As the Founder of Artella, Marney Makridakis has created a play land for artists, writers, and creative spirits. Artella’s creative Isles gently invite your inner child to come out and play.
Children are naturally creative, and one of the best ways to fill your own grown-up life with more creativity is to infuse your life with some kid-like wonder.
I am a dreamer at heart. There is nothing that gets me more excited that when I start moving towards a dream. On the same note, watching others live their dreams is addictive. It is my drug of choice. Consider me your pusher and watch all your dreams come true.
How do you convince yourself? Look around at the world and know that every physical thing around you (including the clothes on your back) was once nothing but a dream. Absolutely everything. Let that inspire you.
Have you always loved to read and wished you could write? Want to say something but have no idea where to start? Here are five surprising tips to get you thinking like a writer.
Record a conversation, then type it word for word. Audio re-play lets you hear patterns of speech and catch nuances of meaning you may not hear in the moment. Before you know it, you may have the voice of your next character in your head.
Imitation is more than the highest form of flattery. It is how we learn. Read what you love…novels, articles, poems. Then practice writing in the very same way. How? Paraphrase: Start with a paragraph. Re-write it in your own words—not great big flowery words or fierce competitive diction, just write what you think it means. Repeat. This will get you thinking like the authors you read, and get you noticing their styles and techniques.
Do you ever find yourself wandering the aisles at a craft store, looking at all those different shaped boxes and mini shelves made of wood and cardboard and wondering, what on earth would I do with that when I finished it? Here is one idea, which makes a personal and useful gift for a loved one.
It’s like a recipe box, but instead of dividers for salads, mains and desserts, you have tabs for each of the 12 months. There are index cards in the box, filed under the appropriate month and ordered by date (I put mine in the top right hand corner). For example, my birthday is December 7th, and so if you wanted to remember my birthday you would write up a card for me with a number seven on it and file it under December. You can also include gift ideas for me that I might mention during the year, or even keep track of what you have done for me in the past. You can jot down anything you’d like, because you can always start another index card for me once this one gets old or full.
Just before December comes along, you can look it up in your birthday box and count how many people you know are having birthdays that month. That means only one trip to the card shop, which saves you time. Or, perhaps you’d like to set aside a craft night for yourself and make a bunch of cards for the month. No more birthdays sneaking up on you, which is nice.
I worked in the radio industry for seven years. That’s seven years of forming some of the best working relationships I’ve ever had. I can effortlessly recall specific conversations and events with people who felt more like family members than co-workers. When I left to start a business, it was understood that we’d keep in touch. Yet, I haven’t spoken with any of them since.
The truth is that after a transition in life, we’re likely to lose contact with many of our friends. Whether a co-worker changes jobs or a friend moves out-of-state, the scenario is the same for most of us. The promise to keep in touch is whispered into the air and carried off on the breeze of good intentions.
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