It’s exciting to see the creative community on this site continue to grow.
The citizenry includes vibrant designers, inspiring pastors, financial coaches, imaginative writers, creative moms, blogging gurus, prolific producers, gifted graphic artists, and many more that we don’t know anything about.
But that’s about to change.
We want to know a little more about you. About your work. About your projects.
What projects are you working on?
Brag it so we can see what you do. Don’t be modest. And don’t listen to that bastard voice that says “but I’m boring.” You’re not. We want to know.
I’ll start: casting a commercial I wrote for my company, filming day two of a drug store video/print ad campaign for a national drug store, writing an e-book (self-imposed deadline July 15, 2012), and laughing more each day.
Why do you do what you do?
All those projects, writings, performances, designs, books… why do you do it?
Leave a comment below. Don’t be afraid to show some swag.
with swaggle… lol… ok, here goes…
I’m a geeky geologist who is gonna be an author VERY SOON. My story is strange… for sure… but so was King David’s right?
“I’m going to get older one day when I grow up” – CV
branded… but not tattoo’d – http://chrisvonada.info
We can’t wait for the book to come out. How exciting!
::still in my pajamas:::
Although I think I might fall somewhere between the creative moms and the imaginative writers in the list above, I’m really a storyteller who moonlights as a mom of four and a garden centre owner/worker here in northern Ontario.
Projects: I write once a month on a group blog for Breakfast Reading on Soulation; my posts are mostly stories of sorts. Weekly, I tell stories on Thursday nights to groups of children at our church–long, dangerous, thrilling, life-changing stories either from the Bible itself or a missionary’s life. And those kids sit there, their mouths hanging open, completely sucked into the world of the story, for about 30 minutes. Nightly, I tell our own kids Bible stories at the end of the day. And I get to perform some sonnets this month at a coffee house gathering for women, in honor of Valentine’s Day. THAT’S pretty thrilling.
WhydowhatIdo…story, story, story. It’s the rock that is higher (thanks, Madeleine L’Engle).
…going to get dressed now….
Folks, I can attest to this. I once heard about a time when Susan told a story, and her aesthetic distance was so good that children looked behind themselves to see what Susan was looking at often the distance.
Love it.
LOL…bless you, Andrew. Bless you for REMEMBERING. 🙂
Right now I’m working on a video celebrating the 2nd birthday of the church where I serve. And I do what I do because I have a passion to see God celebrated in creative ways & see people connect with him through creative & original pieces of art & sensory experiences.
That is a fantastic purpose! I wonder if you’d mind posting the video. Do you do that sort of thing?
I have a performing arts facilitation business that produces events, podcasts, audio productions, and helps others do the same. Currently we have a new experimental theater project in the planning stages, an artist retreat right around the corner, and a constant stream of podcasts featuring inspiring interviews with musicians, performers, writers, etc. being released.
I do all of this because it’s what lights me up! Creating platforms for creatives to create and audiences to consume is the fire in my belly.
Fire fire fire fire fire fire fire!
You alway provide kindling for artists Jason. Thanks for paving a way for us.
Thanks man. I was burning up last night! Couldnt fall asleep after that conversation.
I write to encourage and inspire those of us battling to get out of, and stay out of debt. Working Dave Ramey’s Total Money Makeover plan, “Baby Step 2” is taking us into year 5. The average family takes 2 years. We’ve had as Dave Ramsey told me, “an unusual number of setbacks” during that time.
But he also said that we’re on “mile 12 of a half marathon” and that we’re in the homestretch. I’m working on always finding my mojo and staying strong, and help others do the same in their journey to financial freedom.
I’m releasing a ebook within the next couple of months, plus blogging, being a father of 2, and my day job as a supervisor in a busy CT department keeps me busy.
I do all of this to inspire others…my family, my friends, my readers, my coworkers, and the many other strangers I hope to reach through my passion of writing.
Your work is powerful Scott. I’m sure there are hundreds, even thousands, who may be touched by your story and your bold sharing of it.
