Tag: creativity

creativity

This just in: Art builds character, literally

Christa Avampato
One of my favorite paper collage inspirations
One of my favorite paper collage inspirations

“Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, and riches take wings. Only one thing endures and that is character.” ~Horace Greeley

I’ve been flipping through a lot of magazines recently gathering swaths of color for some paper collages I’m working on. The best paper materials come from the lush photography of advertising. It’s caused me to see that most of our ads make us crave 2 things: notoriety and possessions. Not a single one focuses on helping us become better people – kinder, more generous, more compassionate, more dedicated to others.

But art can do all of these things. It can and often does inspire us to become the very best version of ourselves. And so as I turn these paper ads into paper art, I hope that I’m doing something, however small, to transform the world around me.

creativity

This just in: Art All Night turned DC into Brooklyn

Christa Avampato

Last night I cruised around locations in Dupont Circle to see art, listen to music, and enjoy the more creative side of D.C. The event took place in 5 neighborhoods across the city. I wasn’t sure how many people would turn out for it, and I was pleasantly surprised by the crowds. It made D.C. feel like Brooklyn – a place where creativity is appreciated and celebrated. It’s exciting to be in a city that is getting its creative legs underneath it and working hard to be known as much for its cultural world as it is for its politics. Here are more details about the event: http://www.thedcarts.com/

Here are a few pics I snapped at some of the venues:

creativity

This just in: Red Poppies by me thanks to Paint Nite

Christa Avampato
Me painting Red Poppies
Me painting Red Poppies

Last week I went to a Paint Nite event. At Paint Nite, a professional artist leads a group of about 20 people to create a pre-designed painting. In a bar. Yes, a bar. Here is a picture of me as I’m painting an abstract, happy piece of work that features red poppies. I love that 2 hours and $25 later I walked away with a painting I created. I’ll certainly be stopping by a Paint Nite around the city more often.

Want to find a Paint Nite in your city? Click here and drink creatively!

creativity

This just in: An artist at work in DC’s Blagden Alley

Christa Avampato
An artist at work in Blagden Alley in D.C.
An artist at work in Blagden Alley in D.C.

On Saturday, I took a spin through Blagden Alley in D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood to see all of the new murals taking shape there. I was fortunate to come upon one of the artists at work. His focus and attention to detail weren’t the least bit diminished by the heat of the day, the size of the canvas he was painting, nor the fact that he was painting in an alley that looks a little worse for wear. The act of creating art was all that mattered to him and that inspires me.

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Beginning: The End of Whining

Christa Avampato

“There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.” – Madeline Albright

I went to two sessions at SXSW yesterday that offered lessons from whining. One session was predicated on bias against women in comedy. The moderator of that session did a lot of whining while her panelists offered more empowering messages. The second session was a conversation with Felicia Day on her web series The Guild, which centers around gaming. She offered a message of authenticity as a way to quit whining and get something done.

As women, it’s an easy out to blame the boys club for our road blocks, and some times it’s true. They get in the way. The boys club is like a bad penny that we can’t get rid of. The hopeful message is that new media outlets give us a way to have a voice and by-pass the establishment. An authentic, articulate message is a powerful potion. And no one can take that away anymore.

Have an idea for a book? Write it and self-publish, blog, or collaborate with existing online resources. Have an idea for a show you’d like to produce? Put it together and get it out online. Same goes for music, comedy, art, business, and a myriad of other fields. The tools to create now belong to the people, not the elite, and certainly not to the boys club establishment. They missed the boat, big time, and in whining all we’re doing is delaying our own development by lamenting the upcoming demise of an establishment that deserves to crumble.

Get over it and create. The only roadblock to our own personal fulfillment is us.