For INT 310, this is the home of my Creativity Portfolio

 

But I have to go to the cottage, it's for school!

So the last class towards my Leadership degree starts right here, right now. But I think this blog has been a creativity portfolio since I first started it. I welcome my classmates and Dr. Ripple to read further back if they want to learn entirely too much about cottage renovations, figure skating, John Deacon/Queen/The Beatles, thrift store finds, contemplation of life choices, bars from the 1970s, baseball, and food. 

One of the first assignments is an observation experiential project, and the assignment I'm choosing: find a particular place in nature and visit it for 30 minutes at least three times a week. Identify particular sounds, colors, and/or smells. I think chronicling life by the Muskegon River will be a welcome project, especially if the ice is starting to break up. Looks like I'm taking my little laptop back up north this weekend. 

I also need to figure out what kind of creative I am, set some goals, and work on a creativity portfolio which, oh look where we are! I don't see why this wouldn't count! 

I'm looking forward to this class of all the classes I've taken towards this goal. There's going to be a lot of work, but it's cheerful work doing stuff I love. At least some of my classmates will learn how to repair a bowling pin lamp. 

INT 310: Shoe Repair

Yikes, do I toss them?

A scrub and a couple coats of rubberized spray.

Ready to re-wear.

Missoni is an Italian luxury brand that back in 2011, did a line at Target that allowed us midwesterners to feel like we could hang with the Manhattan influencers. 

As you can see from the first picture, I wore the hell out of them. 

I did my semi-annual tough love closet purge, but couldn’t bring myself to toss them. One of the how-to videos that has been popping up on Facebook has been cobblers fixing Louboutins heels and Chanel flats. What repairs could I do without the skills or tools?

Enter Gorilla spray rubberized spray and sealant. I scrubbed the bottoms clean, masked off the fabric so it wouldn't stain, liberally applied two coats of spray, then laid them in the sun to dry. They look great.

If they fall apart, I can honestly say they don’t owe me a dime. But in our disposable, fast-fashion society, I’m glad to keep my shoes for another season. That, along with thrifting, free cycling, and getting my sewing machine out for hemming and repairs, keeps things out of landfills. 

“But back home he'll always run to sweet Melissa”

 

Skating in a flowery, floaty tunic is the most me move ever.

There was another instance this weekend of someone attempting to passively/aggressively dismiss my accomplishments by calling awards earned “participation trophies.”

Oh, who the fuck cares. It gets me off the couch.

But this again makes me question my motives and I realize I’m happy where I’m at. The whole reason behind the Monkees free skate is skating for the joy of skating. 

I excel at showcase numbers, but as outlined in the previous post, I had a hard time cutting the right music for a program. I also contemplated what direction I wanted to go for the next program I do.

I’ve been a lunch lady, prom queen, killer queen, Mrs. Claus, Mrs. Hannigan, Minnie the Moocher, Proud Mary, and a weary barmaid at last call. So, why not just be… me? And believe me, in skating it's easier to be someone else then lay yourself bare for a judging panel and audience to judge YOU. 

I also seem to have another kind of rotation in skating, where I trade in and out focusing on technical, artistic, or character driving programs. I have the need to explore pretty again. 

So I edited the Allman Brothers Band version of my namesake song, and found a tunic on Amazon. I'm attempting to be as me as I can be, in song, in dress, and in skating. 

When Your Art Doesn’t Work

Too pretty to cut.

When you are working to create a skating program using someone else’s art, sometimes you run into a snag. My snag was the sweetness of the Flamingoes song I Only Have Eyes for You. At three minutes, 20 seconds, it’s twice as long as I need for a showcase number. Go ahead and try to cut it in half - you can’t do it without eliminating some of the story, the magic, the romance. 

For my regular 8-to-5, I’ve got no problem slashing and burning bum copy that doesn’t work. Taking apart my own work to rebuild it into something better, I can put aside my ego for something better. Guarantee I’ll chop this post up one more time before hitting the publish button.

But this…? This is someone else’s vision, a classic that cannot be respectfully edited without ruining it. I may try one more time, but I may leave it for an exhibition without a time limit.