Continuing to run http://thebeardedidealist.com, and making music http://thenewoldfashions.com. Thanks for the chance to share, great idea!
I’m able to do this because of my platform/dayjob as a Worship Leader, & am so thankful to be blessed with that.
The reason for doing it is because as Michael Perkins has said- “the world needs your creativity” (my paraphrase). Without creatives releasing there God-given gifts, the world is deprived of it’s potential!
Oh, and on top of all that awesome stuff this guy’s funny too!
Check out his site!
Thanks, Andrew! I’m fairly certain you’ve made me laugh on more than one occasion yourself.
Okay here goes nothing…
I’ve been a graphic designer for 32 years. That’s the job that pays the bills. I am also an artist creating small constructions of wood, paint and found objects. About 6 years ago I picked up a mountain dulcimer and taught myself to play it, I,ve composed a number of songs on it. And then I turned to writing. One night I woke up to find a story inside me trying to get out and so I wrote it down. I have written two eBooks both currently available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
I have a third book now in progress that will be a collection of a dozen or more short stories that are all set in the same town and are populated by cast of characters that make appearances in each other’s stories.
Finally I write a blog. I got into that because book marketing gurus said it would help me sell my book. Unfortunately that hasn’t been the case, yet but the good side is I have absolutely had a blast writing and sharing my ideas and lessons learned via my blog.
The thing that links all of those activities together is the creative process, the journey of discovery the need to let out the things that are rattling around inside.
I just have this feeling that we’re going to collaborate on a project together sometime. Maybe it’s a book or an article or whatever it is isn’t important. Just with all of your experience I can imagine it would be awesome to produce something as a team.
Who knows?!
I’m game. Let’s figure out what that is…
Andrew – Great idea for a post, and I look forward to learning more about all these creatives! I am working on a few things this year: 1) keeping up with blogging at least once/twice a week, 2) submitting posts/essays/queries to get published somewhere (online or print) in at least *one* place in 2012 (more would be great, 3) developing an outline for a book of essays based on my past blogs at my site and previously at Good Blogs.
It’s so interesting that you described me as a “creative mom” – it makes me happy because I spend most of my day buried in spreadsheets and emails for my day job as a tech operations mgr. So it’s wonderful to know that just in the last year since I’ve been writing publicly, I have managed to begin to carve out a different identity as a creative person. I give parenthood much credit for this–it has inspired me in ways I never expected. So being creative for me and having projects outside of my actual “work” has become so critical to my happiness. I am grateful for that, and equally important is the connections I have made and keep making with other people as part of my writing. Creative outlet + connections with other creatives = happiness for me!
I don’t know that spreadsheets have ever made anyone happy. I have a love-hate relationship with Excel but in some circles we need it.
Way to move beyond the spreadsheets and do things that matter to you. If we always do it matters to us, it will matter to others as well.
I watched a cartoon last night in which a whales friends all put her forward as the fastest whale in the seven sea’s and she was like ‘oh, you guys you KNOW how I feel about braggin’ !’
not that funny but just cute when actually ASKED to brag!
What an AWESOME opportunity!
I Am a mother of eight kids, I love martial arts and have a blue belt in hapkido which i am very proud of (i was never very athletic as a kid)
I write emotional intelligence/self-esteem workshops and a book called I AM Inspiration! all to encourage the teaching of E I at home and in the classroom. i am also a painter and a writer- have a few blogs and sell my paintings all over the world… now THATS bragging!
The reason I do the emotional intelligence work is because I can see that if we gave the same consistency and time to teaching it in the classroom as we do reading and writing our future would be very very different in a positive way! Raising self-esteem and E I will reduce bullying for a start and a peaceful playground ultimately means a peaceful street…..
art- http://www.arnabaartz.com
Emotional Intelligence http://www.theiamprogram.com
I AM For Kids on Facebook
Sounds like a great program Arna!
Thanks for sharing.
Great stuff Andy… Growing an online creative community called Seven Sentences by several hundred every week.
Finding new clients for our social media and SEO company. A target of ten new clients by the end of this month.
