All posts tagged: creativity

Inspired by the Psalms

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I promised myself that, on completing the Psalms, I would have a go at writing one myself. And I know it’s been weeks and weeks since I finished my Psalm-a-day thing. Forgive me. But, I AM a finisher. A late-finisher is better than a never-finisher, right? Here’s my Psalm. The third or forth attempt. And far from the lyrical beauty of the Biblical Psalms. But it feels good and right to end my Psalm season this way. To respond to creative expression with creative expression. If you’ve followed the Psalms with me, maybe you’d like to do likewise and end by writing a Psalm of your own to our mighty, amazing, gracious, all-knowing, intensely loving God. I’d love to read it!   MY PSALM I look out across the expanse of this new day and see? I see you are there. Blue-sky God. Thunder God. Drenching-with-rain God. I look into the barely blushed petals of a magnolia bloom; you are there. I look across the countless rooftops of this city, smoke curling from chimneys, trampolines …

CREATIVE: It Should be on Everyone’s CV

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Adult colouring-in. It’s a thing, and let’s not poo-poo it until we’ve tried it for ourselves, deal? Sales of colouring-in books for the post-childhood demographic have soared as people take to drawing within the lines to relieve stress and invigorate creativity. These popular publications ditch Thomas and Peppa in favour of intricate patterns akin to those adorning Persian rugs and Moroccan tiles. It’s very tempting! There’s no doubt I would enjoy pulling out the tin of Derwent pencils my parents gave me for Christmas when I still had a fringe and braces. I love sitting down with my four-year-old to help colour a picture. His are of dinosaurs and monster trucks, but the effect is the same. We get in The Zone where the silence is only disrupted for a “pass the blue, please” or “don’t bump, Mum!” Why does scratching a pencil back and forth over paper feel so therapeutic? The calming yet industrious feeling it calls up is similar to what happens when I bake a scrummy cake, snap photos with my SLR or write …