Art of Play

(Ep33) RECAP Creative Series

Episode Summary

To summarize our creative series, here is a quick 18 minute episode, and some quick tips at the end. Don't wait! Play today!

Episode Notes

Here are the contributors 

@jennaevanswelch

@jkirkrichards

@tiffanyrosenhan @girlfromnowherebook

@farmhousevernacular

@missessies_est2003

Episode Transcription

Today is Friday, and it is the first Friday in Fall. I know that fall gets a bad rap, but I tell you what, I think it’s turning into a beautiful time. This episode is acting as our recap end of the creative series. We have had five amazing creatives, from different walks of life, different career choices, and different backgrounds on and they were amazing to have on the show.  These people are people I know in person, I know online, or I just met! 


 

I want to give you a takeaway from each individual that I hope you can take with you. Then I would like to just give you a little peek into how creativity is good for ALL of us adults. Especially now. And then I want to give you a way to play. This is a new little segment I will be adding to every episode. I am going to call it: A way to play today, and then give you a reason why it’s so good for you. I find that a little goes a long way when I get chatty about play. 


 

Alright, our first guest was Jenna Evans Welch. She is an honest to goodness writer from the heart. She has been since she could hold a pencil. Jenna is a prime example of following intuitively her creative calling. She worked in all the jobs surrounding an author before becoming one herself.  I wish you would just take away from Jenna’s episode that even if you are not pursuing something that your intuition is calling for you to do, it does not mean you don’t get to follow that passion, and you also don’t have to make a career out of it to make it a valid prompt. If you have not checked out Jenna's episode, look it up, it’s episode 28. Which, if you’re into numbers Jenna’s birthday lands on the 28th. So it was serendipitous.  


 

J Kirk Richards is our artist. I think one of the first things people think of when talking about creativity is art. The physical art we can create. Kirk is a talented artist, who grew up in a creatively encouraged family. Kirk played musical instruments growing up, and was attuned to the arts, but didn’t really hear the calling until his teens. Which for a lot people would be nice to hear that early in life. Kirk then spent time in and out of formal art training, and eventually chose to firmly plant both feet in. Kirk worked on art and has also made his progression about leading people to art as well. If I could encourage you to take away one thing from Kirk it would be that giving to others in your creative endeavors does not diminish your creativity, in fact it pushes you forward. Kirk’s episode is number 29. 


 

Tiffany Rosenhan is our second author with a differing path from Jenna. Tiffany has been a very descriptive writer her entire life, but mostly used her writing abilities for other uses. She began writing as a past time during nap time, which evolved into her creating the storyline that has now become her first novel. What once was a talent she never thought about and used has now become her career path. Something she never thought she would use outside of writing papers in school, and college turned into something she can use to enrich the lives of young and old people alike! From her episode I hope you gathered that you can find joy in the time and season that you are allotted to enjoy your talent. I know that the time and season phrase is very overused, but I think that focusing on the frustrating moments does not help aid us in finding more joy, it just takes away from the present joy. Her episode is number 30. 


 

And I just want to say a quick I am proud of myself moment, because in February when I began to podcast, I figured if I could get 30 episodes in, that would be a successful run of the podcasts. SO, just a little pat on the back for myself, and I encourage you to find a pat on the back moment for yourself too! 


 

Paige Sander is our engineer guest. Paige has not one, but two fancy engineering degrees, and uses them in the collective force of good to save her old old farmhouse. Her engineer abilities coupled with her ability to think creatively, plus share in an entertaining way online allow her to use her knowledge to better the lives of people facing the same or similar challenges. Paige has a delight in daily life that is nothing if not contagious. For your takeaway from Paige, I want you to think of a time when being serious was just such a draaaag, and then I want you think about what would have happened if you just found something to be giddy about, even if it’s small. Even if you are just thinking it in your head. Find a way to get that pick-me-up in your everyday, and just a little smile goes a long way. Paige is our Episode 31. 


 

Marcus Jones is our foodie. Marcus does BBQ, and he does it well. We talked in his interview about the hardship, mistakes, oversights, and tough going that come along with finding your path to something you believe in. Sometimes it’s not straightforward. Some of us don’t know from the moment we were born that we were supposed to follow a certain path. Marcus keeps his head up to watch and learn, but that does not mean he is not working like his head is down. Marcus is soaking up the knowledge he can to do things better and more efficiently in his business than he did before. He is working, even in small increments to get better at doing what he loves and believes in. The takeaway from Marcus should be that just because you have found your path does not mean there are not new opportunities if you’re looking for them. Marcus is Episode 32. 


 

Creativity, we all know it’s a buzzword. We all know we want it. We all know we need it. But it’s one of those things we have to figure out how to turn on and off like a light switch. We don’t want to be thinking silly or frilly thoughts when we have to take care of serious adult matters. We don’t want other adults to think that we have nothing on our minds but mindless activities. We want to be taken seriously so we must act serious. The problem is, we forget how to tap into our creative streams if we leave it dormant for too long. Creativity makes us better problem solvers. Even in the little problems that can grind down our resilience to life (and right now we can all fortify our resilience a little more). Creativity is like an ice tray, one small area can flood the others if we allow it to fill us up and overflow. I really mean it. Find something you enjoy. Write it down. Schedule a time you can do it. Even if it’s 10 minutes a week, that is an hour and 10 minutes you enjoyed life. That is a quantifiably better number than looking back and thinking there was nothing enjoyable about your week. 


 

Finally, Here’s a way you can play today. Make a playlist. Better yet, make it a family activity. Everyone write down 5 things you can think of that rejuvenate you, where you lose track of time, or where you can’t wait to do it again. From those 5 things, see if you can find any overlap with people you like to hang out with (hopefully that’s your family). Make a plan to do it. I promise your downtime will be way more refreshing than scrolling more social media or routinely watching another rerun of an old show. Find a way to play, and do it TODAY.