Growing up, I was surrounded by creative people. My father is a photographer. My grandmother was a painter, mostly portraits and still lives. My uncle is a working artist (four of his pieces adorn the walls of my living room), and my sister has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. When we was working, she designed fabric ribbons, painting each design while eschewing computer technology.
For the longest time, I didn't think I had any creative talent, that the gene had somehow passed me by.
I've been thinking about creativity a lot and it's occurred to me that I am a highly creative person, but just not necessarily in the visual arts. (That said, though, I've been getting a lot of really positive feedback about my photography.)
These past couple of months have been an unbelievable creative surge, and perhaps the reason why I haven't blogged in a couple of months.
A few weeks ago Andy and I hosted my/our annual holiday party (it was our first together). We had about 50-something people out of the 70-something who were expected. We started early planning in September, believe it or not. I spent hours pouring over cookbooks to plan the menu, especially my desserts. The sweet table could induce a diabetic coma with just one look.
For weeks Andy and I talked about how we would decorate the house. He had a vision for floating decorations in the pool. We went out in October to get the supplies, only to completely redesign the concept just days before the party.
The whole party, replete with 10 foot Christmas tree that I was cajoled into getting, was a terrific hit. People had a great time mixing and mingling, and the left overs are just about gone. Only after everything was put back into place did I realize what a tremendous creative endeavor it was.
Simultaneously, I've been going through a similar creative surge at work. For three years, the college where I work has been developing a culinary school. The administrator and consultant who were leading the charge on this endeavor both left at the end of June, just days before a permanent director was to come on board. Amazingly, I found myself pretty much the only person with the grand vision for the school, the keeper of the big picture story that we had been sharing with potential corporate partners.
So John, the new director showed up right after the 4th of July and I found myself taking him under my wing, introducing him to all the players in Miami, filling him in on every last detail of what we'd been working on for the past three years. I helped him navigate the organizational bureaucracy, and ultimately, started translating his vision to our potential partners.
And what a creative ride it's been. John jokingly says that I am the co-director of the school, as I've become intimately involved with more than just fundraising. We're figuring out strategies to develop an audience for the restaurant planned for the school, thinking about wine and food festival strategies that will market the school. We're even developing a television show for the college's station, a show that I am apparently going to co-host (they'll put anyone on the air, I guess).
I guess artistry comes in many forms -- writing, photography, decorating, baking and cooking -- even helping to launch a culinary school.
Can I call myself an artist?
Want to cater my party? And by party, I mean cook and bake for me.
Posted by: S. | December 22, 2009 at 08:50 PM