Find your Creative Self this Summer

And know what else? They want YOU to be creative, in whatever way you can. Summer is the best time to explore your creativity at some of our local institutions where you can have fun being creative.

How many times do you see a bracelet at a craft show and think you could do better or you would do it different? You can create your own jewelry at Paula Atwell’s Lake Erie Artists Gallery where she hosts jewelry making and wine parties in the back room. If it sounds fun, you’re right — I’ve seen a group laughing it up while choosing their beads at the Shaker Square location. Westsiders may find it easier to get to Old River Road in Rocky River where Embellish teaches beading and offers a summer Fun Pass.

The first time I attended a class at Laurel Run Cooking School in Vermilion, I wanted to open up my own cooking school — it just seemed like so much fun to get a group of people together and create an Alsatian meal while drinking their white wines. Laurel Run is, unfortunately, not open this summer, but Loretta Paginini is, and there’s a host of classes ranging from homemade pasta to basic techniques of cooking, many of which are getting filled up so if cooking’s on your list of things to tackle this summer, go to http://LPSCInc.com.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t explore a painting class at the Cleveland Institute of Art or Baycrafters (which I’ve done), but maybe you should explore an off-the-beaten path place to paint, like Art House. Sophie Cayless is teaching oil pastels on Tuesdays from Wed 7/10 to Wed 7/31 for $50/session plus a $15 material fee. Pastels combine drawing and painting, and the class will explore how the medium does on varied surfaces. May you return home with blues, yellows, and reds on your fingers after signing up here.

How many of you love the way Eric Clapton plays guitar or Phil Lesh plays keyboards and can feel your fingers reaching for the keys and the strings? Did you take lessons as a child and not follow up? From School of Rock in Rocky River to Cleveland Institute of Music to the Beck Center, there are places you can go to find your inner musician and cultivate what you learned as an adolescent. There’s no rule on when to or how to start over — just do it. Baldwin Wallace’s Conservatory Outreach Department offers adult mid-day brain food guitar and voice group classes for beginners and fiddling classes for violin and viola players as well as private lessons in anything you choose to do, from flute to theater.

Now that The Lit is gone, writers are taking advantage of area conferences offered by Lakeland Community College and Skyline Writers as well as critique groups at local colleges. But what if you want in-depth, gritty, writing-down-the-bones help for your poetry and short stories? Writers have many resources to help them become better writers, like these. We write in solitude but we need writerly support.

What’s your favorite way to be creative? Is it sketching downtown buildings, dancing on tables at your local bar or creating murals on restaurant walls? Is it simply finding the time and state of mind to be creative? Find your creative self this summer. Start by thinking about it while lying on a beach.

Claudia Taller is the author of Ohio’s Lake Erie Wineries and has been a Cool Cleveland contributor for many years. She helps writers and other creative people discover possibilities for their lives through Igniting Possibilities events, including Word Lovers retreats. She has written articles for numerous publications over the last decade and blogs at http://ClaudiaTallerMusings.blogspot.com. Her book can be purchased at http://OhioLakeErieWineries.blogspot.com and makes a perfect gift for history buffs and wine lovers.