Hardwired for Creativity is a teaching memoir and educational workbook, focused on encouraging and supporting growing creative students before and beyond the knowledge of formal art principles and techniques. Creativity is expressed in a variety of ways, like painting, writing, performing arts, crafts, woodworking, business management, and employee development.
This book is divided into two Sections. The first Section is divided into four parts: cultivating creativity, developing creative work, thinking differently, and acknowledging others. Section two is full of creativity-related topics, such as brainstorming, project management, critiques, research, intuition, and procrastination. All these topics are important to developing creative work and a creative lifestyle.
Emergent students, artists, and creatives need tools of everyday understanding to successfully sustain balanced lives of creative structure and freedom. This book is dedicated to the exploration of these everyday topics through a variety of pedagogy, like qualitative research, and the creatives’ life experiences.
Mixed Media Artwork by Jane Wetzel, Hinckley, Ohio
Jane Wetzel is a mixed media artist living south of Cleveland Ohio. She lives in a small little township called Hinckley. After putting four kids through college Jane’s husband (of 41 years ) surprised her with classes at The Cleveland Institute of Art.
Jane now has four grandchildren and a nice and quiet home. She has continued her art education through several online classes and traveling to classes mostly through the eastern part of the U.S. She has taught classes locally and has been published several times including in Somerset Studio, Green Craft magazine and Art Journaling to name a few. Jane’s art is in a few small art galleries in Ohio, a local coffee shop and several little local businesses.
Jane says, “It’s the process that makes me so happy creating mixed media pieces. The layers are so fun. They are pretty funky but fun!”
If you are interested in contacting Jane, just send us an email at Hardwired365@gmail.com.
It’s been a while, but I had fun making this guy. I’ll do some finishing touches and wait several months before firing him. Let’s pray he doesn’t bust open in the kiln. I’m still learning…. What should I call him?
“Life motivation comes from the deep longings of the heart, and the passion to see them fulfilled urges you onward.”
My most recent drawing for a handmade book I want to make.
I’ll Share My Creativity
Something has been bothering me lately. How can I host and maintain four blogs with podcasts on three of them, and videocasts on one?
I’m an artist and author and have a lot happening in my life regarding my health. I have been diagnosed with five rare diseases or disorders, yep five. Not to mention what I call my lesser diseases, such as Type 2 Diabetes and Fibromyalgia which are a result of some of the other illnesses. The annoying five are:
CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome)
EDS-3 Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Type 3)
POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome)
DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder)
PNES (Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures)
I have separate blogs for CRPS and DID. I also have a site I rarely post at which is janarawling.com for my art making (though I forget to post stuff). Add to that, I am a Believer in Christ Jesus and have a blog site for that at HardwiredForLife.com (I have a partner on this one), and well, you see where I’m going with this. I get very tired and can’t post to all of them consistently, and I don’t. I suffer from symptoms every day mainly including pain, seizures, overall fatigue and falling down (sometimes breaking bones). I’ve had to stop working as a commercial art professor, which I miss very much. But I can still write when I feel okay, and I can make some art, which brings me joy through the pain.
I was wondering if I should combine some of the blogs, but I’m pretty sure that someone with CRPS doesn’t care about my DID, DIDers don’t care about POTS, and so on. I’ve been asking the Lord about it and He told me that the common denominator for all of my sites is not only me, but also is my art making, my creativity.
God told me that DIDers, CRPSers, Believers, and Artists all enjoy creativity. So, if you don’t mind, I will post the same art making and writing to all of my sites. That way, I have some universal content. I will still keep everything separate, but some creativity will be the same.
Whew! I feel better now. I feel that sharing my creativity is something I can do that will bring me tons of joy. Plus, I’m working hard on my healing and joy is a precious remedy.
Thank you for participating in my journey from wherever you’ve come.
With Love,
Jana
P.S.: Can I pray for you? If so, contact me via email, or just say, “Yes” and I will be honored.
P.S.S.: I’m currently writing a book called, “Hardwired for Creativity: Art Supplies for the Mind” that should be finished sometime this year. I’ll let you know when that happens.
I love to Sculpt with water-based clay. I love the
relationship that I build with the clay and the subject as the clay dries and
changes in texture and plasticity. I love that there’s a time-factor to
finishing the work as it is formed and dries. The clay feels alive and working
it is all about developing relationship.
