An Artsy-Craftsy Friday Five (On Saturday)

I've been preoccupied with a chili cook-off, a blizzard and a sick dog for the last couple of days, so I'm a little behind the weekly schedule. Anyhoo...

Would you call yourself "creative"? Why or why not?
I think of myself more as a creativity voyeur -- in other words, I very much admire and enjoy other people's creativity. I find that, except for writing, trying to be creative myself tends to make me anxious and perfectionistic and ultimately uncreative.

Share a creative or artistic pursuit you currently do that you'd like to develop further.
I do a lot of hack newsletter and such like work on the job. I really don't know what I'm doing, and rely on templates and a mack-daddy clip art collection to get by. I would like to become more comfortable doing this kind of stuff, and transfer those skills to web design.

Share a creative or artistic pursuit you have never done but would like to try.
Take music lessons.

Complete this sentence: "I am in awe of people who can _____________."
Where to begin? I am in awe of people who can sight-read. I am in awe of people who can improvise on musical instruments. I am in awe of people who can sing in harmony. I am in awe of people who can knit patterns in multiple colors. I am in awe of quilters. I am in awe of persons who can embroider French knots. I am in awe of people who can watercolor. I am in awe of people who can start with a blank page and create a pleasing print or website layout ex nihilo.

Share about a person who has encouraged your creativity, who has "called you to your best self." (I'm pretty sure that's from the Gospel of Oprah.)
I grew up in a home where one parent tended to be disdainful of any pursuit that couldn't be parlayed into a money-making venture while the other was self-critical and unconfident, gave up on most creative projects and constantly predicted failure for mine (which often feeds into a self-fulfilling prophecy.) But my aunt, my mom's sister -- a free spirit and very creative person herself -- encouraged me to try any craft or skill that interested me; didn't hover and critique; let me be silly and "color outside the lines."