Play

"The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct."

Carl Jung

A high school art teacher once told me to never lose the ability to create like a child.

I'll never forget that.

Every time I sit down to make something, I always think of what that teacher said.

Now that I have my own child, it's like reliving my youth. You see everything with young eyes again.

You get lost in a museum, dream of wondrous fairytale landscapes.

You believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and even the Tooth Fairy!

Toys come to life, books carry you off to far away lands.

I really like what Henri Matisse has to say.

"Creative people are curious, flexible, persistent, and independent with a tremendous spirit of adventure and a love of play."

Never lose your love of play!

Here's what I've been playing with this week, a little paint, a piece of gessoed wood and purple horses swirling around in my brain. I just wanted to paint something out of my head, not from a photo. Something fun and colorful.

And I started a painting of my cat Pumpkin Pie called 'Played Out'. It's just a work in progress, I think I will paint many more of his toys around him. I love toys, my studio is filled with toys, children's  art and little bits and bobs of paper and what-not that inspire me.

"If you want to be creative, stay in part a child, with the creativity and invention that characterizes children before they are deformed by adult society."

Jean Piaget