Beginnings (A Reminder)

 

It was ten years ago this month that I started this blog.  I thought I would celebrate by reposting the blog post that started it all.  It was a nice reminder of how I got started. 

    I have come across two philosophers in my life who have the best advice ever for people exploring their creativity.  The first was a German poet and scientist by the name of Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe who wrote "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." (That quote gives me goosebumps.)

  The second philosopher was my nephew, Alex, at the age of five who, when I asked him how we were to make a housecleaning robot he wanted to give his father for Christmas, very blunted told me that "You just do it, Auntie Cheryl." 

    Both wise men had a point.  If there is something you want to do, you will never know whether you can do it until you begin it.  Is there some creative technique you want to try but are afraid to?  Just dive in.

    Now it is okay to start at the shallow end (sorry, it is hot outside and water metaphors seem cooling to me right now.).  Dip your toes in.  Paint a page of just one color. One color can express any emotion. Write one line to start a poem.  One line can say a lot (Alex had a lot to say with his one line and it has stuck with me for 33 years.)  Sing one note.  A continuous note can be very relaxing to the diaphragm.

 Just begin it. Don't jump from the high dive. Don't plan a gallery show yet.  Don't figure out your office at the Library of Congress for when you are considered the next Poet Laureate.  And the Grammy nominations are already made for this year.  So relax.  All you are doing is beginning.

    And beginnings are wonderful.  There is mystery in them - you aren't quite sure what will happen next.   And there is an adventure in them - traveling to a new area of your heart.   And the excitement of them - you actually did whatever it is you were wanting to begin.

 You have had beginnings all of your life.  You survived all of those  - school, college, work, marriage, family.  You can survive this one.  But you have to just begin. As Alex said, "You just do it, Auntie Cheryl."  Who can argue with that?

© 2016, 2023, 2026– Cheryl Fillion

Try Something New

Have you ever been given the opportunity to take a class or watch a demo or hear a speech and you thought, no I don’t do that craft or I’m not interested in that subject. Well, go anyway. 

 You never know when going to a talk of something you have no interest in will actually spark an interest.  I belong to a number of crafters groups.  I often see someone prepare a talk or a demo and very few people in the group show up.  “Oh I don’t do that type of craft,” I hear them say.  So?  How do you know if you will like it or not if you don’t see it?

 Maybe you won’t like it but maybe you will.  I went to a meeting once with no interest what so ever in punchneedle embroidery.  I heard how it was done and saw some finished projects and I turned to my friend and said “I want to learn that”.  And now I do punchneedle all the time.  My little 3 heart logo in the corner of the blog is done in punchneedle.   

 Even if you have no interest in something, what you learn might apply to something else you do creatively or intellectually.  I learned to make rings at a meeting of our local Fiber Artist group.  I really have no interest in making jewelry but the technique I learned for the ring I can use to make embellishments for some of my needle felted bowls.

 If the class or demo or talk is being done by someone you know, wouldn’t it be nice for them to see a friendly face in the group?  It takes a lot of time and energy to put together a demonstration for a group (especially a group where you are a member) and it is a little disheartening to just see four or five people in the audience.

 So go try something new.  You might learn about something you didn’t know you wanted to do.  Or learn about something you might not do but will now appreciate more.  Think of how smart you will look when you can discuss the intricacies of basket weaving at a dinner party. Or just go and be supportive whether the speaker is a friend or stranger. Just go anyway.

 © 2017, 2021, 2026 – Cheryl Fillion

Practice Makes Better, Not Perfect

I recently wrote about my absence from this blog.   I had developed some infections and had heart surgery so all my energy went to getting better. 

But some of the energy and time, particularly in the hospital, went to needlework. Having a needle and thread in my hand helped calm me.  It occupied my time and mind.  It helped make some of that time away from home feel normal.

But I have to admit that with the weakness in my body, my stitches were not as pretty as they had been before I got sick.  My embroidery looked like it did when I was 9 years old and just learning to stitch even though I had been stitching for decades.

I'm not one to take out my stitches and redo them when they are not smooth and since the pieces were just for me, I just left them.  I was fairly sure that redoing them would not improve them and would just stress and frustrate me, undoing the calm the stitching had brought me in the first place.

The actual stitching was helping me in other ways.  As I mentioned it calmed me while I lived, at one point 4 months, in a place that was not mine.  It kept my mind occupied as I waited for tests to be done or results to be reported.  

It brought some normalcy to my life;  I was doing what I would have at home. Even to the point of displaying them in my hospital rooms just like I would have at home. I began to notice as I looked at my hand stitched display, that my stitches were getting tighter, straighter, and smooth looking.  My skill was coming back.

I realized it was just like with my physical therapy.  The more steps I took  or the more I worked with a hand weight, the stronger I became and the better my movement was.  I slowly became more confident in my stitching and my stepping.  

So if you find yourself in a situation where your skill has weakened from illness or injury, don't give up.  Keep stitching.  Keep painting, sculpting, making pots, doing wood work, even cooking or baking.  Keep up with your creating.  It may not be your prettiest work but it will get better and it is helping you heal inside as well.  

© 2026. Cheryl E Fillion