What creative thing have you done that you are most proud of?

I created this great personal web page for my wife and I to keep track of things such as addresses, appointments and such. It’s the most creative page I’ve ever made.

We recently finished this

I used to make quilts which are a highly stylized art form, believe it or not. I took great pride in the craft of picking materials, patterns, cutting, sewing, stuffing, layering, quilting with the ultimate end result usually being something I would proudly display for a little while and then give away to a friend to enjoy the use of.
Most recently I loaded tons of old CDs into my Blackberry and am learning to use more or its wonderful features. That feels like an accomplishment of sorts!

In addition to the wonderful human beings I have somehow managed to raise, a poem I wrote and a few of my paintings.

@ragingloli that looks cool! I always wanted to design a video game. Don’t have the necessary skills though.

As for me, I have trouble being proud of my creations, which is what will prevent me from ever becoming a writer (an old dream of mine) because I don’t have faith in my work and I hold myself to high standards. That said, I have made some music that was featured in an independent video game, and I’m pretty proud of that, though I know I have a long way to go as far as music production goes.

I feel the same as the Bubby – sans paintings. I suck at drawing. Add a song or two.

@ragingloli Did you do the teaser or the game?

the teaser. the game does not exist yet

@ragingloli That is pretty awesome. I’m impressed.

I practically rebuild my ex marital home, it was snapped up when it went on the market when I separated from my ex….. We made a tidy little profit but I was gutted to have to let it go, I put my heart & soul into that house…. I still keep tabs on it :-/
just to see what the new owners are up to.. Yes!! Sad I know!!…………. Over ten years on :-/

Song writer.

I am in the final stages of writing a book. We’re in the editing process. I have a true lit agent and house that I’m dealing with. It’s not self-published. I’m getting nervous.

I drew portraits of each of my children. They were done in pencil and were about A3 size. I was going to frame each one. Sighs… then while they were in the drawing pad, my ex husband put a damp car manual on top of them and they went mouldy! I never did get around to repeating the process. It sort of took the wind out of my sails. They were lovely though and although I say it myself, I did a damn fine job!

I have also written some lovely poetry too. I used to put them on a web poetry site. Haven’t done that for a long time.

@cak That is so wonderful. If anyone can pull it off, you can! How’s your son?

@janbb The little guy is okay. He’s on a long course of medications and has some tests coming up. His stamina is getting better, but he’s still weaker than normal.

I don’t know, the process is driving me crazy!

I used to design and create fantasy costumes. I won a prize for one of my designs. I also won a ribbon in a county fair for one of my needle point designs and a quilt.

I’ve written a series of award winning poems.

I act on a regular basis. I really love it, so I’ve brought too many characters to the stage to narrow it down to just one. I’m really proud of my King Claudius in Hamlet, Dracula in The Passion of Dracula, the Emperor in Amadeus, and the ghost of John Barrymore in I Hate Hamlet.

I have kept visual and written journals since I was 13. It makes me feel like there will be something there when I am gone. I told Mike (my husband) to publish them when I die, if he survives me.

Wow! Kudos to you all! I am completely awed by what you all have accomplished.

Ladymia, you are so organised. I always intend to write in my journal but don’t. What a fabulous record of your life you have.

@Mz_Lizzy Of course it has been on and off, I have not been consistent all the time…and it has been a scramble to keep up with saving all the notebooks/books i have written in…but it is so worth it to see where I have come from! It’s the story of a life! I highly recommend starting it at any point in your life! If you need inspiration, pick up Natalie Goldberg’s book “Writing Down the Bones”. It is a great resource for me.

I’m proud of nothing I’ve done creatively. So, frankly I am little jealous of you folks (and proud of course). :D

I act, bake, collage, cook, dance, design, draw, paint, photograph, sculpt, sew, silversmith, sing, spray-paint, and write. I’m very creative, sometimes I even show talent, but I have yet to do anything I’m actually proud of. For me this question is rather sadistic, but as a masochistic type, I had to answer. I’ve come up with many creative solutions, surprised myself on occasion, and done things I didn’t think I had in me. Not one thing to look back on and be proud of.

One day there will be many projects to look back on with pride, hopefully. It’s all a work in progress.

I should grab one of the many books I have bought to act as journals and put one on my desk at work. I will check out the book too Ladymia. Thank you.

@everephebe I soirt of know how you feel. When I read this question, I thought about it, and I didn’t really feel that proud about any of my creative accomplishments.

Goodness everephebe, perhas you are being too critical of your work? You sound incredibly creative.

