The year was 1957. It was a beautiful October day. A little girl stood in front of a shop window, paintbrush in hand and bottles of poster paints at her feet. She was 6 years old and in second grade. In front of her, on the window, was a partially completed picture. The sky was blue, the grass was green, a white board fence with a pumpkin sitting on it was painted across the width of the space, and rising up from behind the fence was a large tree. The trunk of the tree and the branches were brown, and glorious red, yellow, and orange leaves were splashed across it. This was her creation for the paint-on-the window contest that the shops in the area were sponsoring.
I clearly remember painting that picture. In the intervening years, I have created not only pictures, but also learned to cook, decorate cakes, sew, quilt, spin, weave, decorate, and garden. Our children have also become very creative. Our oldest son flies airplanes, draws anything with pencil and paper, and takes fantastic photographs. Our youngest son, who used to like to draw trucks with blinking lights, has completed custom trim for the house he renovated. Our oldest daughter completed four years of high-school art and still likes to paint with oil paints and draw with pastels. Our youngest daughter paints horse pictures, rides horses, designs web sites, and programs databases. She has always liked codes. She studied linguistics in college and spent a few summers at SIL, a Wycliffe Bible Translators program. We are now empty nesters and have moved to a smaller house. We have thirteen grandchildren. Some of them are becoming wonderful artists. I finally have time to do more watercolor painting, to take some art classes, and to explore digital art. My husband has a computer science degree and started to use PCs when they first came out. I didn't have time. We were early PC show attendees—pushing two strollers. He currently operates a website development/SEO business and maintains a number of websites. He has used my help to write web content and to develop design layouts and digital images for these websites. A few years ago, we purchased a digital camera, and I completed a digital arts certificate program. Perhaps the most useful course was one for color correcting photos.
Creativity is defined as: the quality of being creative, the ability to create. I have had this desire to create things since I watched my dad construct custom lighting fixtures, watched my uncle create model railroad buildings, and dabbled with my aunt's oil paints myself. I am inspired by what is around me. Many times I have told my husband, "that's a paintable scene." I look at: the sky—billowing white clouds, rain sweeping down from gray clouds, lightning, rainbows, brilliant red-orange sunsets with black tree sillouettes; sunlight—streaming down from a gap in the clouds, reflecting and dancing across the water, intensity changes throughout the day, mist and fog rising up from land or water; shadows and light—interplay on buildings, land, and water; flowers and trees—brightness and arrangement of colors, combinations of plants, gardens and landscapes; animals and birds—shore birds winging their way across the bay, cats, dogs; water—ocean, bay, calm, angry, ice, snow; houses and buildings—design, stone features, color combinations, window styles, roof lines; interior design—colors, fabrics, hardware and furniture design, floor coverings, pictures, accessories; cars and bicycles—wheel rotation, vintage car design; people—movement, shape, features, style, mood. These are the things that inspire me to take pictures and paint. It is a never-ending list, and I could never exhaust it. But I know I cannot create without my brain, my eyes, my hands, and my senses. And this ability to create has been given to me by the ultimate creator—God.
I clearly remember painting that picture. In the intervening years, I have created not only pictures, but also learned to cook, decorate cakes, sew, quilt, spin, weave, decorate, and garden. Our children have also become very creative. Our oldest son flies airplanes, draws anything with pencil and paper, and takes fantastic photographs. Our youngest son, who used to like to draw trucks with blinking lights, has completed custom trim for the house he renovated. Our oldest daughter completed four years of high-school art and still likes to paint with oil paints and draw with pastels. Our youngest daughter paints horse pictures, rides horses, designs web sites, and programs databases. She has always liked codes. She studied linguistics in college and spent a few summers at SIL, a Wycliffe Bible Translators program. We are now empty nesters and have moved to a smaller house. We have thirteen grandchildren. Some of them are becoming wonderful artists. I finally have time to do more watercolor painting, to take some art classes, and to explore digital art. My husband has a computer science degree and started to use PCs when they first came out. I didn't have time. We were early PC show attendees—pushing two strollers. He currently operates a website development/SEO business and maintains a number of websites. He has used my help to write web content and to develop design layouts and digital images for these websites. A few years ago, we purchased a digital camera, and I completed a digital arts certificate program. Perhaps the most useful course was one for color correcting photos.
Creativity is defined as: the quality of being creative, the ability to create. I have had this desire to create things since I watched my dad construct custom lighting fixtures, watched my uncle create model railroad buildings, and dabbled with my aunt's oil paints myself. I am inspired by what is around me. Many times I have told my husband, "that's a paintable scene." I look at: the sky—billowing white clouds, rain sweeping down from gray clouds, lightning, rainbows, brilliant red-orange sunsets with black tree sillouettes; sunlight—streaming down from a gap in the clouds, reflecting and dancing across the water, intensity changes throughout the day, mist and fog rising up from land or water; shadows and light—interplay on buildings, land, and water; flowers and trees—brightness and arrangement of colors, combinations of plants, gardens and landscapes; animals and birds—shore birds winging their way across the bay, cats, dogs; water—ocean, bay, calm, angry, ice, snow; houses and buildings—design, stone features, color combinations, window styles, roof lines; interior design—colors, fabrics, hardware and furniture design, floor coverings, pictures, accessories; cars and bicycles—wheel rotation, vintage car design; people—movement, shape, features, style, mood. These are the things that inspire me to take pictures and paint. It is a never-ending list, and I could never exhaust it. But I know I cannot create without my brain, my eyes, my hands, and my senses. And this ability to create has been given to me by the ultimate creator—God.
This intro was originally written as an assignment on creativity for my Intro to Digital Arts class.
Copyright 2012-2016 by Jane Hesterman. All rights reserved.
This website and its contents are protected by international copyright laws.
Copyright 2012-2016 by Jane Hesterman. All rights reserved.
This website and its contents are protected by international copyright laws.
