“A mind that has been stretched will never return to its original dimension.”  ~ Albert Einstein

Creativity

Most people, I would venture to speculate, consider CREATIVITY as a desirable trait.  Arguably  though, it is also one of those intangibles that is hard to pin down with words, but you “know it when [you] see it ” just like pornography.

For me Creativity is the spice of life; the flair that draws my attention; the spark that touches my heart, my soul, my funny bone; the unique thought that sets my wheels a’ turning; the impetus that moves humanity forward in its endless journey.

Whether it takes form in the imaginative works of writers, artists, photographers, poets, musicians, dancers, actors, humorists/comedians, chefs, cartoonists, animators, architects, designers, poets, philosophers, scientists, inventors, scholars, teachers or factory workers thankfully, it is everywhere. We need just look around us.

Of course, Creativity is a subjective creature and one person’s imaginative expression can easily be interpreted by another as blight (sometimes labeled vandalism or graffiti) or poor taste (tube tops, when there’s gracious plenty tubage coming out of le top).

When my best bud lamented to me that she was NOT a creative person (meaning that she felt incapable of whipping out something she’d sell in an art gallery), I looked at her like she had lost her marbles. She, in my opinion, is one of the most exuberant and creative people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Her fashion sense is like none other. Plus, what comes flowing directly out of the woman’s mouth always makes me scratch my head and go, “Hmm, hadn’t thought of it in that particular light before.” Dining out with her can turn into a trip through Wonderland and I’m always on high alert to pickup useful pointers. This is the woman who introduced me to sushi and escargot. Clearly, to me anyway, Creativity can manifest itself in a multitude of forms.

Why, you may be asking yourself, am I trotting down this creative pathway? Because Sue at Incidentally has been so terribly kind as to nominate me for the Kreative Blogger Award. (And because I am forever cursed with the “For What Purpose Gene.”)

Given the many ways in which a person can exhibit their Creativity I decided to Focus on Fashion and Fiber Arts with the Fun Factoids about myself and with the Kreative Bloggers that follow. (Okay, the fact that the majority of my Lucy-moments contain at least a  peripheral component of wardrobe malfunction did figure into my logic.) I hope you enjoy these creative musings.

1. I have a Harry Potter scar upon my forehead. The source, thankfully, is not a sorcerer’s foiled assassination attempt, but merely an auto accident. And although most people would not consider it a fashion statement, it has long shaped the fashion of my hairstyle. I once was bound by bangs, but no more. Scars be damned, I have now freed myself of restrictive forelocks! Thank you J.K. Rowling for making facial scarring fashionable.
   
2. I was ALMOST a ‘stewardess’ for Delta in the early ‘70s. Back in the day, a stewardess’ small body mass was of utmost importance. I applied for the job, was flown to Atlanta, interviewed and weighed. For one day, my driver’s license weight was accurate and it seemed that my dreams of flying to exotic locales would come to pass. However, relocation and leaving Mot (boyfriend at the time) was not part of the dream. In hindsight, the limiting wardrobe choices should have been my first clue that stewarding was not in the cards for me.
   
3. In my 8^th grade class’ Who’s Who I was voted Best Dressed. Of course, the class only had 32 students and half of those were boys, so one probably shouldn’t read a great deal into this particular vote of fashion savoir-faire.
   
4. In my twenties I fantasized about being a carpenter. During this carpenter phase I was want to wear roomy coveralls of the long and short length varieties. Stripes and solids. It may also be noted that during this phase no children were born to my husband and me. You may draw your own conclusions here.
5. I taught myself to sew. One of my first sewing projects was a plaid reversible plunging V-neck jumper. I was ambitious and obliviously clueless (probably riding on an ego high from the Penmanship Award). If you don’t sew, let me clarify for you: (a) Plaids are difficult to match-up properly and look like crap when you don’t. This I know for a fact. (b) Reversible means you hide all the messy inner workings of a garment. Let’s just say it’s challenging and not in a good way. (c) V-necks. Eeeek, make me sweat just thinking about them. To execute a sharp, crisp, acute inside turn with fabric requires the skills of an expert seamstress. That was my first and last V-neck garment.
   
6. Never one to let abject failure deter me, at an 11^th grade dance I whipped out a little something-something from my first Vogue pattern. It was a fashion forward empire waist jumpsuit with long gaucho pants of ivory and gold lame`. Its Juliet bodice was seductive. In other words, it smooched my boobage in and up creating an unnatural fullness at the top. Also, one leg of the pants was longer than the other, so I had to pose dramatically with one leg in front of the other to avoid detection. Yet another vision of loveliness moment.
   
7. One of my earliest fashion memories was from a Christmas 55 years ago. My mom had purchase two evening gowns from the secondhand shop for my cousin and me to play dress-up. I don’t know if our ‘borrowing’ her slips and crinolines to play ‘bride and broom’ prompted this present or not, but I do know that I was crazy mad for my gown…and it was a GOWN, not an evening dress. Scrumptious, luxurious, glamorous.  Heavy emerald green satin clung to my 5-year old frame from its delicate spaghetti straps. There was ruching in the body of the gown that gave a theatrical swag effect like an Austrian drape. Each fluid rise was accentuated with a furry white and black tipped ermine tail. (Sorry, PETA, but it was a gift and secondhand!) The gown even had a train. Well, it might not have been designed with a train, but on my childish body it had a grand train. With my gown, opera-length gray gloves, Cinderella slippers and pill-box hat with the net veil I was runway ready and Yves Saint Laurent had nothing on this bon vivant!

Denver Art Museum, Yves Saint Laurent: The Retrospective

Unlike yours truly the seven or eight bloggers below have fashion chops galore. I salute their Creativity and pass along the Kreative Blogger Award (with the sincere hope that they view this as a blessing and not a curse).

Kreative Blogger Nominees:

Sun and glory – Annie is one talented and inspirational young soul. She’s a freelance wardrobe stylist in LA. Her interests are varied and she shares it all; a treat for the senses. (The gluten free coconut cake recipe makes my mouth water!)

Katherine mavridis - Katherine is an up and coming Sidney fashion designer. Watching her transformation and viewing the sources of her inspiration is a pleasure.

Country girl couture - I don’t know a lot about Country Girl except that the pencil skirt and belt that she sewed and styled look amazing, especially with the thrifted t-shirt and sweater.

I love green inspiration - Marinella is an Italian architect and interior designer who “loves fashion, dance, art and whatever is creative.” Rich, colorful, a visual festival.

Elsie Marley - Elsie is a young mom with three adorable munkins. She sews, she cooks, she writes, she travels, she’s a hoot.

Eat, sleep, denim - Jennine Jacob is a California girl in NYC who has a clever eye for all things denim. She even made denim overalls look appealing! Plus, she has another blog The Coveted with “focus on vintage and indie fashion.”

There was a toss up for spot #7. Georgeina in the mom of an adorable toddler who keeps her quite busy, but she finds time to sew and knit and blog. AND Queen Twee is a fashion design student in the UK worth watching.

Here are the rules for those nominated:

1. Copy the Kreativ Blogger Award logo and place it in your post.
2. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.
3. List 7 things about you that people might find interesting.
4. Nominate 7 other bloggers for their own Kreativ Blogger Award.
5. Leave a comment on the blogs you nominate to let them know about the award.

Here’s hoping you have a very imaginative day!