@Mz_Lizzy Thank you for saying so… And you’re correct, I am quite critical of myself. I’ve destroyed the majority of my work because it wasn’t worth saving in my mind. Whenever I feel really great about one piece, it’s very short lived, and then I critic it to death. But I think it comes down to having not done enough yet. Good art takes time. Artistically I’m impatient or perhaps over-passionate, I work very quickly.

@everephebe Yeah, it’s a sadistic question, and I even wrote it. I was hoping to see what other people were proud of in order to see if there was anything I was overlooking that I could be proud of. Unfortunately, even though I do a lot of stuff, none of it is distinguished in any way. The only thing I can say is that I do a lot of things well. But I don’t do anything very well, nothing that the general public might think worthy of their attention.

But then, it’s not about that, is it? It’s about the process, right? But fuck it. All of life is a process—at least once I’d like to find myself somewhere that I could look around and say, “Hey. This is pretty darn cool,” and other people would also say it was cool, too. But it’s never been enough for my standards.

@wundayatta My standards have always gotten in the way of my enjoyment of what I create also.It’s like torture, really.

no specific order
An electronics project I did in HS that won first place in the State Fair.
A design for a RAID controller I still collect royalies on (thank you adaptec)
Specific pieces of music and poetry.
Some architectural house designs.
Daughter

I learned to play the drums at the age of 50 and I currently play with a gospel group , though I love to throw down .
I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d play drums , so I am amazed to say the least and proud that I learned .

My jewelry designs and the business I had with my ex spouse. I hadn’t drawn since a child and it tooks a few months to get back my dexterity but then I dialed in and had a blast.

Wundayatta and Everephebe, I think you need to put your work away when you finish it and not look at it for a few weeks or longer if necessary. We are our own worst critics and you will never know whether others like your work or not if you destroy it before anyone can see it. I seriously doubt your projects are as bad as you think they are. I understand where you are coming from but in my field, I constantly have to let other people view my work and their feedback is never as bad as I assume it is going to be.

@Mz_Lizzy I never go back and read anything I’ve written. Never. Well, not quite never. But it is truly embarrassing when I do, so I am unlikely to do it for any reason other than to remember something.

I’ve been listening to some of my music from a few years back. All I can say is that it’s a good thing I can fake it, because my playing is abominable. I don’t know if there’s a single phrase I played where I didn’t crack at least one note, or go somewhere completely off key, or where I didn’t totally crack a note—usually many in a row.

There are a few pieces I do like to listen to. I don’t know if more than a couple other people would like to listen to them.

I hope it doesn’t make me too self-conscious. I’ve already been changing what I do because of what I’ve heard. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. I’m amazed that no one has complained. I know if I were someone else playing the way I do, I would be unable to play with me. It’s really surprisingly awful. Good thing no one complains, because I sure do enjoy it. But it’s not something to be proud of.

Anyway, judgment is not the point. It’s just what I hear in my head is so different from what I can actually do. It really doesn’t matter. It’s just for fun. I should probably stop recording things because that does take away from it. I had been hoping to find some good stuff, but I haven’t so far. I mean, I remember really cool places in the performance, but they just aren’t there on the recording. It can’t just be the chintzy recording that makes that stuff so hard to find.

Similarly, I like to spin words just for fun. I would never want to have to rely on them for income. Or maybe I should. I might be able to lose the weight I need to lose, if I only had the income I could get from writing. But it’s just fun for me to see what I think. If anyone else enjoys it, that’s gravy. All I really want is to avoid having people tell me to stop.

Well as long as you are loving what you do. That really is the point isn’t it. You are quite right there. I still doubt your work is as bad as you think it is though. :-) And I say this because of personal experience. Why not join a writer’s group and get some constructive feedback? Not the evil voice in our heads that says “this is crap” but feedback from someone who can’t hear that voice but does have experience in terms of creative writing. What do you have to lose except a few grey hairs while you stress over the verdict?

teaching in the Mckenzie TN music program in the 80s. 2nd in state. jr high 2nd in fish fry.

I write songs, want them to be hits.

Aside from my children, I’m proud of a few things I’ve written (some are here), a few paintings, a decoupaged step stool (that seems odd, but it really is pretty. Useful, too!), a bookcase I built, and a room I remodeled all by myself. I do love to use those power tools!

@Mz_Lizzy I not sure that getting writing torn apart is very good for one’s motivation. You can call it constructive criticism, but anyone with half a brain can see the criticism behind so-called “constructive” criticism.