Trying to get funding for a very unique transmedia film project called Lucky & Rich.
Loving my little son and wife more each day.
Geoff Talbot
http://sevensentences.com
Some great projects Geoff!
If you’d like to guest post about Lucky & Rich, let me know and we can talk details.
I have 200 non-concise pages of my autobiography written. The autobiography is not yet completed. I do not believe that I should publish it any time soon, as I hav enot decided which portion of my life should be shared publically. The right timing will be obvious to me in the future. Additionally, I have begun to write letters to each of our 4 children on a regular (minimum 1X per month) basis. I am keeping the letters private and plan to put them into some form of book for each young man upon their graduation from high school or college. My hope is that they too will understand that every person has a life story worth telling. My letters may begin to enable them to see the God’s unique purpose for their lives. When you become an adult, you often forget those aspects of your childhood that made you, you. Parents can fill in many of those gaps. And of course, a parent’s perspective is unique and may provide a viewpoint that the child may not otherwise recall. I hope that my children will, at a minimum, know themselves better by reading what I have observed throughout their lifetime(s).
I can’t wait for your autobiography to come out! It’s an awesome idea as well to write letters to your boys. I’m sure it’s something they will appreciate many years down the road.
I’m a follower of Jesus who gets it wrong a lot. I’m trying to pay attention to the work of God in, through, and around me and help others along the way too. I write a blog about creative discipleship…taking God seriously, but ourselves not so much (awakemysoulblog.com). I do what I do because I’m passionate about creating environments where people can connect with God and each other.
Living with purpose and intention to help others. Sounds great Laura and it sounds like you’re helping a lot of people.
Thanks for sharing.
This year I am concentrating on my “Stories from the Borders of Sleep”. I write fairy tales, fables, and curiosities with a dreamlike edge to them and podcast the material at bordersofsleep.com
Although I have grand hopes and am looking at publishing a printed collection later this year in collaboration with my amazing illustrator Robyn Trainer of Floral Footsteps as well as getting on the festival circuit to perform the stories, for the time being it is all about defining a steady and productive rhythm with a new story every week for the podcast.
I have to support myself at the moment by moonlighting as a nurse and doing freelance editing work that sometimes puts a squeeze on the time I can give to creative projects but I do love everything I do.
Thanks for the opportunity to “brag”!
Busy man!
It’s fun to brag a bit isn’t it. But all this so-called ‘bragging’ is actually quite interesting. I love to see the great work that’s being done.
My hope is that we might connect with one another and perhaps help a bit along the way.
Always a pleasure Seymour.
Wow, this sounds fascinating. I’ll definitely be checking out your podcast.
My day job is corporate executive at a terrific entrepreneurial success story. I lead about 300 customer service professionals.
A few years ago, a much-later-in-life college student, I took a leadership self-discovery class where we spent the semester looking at who we are, what we do, and what makes us great at our core. My final purpose statement… “I create the possibility of peace through a compassionate heart.”
What that means is that I have this knack to help people see the hope on the other side of hopelessness, joy on the other side of sadness, peace on the other side of unrest. Writing is simply another way of doing that.
I use the written word in my role as a business person committed to raising up others to be their best selves. I write a lot of different pieces on leadership development and teamwork, always sharing positive possibilities. My blog and various guest pieces hopefully help people be present to opportunities for peace, gratitude and giving to others. Lastly, I also write simply because I enjoy the creative expression of the written word. Sometimes, I simply MUST write!
I LOVE the blend of business and creative! That’s something we need to see more of because sometimes business people don’t think of themselves as ‘creatives.’
Warren Buffett said ‘I’m not a businessman, I’m an artist.’ Wow.
Thanks for connecting Eleanor.
I have an outline for an e-book and resources and am putting together an action plan to execute writing it. Looking forward to reading your e-book.
Likewise! Let us know when it comes out Dan.
