Countdown to All Hallow’s Eve
Halloween (also known as Samhain) is on its way! I call this the most wonderful time of the year. We get to enjoy fall, enjoy the holiday, and be as creative as you want to be - have you seen some of those costumes out there?
Speaking of that, I’d love to have you join me in a Creativity Challenge this year! Every week, we’ll have a prompt that you can use to create something celebrating this time, having fun and meeting new peeps!
On Saturdays through October, use the prompt to jump off and make something beautiful (and spooky if you want.)
This first theme is “Cemetery/Statues.”
One of the things I love to do is to walk around cemeteries and have the spirit guide me on graves or statuary to photograph. It’s a way to honor the spirits there by telling their story.
One of the most stunning and sorrowful statues I’ve photographed is “The Angel of Grief.” My first interaction with this sculpture was in the Metarie Cemetery at New Orleans in the Chapman H. Hyams mausoleum. The original statue was created by William Wetmore Story in Italy. He was a Harvard Law School graduate who abandoned his law career to follow his passion - art. He moved his family to Rome and studied all of the arts, including sculpturing. When his wife passed, his children convinced him to create something for her, which now is the Angel of Grief. This was his last sculpture and he only survived her by a year. These stories are what helps us connect and understand each other better as humans.
Everyone is creative. (No, really.) Creativity can help us solve problems, take the usual to add new and exciting twists and - really - it can lift our mood.
Think about how you can be creative with statues or in a cemetery. (Keep it PG, everyone!) Is it drawing, photography, mixed media, poetry, story or something else? Can you add color to black and white? Can you express yourself in a way that helps you understand the transition of life to death that can help heal or soothe you? This is your opportunity.
I can’t wait to see what you come up with. And remember, the prompt will change next Saturday so get those innovative juices flowing!
See you on the Spooky Side!
PS - One entry each week will be chosen at random to be featured on the Challenge page: www.MaryDAlba.com/creativitychallenge and all five randomly-chosen entries will be highlighted in October's newsletter!