Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Creative??


 The world is my source, my inspiration and enables my creative thoughts



Here comes our monthly, "By Invitation Only". Our topic is about staying creative... and how one accomplishes that.

This is a personal quest. For me, it is very simple: I do not have a choice. I am am Interior Designer, furniture and lighting designer. If I am not creative, constantly in the moment while thinking ahead, I no longer have a purpose and would be condemned to a fate of boredom.
At this point, I think everyone around me would jump ship, my sons, my friends, colleagues, staff, my dogs and even my dear Mr Whiskers. I would be unbearable... (I do hope that my present self is indeed bearable).

How do I do it? Above all I am curious...so curious that it got me into some deep trouble, such as searching for the perfect graffiti in the worst neighborhood of Buenos Aires or looking into junkyards and chased after by some rather nasty dogs in Santorini. While in foreign lands, I love to explore, often getting lost, so lost that I need to be rescued by various passersby. I have become incredibly talented at hand language which, actually, in some countries can make a situation worse.
Getting back to how to stay creative: beyond being curious, one must live with open eyes and an open heart, embracing our surroundings, finding beauty even in the ugly and the discarded. I absorb colors, textures, scents and read. I am an avid reader and some of my furniture collections have been inspired by pages of a book.

Now the hard part.... staying young.... Being in an ever changing and challenging youth and beauty oriented industry is not for the weak at heart. We, as creative people, should really get a break in that department, but genetics have no respect for our creative minds. So, I stay young in spirit, in the now, embrace my kids' culture, their music, love to discover young artists, watch the latest independent movies, do not dress according to my age but according to how I feel , and am constantly on a learning quest.

Formula to stay creative: be daring, be curious, look around you, explore foreign surroundings, read novels and foreign magazines, stay alert, visit museums and galleries, walk into fabulous hotels and observe, watch nature. Embrace it all and experiment, Enjoy!


 A Bientot,
 
Francine




9 comments:

  1. Absolutely beautiful, Francine! That formula would work for just about anyone, anywhere in the world. I admire your fearlessness enormously.
    And Remi forced me to start Lost in Arles - I wasn't writing much at the time and he couldn't take me anymore! ;)

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  2. Having an open mind and staying engaged in what is current is essential if we are to continue in our creative endeavours...
    Beautiful Francine, xv.

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  3. Oh yes...it is all about staying alert snd without that, as well as un joie de vivre, we will not succeed!

    Ma belle, thank you for coming by and we ARE the miracles and the messengers!!!

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  4. Francine, please excuse me if I am presuming, but I feel that you and I are kindred spirits. That hankering for adventure, the searches that lead to new ideas but also danger. The travel. And I agree, aging presents challenges of stamina, particularly to the adventurers.

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  5. Dear Francine,
    Your creativity AND your adventures inspire me!

    xoxo
    Karena
    The Arts by Karena

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  6. You, Francine, are one of those people who were born with creative glitter flowing through your veins !!!! XXXX

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  7. really interesting that we headed in the same direction with our thoughts for this post. I was curious to see if people's different professions would influence the way they approached the topic…and perhaps that is so, as we are both in the same profession.

    So it goes without saying that I thoroughly agree with your take on the list to achieve creativity! Curiosity, challenge, and remaining open to new things. Beautifully said.

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  8. Pardon me, Francine, for being so late to the party. But now I'm here and have read and re-read every word. Your life is a creative expression. If only all of us dared to be so adventuresome. I love it that you are! And, yes, the secret to staying young is exactly as you said...staying current, being a happening girl, and curious about everything. I'll bet you've never been bored in your entire life. Thank you for this excellent capsule on creativity! xx's

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  9. hello francine

    we saw your kind comment on heather's site about our book "how to stay sane in a crazy world" and just popped over to say thank you.

    *wavingfromlosangeles*

    _teamgloria (sophia stuart)

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