I am a storyteller who loves getting to share the wonder of the spoken word with everyone from pre-schoolers to centenarians. This morning I told the story of the Underground Railroad in southern Iowa to a group at a retirement center. This afternoon I’ll be sharing stories of the Great Depression with 4th graders. I’m really proud of the Great Depression story. It’s a combination fo stories of hoboes during the Depression and oral history from my grandmother presented from the perspective of a hoboe who meets her from time to time over the years of the Depression. I’m really excited to present it today. I’m at http://www.darrincrow.com.
Story tellers rock! Sounds like a fantastic project.
I help people do money better. How? Writing, coaching, book keeping… I’ve also started doing a little corporate blogging which is stretching me a bit b/c a the research.
Have you written about how you got into corporate blogging? If there is a post on how to get into that, let us know. Feel free to post a link Brent.
Hi, I found your blog this morning from Michael Perkins’ blog. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading the comments your readers have left!
I blog and teach memoir classes based on Bible verses that tell us to always remember what we’ve seen God do for us, and to be sure to tell our children and grandchildren. It’s the finest kind of legacy we can leave them and generations not yet born. I encourage people to make their stories celebrations of God. (http://www.spiritualmemoirs101.blogspot.com)
I published a memoir, Grandma’s Letters from Africa, about my first four years (of eight) with Wycliffe Bible Translators. I thought I’d die of a broken heart by moving half a world away from my young adult kids and my grandchildren, but on my way to Africa, shedding many tears, I ran across a poster that read, “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping … will return with songs of joy” (Psalm126:5–6). I stood before that poster and told God I’d give Him time to show me songs of joy in Africa.
In Africa I stumbled into adventures most grandmas couldn’t imagine—a hippo charged me, a baboon pooped in my breakfast, a Maasai elder spit at me, and I drank tea from a pot cleaned with cow’s urine. I wrote about hilarious incidents and frightful ones, joys and heartaches, answered prayers and those God seemed to leave unanswered.
AND I fell in love with Africa, its people, and the work—both official and unofficial—God gave me.
AND God dried my tears and blessed me with songs of joy. (http://www.grandmaslettersfromafrica.blogspot.com)
Linda
Sharing my to-do list with the world is a bit terrifying.
1) Conquer the world – no worries, my goal is to become a benevolent dictator.
2) Give a facelift to this cluttered website: http://www.themarketinmaryville.com
3) Build a website – clean, simple, vibrant – for an incredibly imaginative graphic designer
4) Conquer the 10 commandment series on http://www.rebeccatatum.com
5) Expand target audience to include dad’s as http://www.blountmomstoday.com converts to http://www.familyfriendlyblount.com
6) Lay ground work for TED-style conference
7) Most importantly, encourage and engage my kiddos in unique ways
8) Edit photos. Edit photos. Edit more photos.
I have been creative as long as I can remember.
I love to commune with the ocean and take time to submerge myself in my connection to nature.
I found this site Andrew through Arna Baartz.
I am mostly a painter. I have been teaching art mainly for it’s healing effects as I find that linking my love of Yoga, Massage and Meditation together with Art has had some amazing results.
I am fortunate to find myself working with people of all backgrounds in the field of creativity and health. I do all this through my business Integral Arts.
http://www.jhanabowen.com/content/integral-arts
Lately I have been working on a project to deliver a creative mentoring program to people who cannot afford it. Assisting with their creative development in visual arts and assisting them to develop works for exhibitions. I am currently working to acquire funding for this which is starting to look quite positive.
I have an article I wrote in the Byron Bay magazine The Art of Healing which describes the project and it’s benefits to the community and participants.
I am also working on another project to begin a artist run vacant shop space where artists manage and utilise shops that are yet unleased and run them as studios/exhibition spaces.
In July I will be doing my first ever presentation on the nature of Art and Healing. This is very exciting as I will be speaking at length about creativity and it’s vital role in facilitating shifts in human consciousness and how it is so effective in doing so! My body tingles just at the thought of it!
I also have another project where I have some visionary artists (artists whose works evolve the evolutionary development of the human psyche) to contribute their artwork for a board-game that engages and unlocks the creative potential of players through certain games that are initiated by card prompts. Super exciting!
You can find Integral Arts on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/Integral.Arts