Thanksgiving, Family and the Circle of Life…

FallHarvest
Fall Harvest

Like many families, my family has a reunion during Thanksgiving week. People travel from many states to attend. Over the years we have watched our own children (my parents grandchildren) grow up–and this week we had several Greatgrandchildren, and counting! In addition to celebrating Thanksgiving, we celebrate birthdays, wedding anniversaries, and other special events…Each year it becomes more apparent how important this time has become for all of us, from the older folks down to the younger members of the clan.

With a large extended family and members living all over the US, as well as other countries, it is a time of catching up and the renewal of relationships. We get to visit with the people who share our common ancestry and history. These are the people who can tell the family stories that will be passed through the generations, forming a familial bond. It allows a glimpse of the circle of life–for example, once it was my siblings and I who were the children playing with the cousins, now the children are our grandchildren! And, that seems quite remarkable…

As the Thanksgiving week ends everyone travels back home and…

   Leaving with them are…

               memories of shared activities…

                                                                 good food…

                                                                               and reminders of our many blessings–

That there truly is a circle of life.

Creativity~ More Than One Right Answer

When I teach a design course, students are encouraged to brainstorm and draw multiple sketches of many ideas. After this, they are to select the idea that is most creative and best meets the design problem. It’s interesting to me that there are always a few who have one initial idea and want to immediately begin their project.

One Answer,(c) 2011 Joni Beach
One Answer, (c) 2011 Joni Beach

Why is idea generation important to the creative process? Because as Dewitt Jones, photojournalist, says, “There is more than one right answer…” Using divergent thinking, we think of multiple answers and solutions and then select an idea to develop through experimenting, playing,and improvising. We can evaluate as we go, making changes as needed to the design.

MoreThanOne,(c)2011JoniBeach
More Than One, (c) 2011 JoniBeach

In using creativity in problem-solving in art, as well as in life, the focus is on considering multiple possible answers and eventually selecting one vs analyzing to discover the one right answer…                                                                                                                                                         Many times it is not the initial idea that has the most creative outcome…                                                          Use creativity and discover more than one right answer.

Inspiration…Color & Life

A few days ago while looking out the kitchen window I saw not one but three   brilliantly colored bluebirds! It is not the normal time of the year for them to visit our yard, so perhaps they were immigrating south for the winter.

Bluebird In Autumn, (c) 2011 Joni Beach.
Bluebird In Autumn, (c) 2011 Joni Beach.

By the time I retrieved my camera only one bluebird was still there…guess he needed a bath before continuing his trip!

What color inspiration for a creation of art!…What life inspiration for a day of encouragement.