i love watching kids on playgrounds!

that sounds creepy... ha. but oh, isn't it so delightful watching little ones enjoy themselves? my morning run used to take me past a school that always seemed to be at recess when i'd be running by (since we moved, the school i run past always seems to NOT be at recess - guess i'm too early... but i keep hoping!). such a joy to see elementary students playing like they don't have a care in the world! ...or like they do - watching 5th grade girls and their bff/cattiness with each other just reminds me of the good old days! watching 10 year old boys play soccer like they're trying out for the pros. they just have so much heart! such an ability to PLAY that adults somehow lose. like we're not allowed to play. we have to be "responsible" and work hard and make a living and blah blah blah. i think it is SO important to the human soul, young or old, to take time out to just PLAY. making art has been that playtime for me. i have to ALLOW myself time to have fun and do things that maybe don't seem productive or to have any lasting value... but oh, how they rejuvenate my soul!

YOU need to give yourself permission to do creative things, too. not as a means to an end, being "productive", but as PLAY. i mean, it can be refreshing for me even if i'm simultaneously doing something productive, like making a card for a friend... but sometimes i just have to play with color and texture and transparency just because. and a lot of times, i end up putting my heart onto whatever i'm making, and i end up being able to see it as almost a journaling time - time to process life and emotions... but sometimes, it's just the delight of putting aqua, lime green, and bright red together to see what happens!

i wish i could post pictures of the little projects i've been working on this week: baby shower cards, scrapbook art, making a "gel skin" image transfer... but alas, our camera and our computer are still not speaking to each other. i know a blog is much more fun to read when there are photos, so i'm gonna keep trying!