter logic. Maybe it is, but I am enjoying not documenting everything I do.
I'm with you. Fresh air inspires. Quaking aspen leaves inspire. Pond reflections inspire. And hugs from the one I love most... :)
ReplyDeleteHi Sue, thanks for leaving me a comment!! I popped across the pond to find you and am glad I did!!! This blog hopping is getting contagious . . .x
ReplyDeleteMy fruit trees are the blogs I visit, epecially yours. Some idea always seems to come of it...but ironing - now that's when the flood of ideas come! I'm with Lolly too - sometimes just taking a break or doing nothing at all. :-)
ReplyDeleteI think it's the repetitive nature of washing up that does the trick (also the fact of being trapped in rubber gloves)...I often start to have good ideas whilst washing up & then the door bell goes, the phone rings or something & I'm instantly distracted.
ReplyDeleteWaiting to get to sleep is usually my best thinking time. I've started to keep a notepad by the bed just in case inspiration strikes...
Thank you so much for joining in our Making Winter Project- although from your photos it does look as if you're a real expert when it comes to proper winter weather!
I'm so please I've found your blog, you can almost persuade me that doing the dishes is a good thing! I pluck my creative fruits whilst walking the dog mostly, although like Mrs TH they do come floating past as I drift off to sleep.
ReplyDeletePenny x