Tomorrow is the Grand Opening of the Three Elements Creativity Center, 300 Wilsey Road, Fredericton, NB. I am excited to be part of the studio with an artist Carole Forbes and Julia Cammack a wood crafts person. I have always enjoyed teaching and to have a space large enough to hold workshops is exciting. Several are planned coming up with summer camps for teens and tweens.

It will be a busy couple days and hopefully the "winter" storm will not be as bad as they are calling for tomorrow!

I will be posting a new page this weekend with all the classes and events coming up at our Center. Creativity is as inherent to life as breathing. Encouraging the exploration is like unearthing a treasure, "aha" moments are life changing!

Follow the Creative Joy! Debra, CEO!

The first snow fell on Halloween, it did not last as most first snowfalls don't.  Seeing the rooftop a snowy white and the trees sprinkled with snowy crystals still brings that initial excited feeling I remember as a child. I am taking a creativity coaching course on Monday evenings, last night we talked about our inner child inviting them out to play. In our busy responsible adult lives we often lose the inner child, a sense of spontaneity and time to just play.

When we play and do something just for the fun of it our minds are set free and often flooded with new ideas that get us excited. It can give you a fresh outlook on your own life. Even just taking a few minutes for "playtime" can completely change the day ahead bringing a new energy and excitement to your day!

Who is your inner child, maybe you have forgotten or not sure where to find him/her. You can start by making a short quick list of some of the things you loved to do as a child. Remember what it felt like to jump in mud puddles or skip rope. What about the excitement of a new box of crayons, the smell, the colors when you opened the box. Whatever you created with them you loved for it was just the sheer joy of coloring that brought happiness. Last weekend when I spent a couple of hours coloring with an adorable six year old making paper dolls and fancy dresses I remembered how much I loved doing that as a child. It was such fun!

Keeping a box just for play filled with items like crayons, small toys, candy treats that you can take a few minutes to visit. Perhaps instead of or along with a coffee break take a play break and have hot chocolate with marshmallows and just play! Follow the JOY! Debra, CEO!

Today I am off to the Saint John Art Centre for a Life Drawing Class and volunteer with the Seniors Computer Class. On Monday evening I am taking a Creativity Coaching Class to become a Muse leader. These are all new adventures for me and I am stretching myself in my new life. I am also doing my first craft show in years, a holiday show in November at Harbour Station with a good friend and artist Carole Forbes.

I have decided now that cleaning my place takes only an hour opposed to my old life where just removing the cat hair off the curtains took an hour and more to use that extra time to explore new avenues.

What I have noticed is creative people are often caught in overwhelm as we want to do so many things, have so many ideas and often we come to a screeching halt. We are DaVinci's, Renaissance artists who wish to try it all! That is a wonderful way to be, sometimes it just takes editing to begin. In the group Monday night it was suggested to write all your ideas on index cards then prioritize them by which three were the most inviting and choose those to begin.

I wish to do more coaching creative people so the class is working towards that but it is also helping me in navigating this new creative life. The drawing class will assist with the book proposal I am working on. I am enjoying it immensely, the two hours disappears! The craft show is giving me a place to meet people interested in creativity, test out some new ideas, designs and display and introduce myself to my new community.

What I am learning these days is to be mindful and present in my pursuits, to enjoy the journey and explore new avenues of creativity always Following the JOY!

Find time to explore what you have always wanted to try, even if it is only for a few minutes a day or a week. It will fill your creative spirit ten fold. Debra

This upcoming weekend I am exhibiting at a conference for women titled Nurturing Ourselves. It is a day and a half of workshops, speakers and exhibits to explore areas of interest to women. They range from simple home repair to dealing with personal relationships and finding time for creative play. It also comes at a time when I realize from the women I have been meeting that I want to do more. I want to continue my coaching training I began a few years ago and add Creativity Coaching to my business. Often because of the busyness of our lives women often feel all the little pieces have chipped away and they are not sure who or where they are. Creativity is the ability to tap into that inner playful spirit and take time to explore who we are, where we really want to be going. It is possible to create the life we dream of, a life that has many moments of JOY, that is lit by an energy that makes us feel we are living with true purpose and meaning.

This year for myself personally has been a year that has changed my life. My creative outlets, my work has always been a constant seeing me through many of life's events. This year one of loss of my Mom, of friends leaving my life, my youngest onto the next chapter in her life and my oldest heading out on her own, a full fledged adult with a career, new amazing friends have entered and new relationships which have transformed my life. I am purposely adding more time to play and create, it is powerful, a little scary but ever so exciting and my sense of wanting to share never stronger than now. We have but one life to live and to live it joyfully is all we can ask for! 
Follow the JOY! Debra CEO!