One of the MOST important things I want to do for my kids is to create opportunities for them to to use
their imagination and ingenuity to “create”. Albert Einstein once said that “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
I fully agree with his statement. I have accomplished so much in life because I actively nurtured creativity in life and in business. When I worked in marketing there was nothing that served me better….my job was to imagine a company brand, marketing materials, a PR campaign, collaterals, and then create what I saw in my mind. I still have my portfolio with all of my concepts and designs. I knew I wanted my children to feel the same empowerment that I did from being able to visualize something and then make it a reality.
Our home by design is a haven for creativity and artistry. We have paints, soy and beeswax crayons, sketching pencils and instruction books, stencils, beads, clay, play dough, beeswax, sewing supplies, costumes and face paints, henna, decoupage materials, cross stitch and knitting supplies…we are always adding to our “creation station”.
Yesterday I read a book that really resonated with me. I couldn’t put it down! It is The Creative Family - How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections by Amanda Blake Soule. It is full of advice on how to easily encourage a creative atmosphere and it has many simple projects for the whole family to do. It also gives many ideas for inspiration. I loved her ideas to use kids artwork to make thank you cards and Christmas cards, I loved her idea to use beat up vintage children’s books for art projects, and I loved her ideas for organizing everything. I will be making our own inspiration wire like she shows in the book, which is filled with beautiful color photos of her home and her family’s projects. My favorite tip was hands down the one where she suggested taking shirts with paint/marker/food stains and dying them. I hadn’t thought of that! There is also a chapter devoted to being resourceful and not wasteful. It has many planet friendly ideas.
One tip that I fully endorse it to buy quality art supplies for your kids…not the cheap stuff you get at big box stores. Yes, it does cost more but their creations are worth it. After all, we don’t like using low quality tools when we have a job to do. That is one reason I like soy crayons so much…they color smoothly and evenly unlike chunky, splotchy petroleum crayons. Quality watercolors are steadfast and won’t fade like the little Crayola sets you can buy. A good wooden handle, animal hair paint brush will last for a long time as opposed to a cheap plastic one. A good place to look for cheap but high quality materials is at yard sales and estate sales. I know I am looking for children’s desks this summer. Even if they are in bad condition I can paint them and give them a makeover.
Among the projects outlined in the book…a pencil roll, felt blocks, a pair of pants from an old T-shirt, freezer paper stenciling, embroidering your children’s art on clothes and pillows, making memory books, and making bedtime bags….plus much more.
I think it would be hard for anyone to read this book and NOT be inspired by it. I know I will be referring to my copy for a long time to come.
译文:
创意之家
我想为我的孩子做的最重要的事情之一，就是为他们创造机会，让发挥他们想象力和发明才能去创造。阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦曾经说过：“想象力远比知识要重要。因为我们现在所掌握和了解的知识是有限的。然而想象力开启了整个世界，以及我们将要掌握和了解的一切。”
我完全同意他的观点。我在生活中取得了这么多成绩是因为我积极地在生活和工作中培养创造力。我从事市场营销时，没有比这对我更有用的了。我的工作是想象出一个公司品牌、营销素材、公关策划和抵押品，然后将我脑里所想的创造出来。我仍然保留着包含我所有设计概念和设计品的文件。我想我是希望我的孩子能感受到当我能够将想象中的东西具体化然后将其变为现实时的感受。
我们设想的家是一个创造力和艺术性的港口。我们有颜料、墨水、蜡笔、素描笔和指导书、模版、珠饰、黏土、橡皮泥、蜂蜡、缝纫机、戏服和面具、染料、剪贴材料、十字绣、还有编织机……我们一直在往我们的创意站里添东西。
昨天我读了一本很能引起我共鸣的书。我不会一人独享的！这本书就是阿曼达布莱克·索尔（Amanda Blake Soule）写的《创意之家——如何激发想象力和培养家庭联系》。书里有很多关于如何轻松创造一个创意性氛围的建议和可以全家一起参与的简单活动。书里还给出了许多巧妙的点子。我喜欢她用儿童艺术插图来制作感恩卡和圣诞卡的点子。我喜欢她把翻新孩子们的旧书作为艺术活动的点子。我喜欢她做的所有一切。我要制作一根像她在书中展示的那样挂满了她家房子和家庭活动的照片的灵感线。我最喜欢的一点就是实践她建议所的在T恤上画画，添上标志和染上食用染料再烘干。我从没想到过那样做！还有一个专门讲述丰富资源和节约的章节，里面有些关于星球友好的点子。
我完全赞同的一点是为你的孩子买优质的艺术用品，而不是你在大盒子店买到的便宜货。的确，那会贵得多，但是为了他们的创造力值得这么做。毕竟我们工作时也不喜欢用劣质的工具。这也是我这么喜欢碳素笔的一个原因。它们着色流畅均匀，不像粗糙的油蜡笔。优质的水彩持久而不像小货摊上买来的little Crayola颜料那样会褪色。和便宜的塑料品相比，好的木制手柄和兽毛画刷可以用很久。可以找到便宜又优质的材料的地方是庭园拍卖会和住宅拍卖场。这个夏天我要找孩子用的书桌。即使它们旧了我还可以在上面画画，为它们改头换面。
在书中列出的活动里需要一个卷笔刀、毛毡垫、一条用旧T恤做的裤子、冰箱保鲜纸，在衣服和枕头上绣上你孩子的作品，制作纪念册，制作睡袋……还有很多呢。
我想任何读了这本书的人都定会被它所启发的。我在未来很长的时间里会提及我的效仿。