This is what I love most! Children leaving my concerts going home inspired! Little Delia awakened before the rest of the family, and made this wonderful shaker "out of a toilet paper tube and remnants of preschool art projects with jingle bells inside and lots of scotch tape." How cool is that?
This brings back memories of my own childhood,and explains a lot about how I turned out!
My first best childhood friend was Penny Weller. Penny’s mother (she had seven children!) cleverly provided a “crafts” drawer in the bottom of the built-in’s at the top of their winding brass-railinged staircase.. She filled it with scraps of anything that would otherwise have been thrown away; bits of yarn and string, old bottle caps, used greeting cards, as well as crayons, glue, tape, and scissors. We never knew what might have been added since our last visit! Penny and I would sit on the floor in the dimly-lit hall with the open drawer between us, hiding our work from each other. We would make little gifts and then exchange them. Memory plays tricks, of course, but in my mind we spent hours there, cutting and pasting and creating our works of art which were proudly given and received. I realize now so many lessons were learned at that drawer of “stuff!” Creating something from nothing, how to give and receive, and the comfort and complete happiness of having a good friend. I had plenty of creativity going on at my own house,- to be sure, but there was something magical about that hallway and drawer, and my first best friend.
In a couple of years, when my grandchildren are older- I don’t dream of having a stack of DVD’s or computer games for them to use when they visit, but of stocking a big bottom drawer with all the magical ingredients they need to build their own memories and life lessons. Just like Delia!
Please share your own stories of creativity and childhood! We adults need a little reminder of the simple things in life...
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