Creative Beginnings from Books No Longer Read

 May is the month of Creative Beginnings, so this month's event was making a sketchbook or journal to fill with creative endeavors. As we chatted about what each person hoped to use their book for, a sentiment surfaced that is a common roadblock to creative beginnings. When a creative endeavor requires material to be used up, the hardest place to start can be with pristine new materials. Are your words or scribbles worth the expiration of each page's potential? And should such a beautiful book be tucked away for private use only, as it must not attract notice from people who may judge its contents unfairly?

What helps me around this is the thought that using creative muscles is worth the expenditure in the same way that time, money, or space used for working out physical muscles is well spent. In either case, you are working out something that will strengthen your abilities; and just as everyone has a body, everyone has creative gifts that are worth exploring even if you never show what you make to another soul!

Pulling apart old worn books for new journals is a further way to bypass the roadblock of  an unapproachably pristine journal. Additionally, for me as a writer, ripping apart a published work is a visceral rejection of the false benchmark that something is only worth writing if it will one day be worth publishing. Even if none of the words I've written survive me, they were still worth writing because writing enriches my life as I am living it.

I was amazed that everyone was willing to commit to the whole process of cutting, folding, sewing, and pasting to get a finished book out of the day. Set-up to break-down ended up being about five hours! I am considering doing this project a second time, but if so, it will be a two part event.

THE NEXT PROJECT: Macrame Plant Hangers Made from Recycled T-shirts 

WHEN: Saturday, June 17, from 11 AM - 2 PM (30 minutes for simple macrame, 2 hrs for advanced)

WHERE: Revival Boutique & Thrift Store

WHAT TO BRING: Planter (WITHOUT A PLANT) Repurposed containers will be available as needed