Answering the call to creativity

CHERRIL DOTY

Spring has come to the window of my heart. In all the fatness of life

itself, the season has arrived on the scene. Along with whale spouts

and frolicking dolphins, fresh new buds and trees leafing out, spring

also brought with it glass blower John Barber’s “baby,” the Sawdust

Festival’s fifth annual Spring Into Art.

In the words of the wonderful poet and writer Mary Oliver in her

essay “Of Power and Time”: “The most regretful people on earth are

those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative

power restive and uprising, and gave it neither power nor time.”

The past two weekends have seen a group of people who answered the

call, each giving his or her own creativity power and time, at the

Spring Into Art workshops.

It is often said that creativity needs solitude. Certainly, I

recognize this need at times in myself. But this past weekend? Not

so. The essence of creativity was found in conviviality, not in

solitude. As the various classes gathered on the Sawdust Festival

grounds, despite the inclement weather, electrical failures and more,

the energy of the men and women who came together crackled with

power. Under the direction of program coordinator Mollie Bing,

creativity blossomed and grew in classes covering a broad range of

art forms.

Printmaking, painting in oils and watercolors, crocheting, glass

casting and fabricating, creating with clay, silk painting, beading

and wire-wrapping, vintage ceramic mosaics and even a class using

doll making to awaken the creative spirit were offered to inspire

people’s creativity. Students came from near and far -- San Clemente,

Chino Hills, Altadena, Sacramento and even Erie, Pa. -- to

participate.

“Workshop” somehow seems the wrong word to use in describing this

wonderful experience we offer here in our town. I encountered only

play as I walked around to the various spaces where inspired students

were blooming like the wild flowers in the canyons. The play of

creativity. The play of color and light. The play of words and

textures. In fact, all the senses came into play. Everywhere there

were gorgeous flowers arranged beautifully by Mollie. Luscious aromas

and tastes were provided by the staff of Such a Great Party, who

catered lunch each day. There were also the wonderful sounds of

laughter echoing amid the tall eucalyptus trees, the touch of sand

and silk and rough canvas, the smiles and small frowns of deep

concentration. Birds sang in the trees, gentle breezes blew the

clouds across the sky, and the surrounding hillsides were wrapped in

rich greens. All of this fed into the atmosphere of pure play.

As I watched the various groups, I was reminded of something I

read somewhere many years ago describing the artist. Though I no

longer recall the source, it was said that when creating, it is

important to feel like the child stringing beads in kindergarten --

happy, absorbed and quietly putting one bead on after another. This

is the perfect description for the experience of Spring Into Art. If

you missed this event this time around, I suggest you go to

www.sawdustartfestival.org right this minute and put your name on the

mailing list for next year. And maybe there could even be a “Fall”

Into Art for those more reluctant to leap into things.

Possibilities abound. Where else will you find weekend art classes

with breakfast and lunch, great instructors, all materials provided

and more? Check it out. Give your own creativity some power and time.

Wrote Mary Oliver: “And the speck of my heart, in my shed of flesh

and bone, began to sing out, the way sun would sing if the sun could

sing, if light had a mouth and tongue, if the sky had a throat.”

* CHERRIL DOTY is a creative life coach and artist in love with

exploring the joy-filled mysteries of life. You can reach her by

e-mail at cherril@cherrildoty.com or by calling (949) 251-3883.