I’ve never tried to add color when finishing figures before,
but this one kept calling for it. When I was firing this piece and painting it,
I was heavily into studying about angels in God’s Kingdom and army. I have
looked at angels before, but this seems to be a renaissance of my ability to
see and communicate with them in my life. It’s exciting.
And, the fun part is that as I was sculpting my next angel,
I asked for help and was pleasantly surprised at the outcome. I’ll post him
later.
If you would like to know more about angels, look at Blake Healy’s books, The Veil and Profound Good.
Clay Figure Sculpture “Ella,” Unfinished, by Jana Rawling
Finding Meaning
There’s story behind art; stories of subject and emotion past and present—perhaps the future too. Art you hate and love speak volumes if you take the time to listen. Why? The stories are a combination of the artist, the environment, the moment and the viewer.
Artists tell stories and must let them go at just the right moment to allow the viewer to add their own framework to the piece. Art hides treasures we image to find. Galleries hang, curators cull and gather threads of life to unify an experience. The viewer animates the work; absorbing and creating some originally new essence to carry home within their heart.
I’m not talking about commercial art where the message comes first, and the artist drives the viewer to get it. I’m talking about mastery of romantic form and function, whether analog or digital. Painting, sculpture, performance, installations, drawing, whatever art that evokes emotion; any emotion.
If I’ve made work that one person loves and another hates, I have been successful. ♥
What an honor. God called the craftsmen who were to work on the tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant by their names. Names are very important to God, and His names are crucial for us to know His attributes and character. If you call yourself and artist, be proud yet humbled by the gifts and skills that He has deposited in you.
“Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord called by name Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom and skill, with intelligence and understanding, and with knowledge in all [areas of] craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs to work in gold, silver, and bronze, and in the cutting of stones for setting and in the carving of wood, for work in every skilled craft. He has also put in Bezalel’s heart [the willingness] to teach [others the same skills], both he and Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with skill to do the work of an engraver, of a designer, and of an embroiderer, in blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, and in fine linen, and of a weaver; makers of every work and embroiderers of [excellent] designs.” — Exodus 35:30-35 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Excerpt from the Book: Hardwired for Purpose: Blazing Trails to Follow God’s Lead from a Creative’s Perspective by Jana Rawling
I made another Gourd in between all of the writing, blogging and podcasting I do. It was so fun to carve these waves. I really needed to step away a get creative.
Buried Emotional Toxins
We carry our emotions in every cell of our body. Many of those emotions are negative and destructive. They cause illness and pain mentally, spiritually and physically. And much of this is done subconsciously. So, it’s important that we work to rid ourselves of the toxic emotions that hide deep inside of us.
One way to draw out the emotional toxins and heal from them is to be creative. When we tap into the Creative Spirit, we become free. In that moment of true connection to our Creator we heal, we gain understanding, wisdom and knowledge—and we can be more productive when we return to our task, deadline, etc.
So, make something. Do something. Anything. It doesn’t have to be “good” to be a cathartic exercise. The minute we begin to be creative our atmosphere shifts from overwhelming stress to relaxation. It’s best we just set aside that thing we are stressed about completing (before we can take the time to be creative) and just start. Write, doodle, color, draw, sculpt, make or exercise, be loving to someone, give.
Practice cathartic exercises daily and you’ll be surprised at how much more other stuff you’ll get done. ♥
It moves, acts and reacts to your hands, to time, temperature, to care and love. I’m not a potter in the functional sense. Mugs and plates don’t interest me. It’s people that does. Not small figurines, nor abstract creatures personified. It’s just people that does—with God and without reference.
The first time I touched water-based clay my hands squished, rolled, patted and punched and a face emerged. I was shocked. I hated drawing people, especially portraits. I discovered as a youth that the movement of a mere line can make or break the work. So, why try? asked my then fearful self.
But clay is different. I hear my hands calling to play. They cry out to create each feature and I find myself wanting to touch people’s ears to feel how the helix curves over the fossa. I watch the movement of their lips, as I steadily tune-out their words, wondering exactly where their zygotic muscles connect to the skull below.
Clay requires intimacy.
It dries and changes and I must change with it. I must play by its rules yet communicate with it what I desire.
Together we worship our Creator God and we become something new—our hearts singing His praise.
We work until we can look at each other and say, “Hi, it’s nice to finally meet you.”
Jana ♥
The Potter and the Clay
18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.
Just Sharon & Jana 
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