Day 35 “Creative Excursions”

In these financially tight times, “creativity is the poor man’s vacation!”  

(Generically speaking, of course, and intended to include woman and children).  

  

Hobbies take the edge off life! As a career educator, I need a lot of “my time” after “work time.” Teaching challenging students is often like standing before a hard crowd at a comic café. You use your best lines but the modern equivalent of rotten tomatoes splatter all over your face: rolled eyes, blurted wise-cracks, and mocking gestures. I try not to wince nor let them know they get to me. Students have a crowd too, and it’s not you but the other youth sitting around laughing at their antics.  

By week’s end, I really need a break. One of my favorite hobbies is exploring places that inspire my creativity. There are relatively inexpensive trips you can enjoy that provide photos for postings and fodder for writing.  

With the work week done, I expect three days filled with projects. It is time to tackle some of those manuscript editing changes I have avoided, write some blog posts, and work on my creativity site. New writing pieces seem to emerge when my time is freer. Yet priorities will also include getting out of my house and visiting a place full of beauty!  

  

Sunday is Valentine’s Day and my husband and I decided on a creative gift for each other this year that is low-cost and thoroughly enjoyable. We will visit the Getty Museum in Malibu, California. The tickets are free if you go online and book a time.  

Both of us feel that familiar tug of a photography excursion. So in anticipation of our next artistic adventure, I share a few photos from our previous trip to the Getty in Los Angeles, California.  

  

Our visit to the Getty was very refreshing. Fountains percolated up and rained down. The water soothed mind and soul.  

  

  

We enjoyed the outside gardens. As a floral lover, I honed in on unique flowers and foliage that caught my eye.  

Here is an interesting tree that sparked my interest.  

The sculptured bushes and trellises are true works of art.  

  

What interesting creations are found at the Getty.  

  

There are various museums featuring different art from different time periods. The visitor can take photos of most exhibits but no tripods or flash photography is allowed.  

  

I found the eyes of paintings interesting. Studying how the painter captured light and emotion in the eyes intrigued.  

  

My husband was transfixed with the body sculptures.  

  

Try organizing your museum and other photos into themed folders. These “photo files” provide lots of material for digital art projects.  

So when you feel down and your job emotionally and mentally kicks you around, visit the Getty for a creative excursion!  

Blogging Identity Quest: Today I will try to find “my people.”  I need to read the blogs of other writers. One visited this morning posted about the dreaded editing a writer must do. This writer’s perspective encouraged me to tackle my manuscript rewrites today.