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Have you ever felt pent-up energy or felt frustrated because you weren’t sure how to release whatever it was you were feeling? Take your head out of the gutter, this isn’t sexual reference. I’m referring to something a little bit different. Actually, something totally different.

Creativity. Lately I’ve been feeling like I have all this creativity to release but don’t know how to release it. Sometimes I feel like drawing, but I don’t know how to draw. Let alone know what to draw. I’ll literally sit down with a pencil and paper and have no clue what to draw. It’s like a brain fart. You were thinking of something, but then it just goes away. Then I’ll feel like painting but first of all I don’t have paint or paint brushes. And even if I had those things, it goes back to drawing…what would I even paint? I opened up Photoshop and Illustrator the other day and even though I was messing with it, I still had no clue what I was making. So of course, I didn’t save it. The only thing consistent that I have been doing is photography. But lets be honest. I’m no pro. Funny because I’ve had three people ask me if I can take photos for them. I don’t even know how to use all the functions on my d-SLR. Talk to me about certain things in photography and I won’t know a word you’re talking about. I know basics. F-stop, lens sizes, and how to load film on my film SLR. Other than that, I forgot everything I learned in photo class. That’s one thing I will say I want to pick up again. I actually liked developing my own film and prints. That’s a totally different project though (buying all the equipment and creating a dark room, which in turn would take over my bathroom).

I grew up in a pretty artsy and crafty family. My parents are both part of a craft group that they created with their friends. They would meet once a week and create crafts to sell in order to help raise money for our high school band. The women did the sewing and painting while the men did the woodwork. My mom continues to sew creating quilts and even sold handbags that she made. She’ll also make random things like little notepads with a fabric hardcover. Christmas is coming meaning she’ll probably  be making ornaments to sell too. And my dad, lets just say he’s a handy man. What handy man isn’t crafty in some way? Besides my parents my sister is pretty artsy too. From what I remember when I was younger, she used to draw like she was sketching clothes on a model. Like she went to fashion school or something. How come I can’t draw like that? Anyways, her wedding decorations and other things for her wedding were almost all out of paper. Mainly all handmade by her and our friends and family. My brother on the other hand, he’s the true artist in the family. And when I say artist, he really is an artist. Inspired by comic books and Star Wars when he was younger, my brother always had a thing for drawing. He now works for Industrial Light Magic and teaches art at San Jose State. Talk about hard work and talent. Definitely an inspiration and someone I look up to.

I’m not saying I missed the artsy fartsy train in my family, I’m pretty decent and can be crafty myself, but I need to find a way to release this pent-up urge to make something. One thing that I do like doing is writing. Not writing like a writing an article, story, or even this blog post. But the physical act of writing. Calligraphy. Print. Fonts. I’ve had multiple customers ask me if I’ve ever taken a calligraphy class. When I tell them no, they seem surprised. Then I’ve had people ask me if I used to be a tagger. Nope sorry, never done that either. Although playing with spray paint at the Adapt office was pretty fun. But that’s besides the point.

If you  have suggestions on how to release whatever burst of so called creativity I have, please feel free to tell me because I’m kind of going bananas. Until then I’m going to doodle and draw boxes and circles.