Creativity manifests in many ways and is the result of our nature and our nurture. Growing up in a Philadelphia suburb in a modest home with nurturing parents was a blessing. Creativity was a way of life. Not having the means to just go out and make a purchase meant that life was based on creative ways to fill our needs. My mother was an artist by training having attended Moore College. But that talent was soon put to use to create a nurturing home. Her home became her palette… each meal was presented with a colorful plate artistically arranged. She made our clothes, canned vegetables and fruit from the gardens, arranged fresh flowers, and upholstered and refinished our furniture, to create a warm and inviting home. That same talent extended to us… from our school projects, creating golf courses in the yard, forts in trees and more, Mom always had suggestions and pointers to improve the work. Dad provided the philosophical base with a strong sense of values, patience and persistence, and integrity. When it came to sports, it was all about form and visualization in addition to practice.

As a type A watching Mom paint and trying to execute for myself, the frustration level was very high. That resulted in my leaning toward athletics, where I wasn’t in Mom’s shadow, and pursuing teaching physical education as a profession. Interestingly, every athletic skill that I learned I viewed as “art in motion.” Fast forward 50 years, while in the midst of packing for a move, I was getting ready to throw out my mother’s art supplies. After rethinking that move, I thought I would check the condition and give them to my niece. As fate would have it, there was a blank canvas in the supplies and I wondered if I could paint. And so, the new adventure has begun. I’m not sure where it’s going, but I’m enjoying the ride.