Moderator’s Note: Margot reads each of her poems aloud. They can be heard through the links in the titles. “And what then is poetry?” We ask this time and time and time again. And poetry HERself answers. SHE needs no… Read More ›
Creativity
The Other Side of the Mountain by Mary Sharratt
I love my new life in Portugal and I’m so happy and grateful to be here. However, I have encountered one major roadblock–I simply cannot replicate my daily writing routine that I’d relied on in the UK for nearly twenty… Read More ›
On Snakes by Ivy Helman
In the ancient world, snakes represented fertility, creativity, rebirth, wisdom and, even, death. They were often closely connected to female goddesses, priestesses and powerful human females who were the embodiment of such powers. For example, there is the Minoan goddess/priestess… Read More ›
Calling on the Muse: A Meditation for Creative Spirits by Mary Sharratt
The world at large might view artists and writers as free spirits rocking la vie bohème, but creative people know that it’s much more complicated than that, especially if we’re striving to earn even a modest living from our work…. Read More ›
A Servant of God or a Lover of Life? by Carol P. Christ
Thus through an enormous network of mythological narrative, every aspect of culture is cloaked in the relationship of ruler and ruled, creator and created. . . . [Sumerian] legend endows the Sumerian ruler-gods with creative power; their subjects are recreated… Read More ›
What Dorothee Soelle Taught Me about Creativity by Elise M. Edwards
I’m currently developing a book that considers how theological and ethical considerations in architectural design can define good architecture. My book discusses five virtues related to the architectural design process that promote human participation in bringing out God’s intention of flourishing… Read More ›
The Palm of My Hand by Molly Remer
“If there is one chant in the universe it is to create.” –Chris Griscolm quoted in Nicole Christine, p. 25 If you ever eavesdrop on a conversation between my husband and me around the clamor of our four children’s voices,… Read More ›
Pregnant with Thoughts by Sara Frykenberg
I never liked the metaphorical use of the word “pregnant” as it tended to be used in the academy. Reading the “pregnant phrases,” of mostly men who were “pregnant with thought,” as a student, I felt angry by what I… Read More ›
November, A Silent Month? by Barbara Ardinger
November, which begins with All Saints Day (yesterday) and All Souls Day (today), gives us a quiet, welcome break between the loud make-believe of Halloween and the incessant caroling of the winter solstice season with its popular holidays. In the… Read More ›
Social Responsibility of the Artist by Jassy Watson
An artist’s place in society is ambiguous and one not often discussed. Artist’s often have difficulty claiming themselves as ‘artist’ for fear of criticism and rejection both inside and outside the art world and from within. Historically, artists have had… Read More ›
Stillness by Oxana Poberejnaia
I am visiting my home town in Russia for holidays. I have not been home for 3 years and I have not lived there for 12 years. Many things surprise me. One of the features of contemporary life in my… Read More ›
Creativity as Spirituality by Jassy Watson
According to Robert. C. Fuller author of Spiritual not Religious, “an idea or practice is ‘spiritual’ when it reveals our personal desire to establish a felt-relationship with the deepest meanings or powers governing life” (2001, p. 2). According to this… Read More ›
Creativity as our Primal Instinct
Years of patriarchy and masculine domination, rapid technological advances, exclusivist religious dogma, separation from nature, materialistic attitudes and the daily course of our busy lives have left women (and men) largely disconnected from their essential primal feminine energies. We get… Read More ›
Where Does Poetry Come From? By Barbara Ardinger
Poetry is a gift from our ever-creating goddess, but you know what? She also has a major sense of humor. Nearly every night, I go to bed, pet the cats awhile, and think I’m going to go right to sleep…. Read More ›
Re-creating the World by Elise Edwards
All of us have the same creative power as artists to contribute to the world in our own domains. When we do so, we re-create the world and participate in its ongoing creation. For years, my friend Lisa Cole Smith… Read More ›