It’s bad enough when someone says something good about what I write—I assume they are just trying to be nice, and I appreciate the effort. But when someone is “constructive,” it totally messes me up. This business is not for me. I’ma gonna keep my day job. ;)

Well constructive criticism shouldn’t be delivered in a way that shreds someone’s work. I doubt everything in a piece would need criticism, some would attract praise. Certainly I always look for both positives and negatives. Stilll unfortunately, criticism is part of writing though. Whether we are talking creative or professional (journalism etc.) writing, people critique your work. Ultimately though, you know yourself and yes, if receiving other people’s feedback is going to be too painful, it would be best not to go there. Personally, if I am too close to work when I get feedback I shove it in a drawer until I can read it with an open mind and not feel too ‘hurt’ by the content. Anyway, I am sure this is all off topic so I will leave it here.

One of the biggest thrills I have had was a silk nightgown with french lace that was sold in Bergdorf Goodman in New York as an exclusive. Also one time I was just watching TV and there was a scene where a girl was running away from someone through a jungle and she was in a nightgown and I started jumping up and down screaming, “that’s my nightgown, I designed that!!! I don’t believe it!”
But the thing I am proudest of is a christening gown that I made for a friend’s baby. I put lots of loving detail on it-pintucks and applique lace and it had a matching bonnet. The lace was all the finest quality french lace. The stitches were super fine and it was all french seams. I designed it, made the pattern and sewed every stich myself. I wanted to make it heirloom quality. And it fit the baby perfectly too! She looked like a little princess.

That is so cool Earthgirl. That would be very thrilling to see something you designed worn in a film. I can see that the christening gown would really touch your heart though.

@Earthgirl Let me echo what @Mz_Lizzy said. I can imagine your excitement. I bet it was thrilling for everyone around you.

I wonder if one can say there is something more satisfying about things one has made that occupies physical space. Things that you make that are here and gone—music, dance—seem harder to know what you’ve done when they are gone. You can get philosophical or spiritual about that—how it is symbolic of the ephemeral nature of life, and how it teaches about living in the moment—but there are times when I yearn to have done something lasting; something that people could continue to discover and appreciate for years; something that I would know about in some concrete way, such as through book sales figures.

That, however, is not my life. I must learn to be content with the moment.

Mz Lizzy wundayatta Thanks for your comments. It was exciting though short-lived! I’ve actually made 2 christening dresses but the second was my masterpiece! I put a lot into it. I even bought a new sewing machine so I could do the tiny little zigzag stitches that it requires to applique the lace.
I find a lot of satisfaction in creating with my hands. I also still get a thrill out of seeing my designs made up when they are sewn by someone else. I’m sometimes sort of hovering over the lady who sews it, asking “Is it soup yet?!” (reference to an old Campbell’s commercial,lol)

@wundayatta Maybe you should record or make a video of some of your “of-the-moment” creations. If nothing else, your kids will have them to show their kids, someday. :)

@augustlan Videos aren’t cool. It makes people self-conscious. A lot of people don’t want video there.

However, I have been recording them on my phone. It’s not great quality, but it’s something. But I’m beginning to regret doing it. It’s a kind of “you had to be there” thing. The music doesn’t translate well outside of its context. Either that, or it sucks.

So perhaps it is better to not record it. That way you can let it give you that good feeling for a few hours and then makes something different happen the next week.

The thing I wish I could be proud of is my writing. Alas, I think I have made a sum total of $50 on my writing in my life. I think I’ve seen two articles and one letter to the editor in print in my life, and it’s been a decade or so since that letter to the editor.

Actually, come to think of it, I was proud of that letter at the time. But hardly anyone reads old newspapers.

@wundayatta If I were you, I’d be proud of my writing. From what I’ve seen, it’s worth being proud of, paid or not. FWIW, you’ve made $50 more than me. ;)

wundayatta a friend of mine from college just got this prestigious poetry prize last year for his first book of poetry. I bought the book and it was good but my favorite poem of his is his first poem ever published. I knew him when it happened. I have searched the internet to try to see if it is out there for posterity and not just buried in some obscure poetry journal. I haven’t been able to find it. I think it’s sad that so much great work just goes unacclaimed and in this case, it was even published! Look at Emily Dickinson who stashed her dresser full of unknown but great poetry that no one ever knew existed. It didn’t mean she wasn’t great just because it was never published.

@Earthgirl It’s probably stupid and not very evolved, but I’d like to get a little financial validation from the general public before I die. Besides which, I don’t write poetry and stuff it in a dresser. ;-)

wundayatta I do!

@wundayatta, poetry doesn’t pay money. Poetry pays in the quality of life you live, because in order to be a poet you have to see the world in a different light. The best poems I’ll ever write will be the wrinkles in my skin. I doubt I’ll ever earn any money writing regular poems.

Poetry is dead for now, or perhaps I mean, it’s undead currently. The world of poetry is far too academic, and learned. Poetry use to be of the people, now reality TV is of the people.

I think the dresser is a lovely idea for storing poetry. —-One of these fine days, I’ll even wear a few around.—-