Severnth Heaven Creative

07/01/2022

As Darryl states in this thought, Exhaustion Coma (I'll put the link in the comments), we are mostly not even wanting to think about work or home life because the goalposts keep changing.
If you are anything like me, you need to find something to act as a circuit breaker. Some people have made major changes to their situations like the couple who lived in Melbourne. When they were allowed out of lockdown last year, they went on a road trip through Tassie and stopped in Burnie, liked it so much that they decided to stay. They have lived there ever since.
For me, my garden has been a circuit breaker. Rearranging what I had to make a bigger garden for our succulents has been an excellent project to refresh my mind and spirit. Going out each day to check on my plants as well as the vege garden has been wonderful.

We don’t need to do big things to break us out of that “exhaustion coma”. What we do need to do is to tap into the creative side of who we are to find an activity that is relevant to us that will help us to feel rejuvenated through the process. It doesn’t have to cost a lot either.
For my garden, I have edged it with some besser blocks from an old barbeque that was no longer usable as a barbeque, as well as some old fence palings we have had sitting around for many years.

What resources do you have sitting around? Wood? Material offcuts? Wool? String? Can you imagine how you can use them to create something from them? If you can see an end product but don’t know the process to get it there, Google/ Youtube is often a great resource for this. Our daughter once showed us a video on a person making an electric guitar from old colouring in pencils. You never know, but you may be able to unclutter some areas in the process.

08/11/2021

Hi All,
Please be patient with us re website and emails as we are trying to sort out a big tangle of domain names that have expired with a registrar that no longer exists, has been taken over by another company and wanting to transfer them to another company to hold.

18/10/2021

2 more days to go. Come see me at the Expo if you are able.

18/10/2021

Not too far away now!

13/09/2021

Here's the beginning of Swirling Murl, a clock made from a piece of myrtle burl. Lacquering is yet to come, but you can get a glimpse of what it will look like in the video.

26/07/2021

A term I use when promoting Severnth Heaven Creative is “emerging artist/artisan/talent”. I wonder, what comes to mind when you read or hear ”emerging talent”? Do you think that it refers to young people? Like a chicken that emerges from an egg, or a baby that emerges from its mother?
However, at any time of life we can emerge from one environment to another, e.g. emerging from a river to the bank, emerging from a dark theatre into a well lit foyer.
Are you, then, an emerging talent? Are you moving from one life environment to another? Employed to retirement, employee to business owner, single to married, spouse to parent? At any stage of your life, 1yo to 100yo, you may emerge into an artistically creative environment. A more mature person can bring a lifetime of experience into their creativity while a more youthful person can be exploring new ideas and dreams in their expression. Each individual brings much worth to their expression just by being who they are. Never think you are too young or too old to begin the creative journey. Just be yourself.

21/07/2021

When I was teaching, I tried to encourage my students to tap into their creative abilities even at a young age. After all, we are all made in the image of a creative God, therefore we are creative beings. I had a Year 2 student once tell me (repeating his parent’s words), “I don’t have a creative bone in my body”. He was referring, of course, to an art lesson we were undertaking. We went on to explore how some people are more creative in certain areas than others.
For example, some people can look at how we do different tasks through our days and see ways to make those tasks easier to accomplish. One meaning of ‘creativity’ that I found addresses this well.
"Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity is characterised by the ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena, and to generate solutions. Creativity involves two processes: thinking, then producing". Creativityatwork.com
From the Oxford Dictionary - "the use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness."
And the Cambridge Dictionary - "the ability to produce or use original and unusual ideas".
I mean, where would we be today if we didn’t have the machines we use everyday – in our homes, on our roads, in our businesses?
Artists and artisans also perceive the world around them in new and different ways then find a means to express what they see. Many artists were not fully appreciated in their lifetime because their perceptions were so different from the accepted norm and yet their work has influenced many others following after them. Van Gogh is a classic example of this.
To all the “Van Goghs” out there, lift your heads high and pursue your dreams wherever you can. You never know who you may be influencing through your expression.

19/05/2021

When things go quiet or blank - Pt 2

There are times when there are so many things running around inside your mind that it becomes hard to grasp even one train of thought. There are quite a few humorous tales of older people starting out to do a task, and, being distracted or forgetful, end up doing numerous half-finished jobs, and never getting the original task completed. Well this situation can happen to just about anybody of any age when their mind becomes too full of things to be done.

If this is you, you may benefit from having to do lists which you prioritise from most important to least important. Beware the “urgent” matters. They can be the biggest distractions of the lot. Urgent ≠ important.

Write down each task that screams at you onto post it notes in the order they rear their heads. Once you have done this, you can then prioritise them. Then, when something urgent comes along, you can acknowledge it (write it down) then slot it into an appropriate place on your list. This will also help you realise if there are things that you can delegate to someone else. Can your spouse or one of your kids do some of the jobs around the house? You don’t need to do everything!

Once you have cleared all those “voices”, your head will be a lot clearer to focus on your creative activities.

17/05/2021

When things go quiet or blank

That's been me lately. Quiet & blank.

Why? Getting close to mental burnout? Rebellion? Run out of things to say? (Me? Never!)

When we come to blockages, we need to understand what that blockage actually is so we can tackle it appropriately. The solution to burnout is very different from that for rebellion.

Do you have a good friend/mentor who will speak straight with you? If not, you need to find one – one who will tell you to stop if you are heading down the wrong path or who will encourage you as you follow dream/calling to never give up. These people are essential to putting checks & balances in your life & are more objective in seeing where you are at.

Mental block or run out of things to say? Take a break. Look in a different direction for a time. You will find that your outlook will be refreshed & you can use the time to bring a bit of balance into your life. I remember when I was part of a multilevel marketing company, one of their favourite sayings was "I will sleep when I'm dead". I went to a women’s weekend away where one of the leading women in our leg of the business spoke at one session. She surprised many of us by saying that sometimes the best thing to do for your business is to lay down on a couch with a coffee and magazine for a time.

We all need circuit breakers from time to time. (More to come another time.)

03/03/2021

03/03/2021

For a short time only, you have the opportunity of possessing one of Darryl's unique creations - beautiful and functional for your home or office. We are offering them to you at 30% off their original prices, so PM me if you are wanting any of these.

Bands of Gold Coffee Table - now $277.90
Petra Candle Clock - now $161.00
Triple Swirl Coffee Table - now $746.90
Trilogy Condiment Bowl - now $52.50
Boomerang Clock & Weather Station - now $297.50

17/02/2021

What I am about to say will seem obvious at first passing. But please stop to consider what it actually means for you.

To be seen, you need to step into the light!

For some, this is what they are constantly seeking - where's the light? I want/need to be seen.
For others, it may actually be confronting to be in the light.
Being in the light means being exposed, no where to hide. Many people don't like getting their photos taken because it shows up wrinkles or spots. When you are in the light, your behaviours and reactions are there for everyone to see. It can make you vulnerable to others' reactions. Do you have the strength and courage to face any comments that come your way - negative or positive - and still retain your integrity?
If you are used to being in the background, stepping into the light can be blinding, at least to start with. You can't see who or what is around you or where you need to take your next step. That in itself is quite daunting.
If you are a creative person, you may not want yourself to be seen, just what you have created. People respond better if they feel they know you and the story behind your work. This requires a bit of time with the light on you. You don't need to publish your memoirs to achieve this, but revealing a small facet relevant to why you created what you did goes a long way.
Don't be afraid of the light. Be aware of what you need to do or show, then manage how you will achieve this and embrace the process.

Step into the light!!