‘Brain Storm’ Brought Back My Creativity

A little while ago I posted a short bit about Don Hahn’s book Brain Storm: Unleashing Your Creative Self. I was sitting in my bedroom alone tonight and I got to thinking: Have I become any more creative? I’m happy to say that I have, indeed, become a bit more creative.

Brain Storm definitely encourages one to reach back into the depths of his or her brain and start pulling out ideas like a magician pulls a rabbit out of his velvety black top hat. Since this book arrived in my mailbox (courtesy of Mr. Hahn and his lovely publishers), I have started to come out of my boring shell and start producing tid bits of creative works here and there. I’m not a master pastry chef, nor am I Georgia O’Keeffe, but that’s what makes this all so great. I’m just your average Jane and I’m able to produce little pieces of creative magic all by myself.

Drawing

The only art lessons I have ever had were the ‘Meet the Masters’ school assemblies when I was in elementary school. I have always had an interest in art — sketches, paintings, sculpture, even architecture — but I knew I just wasn’t born with the gift. I enjoy going to museums any chance I get and art history was my favorite part of AP European History in high school.

It wasn’t until recently that I discovered that I can, indeed, do basic drawings with some guidance. It might sound silly, but I figured it all out at California Adventure’s animation studio. There they have a little ‘class’ where you can learn how to draw a Disney character. I’m a sucker for these types of things. I ended up drawing a darn good Piglet.

It clicked. I can draw. Oh my goodness, I CAN DRAW. If I can do it in this little classroom setting, can I do it at home? I did.

I started hunting around online for those ‘how to draw’ type websites and I found one that I liked. It had a bunch of different tutorials to choose from, and the ones I found made drawing really easy for me. There were days where I could do nothing but draw. Draw, sketch, erase, darken, color, shade; lines, circles, ovals, curves. It was as if I had been missing this my entire life. Who knew I could do all this? To some experienced artists this may seem like no big deal, but for someone who has always thought they had no artistic talent, this was major.

Baking

I’m definitely a baker. I love doing it. Love love love. I would bake all day if I could. Cookies, cakes, pies, cupcakes — I love it all. I’ve started hunting more and more for fun recipes to try. I just found a recipe for homemade marshmallow fondant that I can’t wait to try out. I have always wanted to learn how to decorate cakes with it, and now I have my chance! I also recently got a frosting decorator to play with. It’s not the easiest tool, but it takes practice and in no time I should have professional-looking cakes and cupcakes!

I had decided not too long ago that I wanted to start branching out and learning how to make pies. I found a recipe for chocolate chip cookie pie. (Whoever thought of merging two amazing things together was an absolute genius.) I read through the recipe several times and imagined what the taste and texture of the pie would end up being. I decided that the recipe needed to be altered. Now, I’m someone that doesn’t like to deviate from recipes. Recipes are written that way for a reason. But this one just…it needed to be changed. I knew it. I felt it. So I did. And it was amazing. My family members couldn’t keep their paws off my pies. Now my brother wants me to make the pie for his birthday instead of a cake next month. Before, I never would have done something like this. (If you’d like my personal recipe for the pie, feel free to email me. I will gladly send it your way.)

Chocolate

Yes, it gets its own headline. I have always enjoyed doing some chocolate work and candy making. I discovered I could do more with it than I thought. Sure, I could make chocolate covered strawberries and pretzels, or make molded candies, but for some reason it had never occurred to me to try to write with it. Let me say that again — writing with chocolate. Veni, vidi, vici! I did it. I wrote with chocolate. You could eat my words. And oh, we did. Trust me.

I highly recommend picking up the book and picking up a paintbrush. Try something new. Go outside and find something unique in nature to photograph. Go to the kitchen and discover what can be made with the contents of your pantry. Pick up a pencil and sketch some shapes and form them int a funky design. Go through your closet and see what clothes can be re-purposed. Thank you, Mr. Hahn, for helping me discover my creative side.

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