Tom Neel

Creativity. That one word, so intertwined in every artist’s life. The idea that an idea to make something original with your own two hands gets floating around in your head, should never be taken for granted. It is one of the greatest freedoms we know. Few things can be as expressive, freeing, recreational and rewarding, along with frustrating, and allowing us to see inner growth. To some of you reading, your creativity may come so natural now that you hardly think about the gift it is to your life, even if art is a hobby. You may even knit or do needlepoint so much that you couldn’t imagine a life without it. Things are made, achieved, kept, given away as gifts to show others how special they are to you. That’s a language in of itself and nothing means as much to a person as something from someone that is handmade. Some of you express your creative side by forming clay, glazing it and firing it to become beautiful useful pieces of art. While others sculpt that clay or metal into three-dimensional forms that speak without words. Some of you use photography or film, some music or dance or dramatic acting to tell their story, or the story of others. Others engineer our future, where their ideas give arms and legs to those without, or take us to far away worlds and even make the tools that other artists and artisans use to make their ideas a reality. There are those who design the houses the rest of us make into homes, that which we use to surround ourselves wth other creative things. They also conceptualize and design public spaces. Buildings, such as theatres, where performances comes alive and our lives become culturally enriched with audible and visual creative magic. There inside, set designers and craftsman create the foundation of reality, where nothing more than a blacken stage exists, and costume designers creatively stitch fabric, transporting us to another time or place. We are so unique as humans. Every animal senses fear, feels joy, submission, anger, a sense of family and playfulness. All create life too and often even their homes in the way of intricate nests. But only humans create things to express our feelings, sometimes in collaboration, always in an effort to say something in another voice. That voice can be felt in the hands of the sighted and the sightless, be heard millions of times around the world, can vocally challenge both the artist and the cultural enthusiast, gift us with a sense of accomplishment, and offer what I feel is an amazing sense of true wellness. We are so unique in ourselves. We hardly as human beings give each and every one of us credit for this one simply thing. Instead, we so often collectively much more care about that which is so everyday, like the weather. Hey, I’m creative everyday and trust me, even I find the weather as a ridiculous intro into conversations with perfect strangers. “Stay warm” has become a better way of saying goodbye, then I hope your day is amazing and filled with incredible joy. That sounds corny, or does it? Tonight, when you are making dinner, take a moment and tell yourself how incredibly fortunate your are that you can decide what you want to eat and then create a meal, don’t just cook something, create something. I guarantee it will taste better. Live An Artful Life, Tom www.ThomasNeel.com

Tom Neel

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