http://archive.artandabout.com Experiencing creativity in daily life Fri, 17 Feb 2006 21:51:38 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en If you just flew in on a spaceship, you may not know that 2006 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Since last year, there has been much ado in the global music world about planned celebrations, concerts and extravaganzas in honor of the event. Since the ... http://archive.artandabout.com/2006/02/17/giving-myself-the-gift-of-mozart/ I am not a cell phone person. I was given my first cell phone as a teenager to be used for emergencies and I still carry my phone for emergencies only. Sometimes the emergency is needing to call my husband to tell him the cutest piece of furniture at the ... http://archive.artandabout.com/2006/01/24/using-your-cell-to-express-yourself/ One of life’s simple pleasures for me is when art and/or creative expression pop up at unexpected times and in unexpected places. I’ve been collecting some of the best examples in my life over the last few years, and people have sent me stories about run-ins with art that they ... http://archive.artandabout.com/2006/01/09/finding-art-in-the-most-unexpected-places/ Sometimes I drive myself crazy with the need to be creative. I value original thought and creative expression so highly that the compulsion to honor these impulses often tromps practicality, pragmatism and rationality to the point of certifiable insanity. A recent and arguably most insane example began last May when I ... http://archive.artandabout.com/2005/12/28/what-price-creativity/ The stage version of “White Christmas” has opened again in San Francisco. You may recall that the theatrical adaptation of the 1954 film premiered in San Francisco last year to great reviews and even better ticket sales. It was so successful that this year, they have added productions in Los ... http://archive.artandabout.com/2005/11/15/living-the-white-christmas-dream/ I have always been fascinated by why I am the way I am. What components of my character are cultural or genetic? Why do I act the way I do, like the things I like, and pursue the fields I pursue? My queries on this subject sometimes focus specifically on how ... http://archive.artandabout.com/2005/10/25/music-is-all-in-the-family/ I dread October. The horror of Halloween haunts me all year. I should revel in a holiday that spurs people to heights of creativity in masking their true selves beneath an imagined persona. Instead, Halloween forces me to confront the ugly truth I suppress from the world: I don’t sew. Not ... http://archive.artandabout.com/2005/10/11/the-scariest-thing-about-halloween/ I am always fascinated by the concept of “perceived value” when it comes to the arts. There is a pecking order which categorizes creative output as either highly valued or undervalued. Sometimes value is based on the amount of money something is worth. A painting by Picasso, for example, is generally ... http://archive.artandabout.com/2005/09/28/recognizing-the-value-of-perceived-value/ By the time you read this, it will be almost four weeks since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. I have been hesitant to jump on the bandwagon of reminiscences about New Orleans. Part of that is due to the statistical probability that with all the New Orleans press, someone ... http://archive.artandabout.com/2005/09/14/drinking-in-the-artistic-spirits-of-new-orleans/ A recent episode of the Cathy comic strip had Cathy’s mom wondering what to do with all the photos people were emailing her or handing her on disk. She didn’t feel right about throwing them away but didn’t want to keep them, either. I felt her pain. I am equally ... http://archive.artandabout.com/2005/08/31/the-magic-powers-of-photo-paper/