Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Using Your Imagination


When I was young dad would say 'use your imagination'.  I have always thought I don't have much of one.  However, when I see things I get totally inspired and am able to re-create ideas with little twists of my own.  But I cannot claim to have done anything original.  In fact, no one has for a long time.  We are able to take things and improve on them according to our own perceptions.


What I choose to do with ideas and what someone else chooses to do with the same idea will turn out completely different.  Our imagination is at work.  When we create something, albeit based on someone else's idea, our idea blossoms based on feedback from our family and peers.  I have a memory of an instance which would have fed my artistic leanings from the very beginning.


My brothers had to take summer school in high school, the need for credits to graduate I assume. I didn't want to be left out so I enrolled in a speed reading course and an art class. The art class stays with me to this day, some of the fundamental instruction and the free form projects we accomplished.  My drawing was juvenile at best, a page of rain drops colliding - clustered together, so that all you had on the page was a series of tears.  It was interesting at best.  But Dad looked at it with encouragement.  He told me to use my imagination.  


With that in mind I built on the idea and created a series of faces.  Still juvenile; but the difference was someone encouraged me, saw that I had the potential to create something just a bit unique.

So much from Dad stays with me as a reminder to encourage those around us. His encouragement fed my desire for approval.  I will forever be grateful for his perception of what I could do. What we create may not come from an original idea, but our creativity will make the ending results unique.  Thank you, Dad.

3 comments:

  1. "If your going to do something, do it to the best of your ability." I think of this phrase a lot and grandpa was a person who I saw was that phrase. It's so good to have someone to encourage us in that way. I approve of you ... and your art... When I think of artistic, I think of my Momma! Anything artistic in me, I would not have if it werent for you. :)

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  2. The same here Darcie. Your Mom was the one to sit down in front of me and teach me to crochet. She is the one who used to do macrame and I longed to do the same. Potters wheel.... yep, she could create with that too. Paint? Had THAT down. When I think of a creative person, Collie pops into my mind. Dad was great with his encouragement and wisdom. But he mostly taught me that if I was driving, I was at the front of the line even if there were cars in front of me. I was one lap up on the other drivers. He had me convinced that the rest of the world shut down when we left. He taught me never to go down "Dead End" roads because they were scary. The were dead after all. And trees with no leaves were "dead tree bones." He also had me convinced that dead tree bones and dead ends were the only thing he was afraid of. So.... all that to say, in his goofy way.... he taught me to be creative in the way I think and in my humor as well. :)

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