Writing of the hand

From the dawn of time, people have been developing various ways of communicating and corresponding effectively. God gave us the gift of speech, and also gave us different languages across the world. Man has created variations of these different languages. However, another form of communication that has consistently developed throughout time is handwriting. One might even consider it the original art form, as handwriting is unique to each person. Once more contributing to my theory in my first post that everyone is creative in their own way!

My version

of print.

Anywho, with the dawning of new technology every day and society's increasing reliance upon the likes thereof, a slow decline in the art of handwriting has begun. Each day in my profession as a teacher, I get to see some of the best and worst handwriting. But, who is to say that even the "chicken scratch" in this realm is not art though? I mean, do we not use fonts on the computer that look like poor handwriting to set ourselves apart in a design or logo? I have no doubt that there are several people who may argue this point.



My version of cursive.

 

All of the thousands of fonts that we have today are stemmed from various artists' renderings of people's handwriting. I personally LOVE to hand write things now and take pride in it, which has not always been the case. I have always been a perfectionist to a certain degree, hence as I was growing up, sometimes writing was a painstaking chore, especially cursive writing. In my high school days, because I did like cursive, but hated writing it fully (lack of fluidity), I would mix print and cursive. However, in college of all places, I was able to hone my cursive handwriting skills, and became rather fluent. Now, I absolutely love writing in cursive, and it is actually fun for me.

While I love writing in cursive, and the fluidity of it, I would have to say that my mixture of print and cursive is more creative. Thinking about it, I suppose since I loathed writing in cursive as a child, but liked the idea of it, I incorporated the letters that I liked writing in cursive into my print. So, in that case, nobody who mixes both uses the same ratio of letters of cursive and print. It is

A quote by yours truly,
using cursive/print mix.

fascinating really. No matter how sloppy or neat, large or microscopic, rigid or bubbly, we all unconsciously create our own form of handwriting... our own font... our own typeface.



I would like to encourage YOU to, if you don't already write fluently and fluidly (and legibly), start writing in cursive. Here is a page that you can go to to get some practice. It has examples of the alphabet in print and cursive in the "A Beka-style" of handwriting. The cursive writing methods of this style are my favorite of those that I have perused. So, whether you want to brush up on some of your letters, or improve upon your handwriting, relax, have fun, and don't forget to let your creativity ensue!

Cookie Creativity

Growing up, my dad taught my sisters and me how to make cookies. However, living in the fast-paced society that is now called the modern world, he showed us a shortcut. That shortcut was to make cookies out of a cake mix. I mean, you cannot get much easier than mixing a quarter cup of oil, quarter cup of water, one egg, a cake mix of course, and any other enhancements you deem worthy of being in YOUR cookie.

My personal favorite is a yellow cake mix cookie with chocolate and peanut butter chips nestled within. However, this year I have been trying to break away from my simple minded ways and concoct something new and inventive. Sometimes, when in pursuit of something of this nature, it is best to walk through the aisles of your local grocery store and let your mind wander. Which, this is EXACTLY what I did. This past summer I created the hit sensation and ever-so-popular Carrot Cake Cookie (to be blogged about later), but seeing as how spring and summer are just around the corner, I wanted to create a cookie with those seasons in mind. After my meanderings, I formulated a new creation!!! Pineapple Upside Down Cake Cookies!!!!!

First attempts going
into the oven.
Brown sugar and
butter sauce on
 top and bottom

First attempts coming
out of the oven.
A little flat.

I figured, why not bring the joys of this tasty cake into a nice handheld treat? So I decided that I was going to use a pineapple cake mix and incorporate crushed pineapple, and figure out a way to make that gooey, sugary sauce that melds the pineapple and cake together. So, here are a couple of pictures of my first attempt.






So, the result was a little flat as you can see, due to using too much pineapple juice (I substituted it for the water), and they were a bit too artificial tasting due to the pineapple cake mix. So, in my second attempt, I definitely tweaked the recipe. I used a french vanilla cake mix, doubled my amount of crushed pineapple, reduced my amount of pineapple juice, and only put my butter and brown sugar mix on the top. And with those slight changes and a change in name, the result was much more desirable and beautiful for the second attempt at making Pineapple Upside UP Cookies!

Second attempt heading into
be baked.

So, take your cue from me, and go and create yourself a new cake mix cookie. Go ahead! Do not be afraid to let your cookie creativity ensue!
 

Second attempt fresh
out of the oven!
Mmm... Caramelized brown sugar
and butter!

The On-set of Ensuing

There are three schools of thought in the world when it comes to creativity. There are those who say they are not creative at all, those who might not say they are creative but are, and those who willingly admit they are creative. In my opinion, everybody is creative in some way, shape, or form. 

There are many ways to be creative from putting together an outfit to baking a cake, from writing a story to ad-libbing a song. Let's face it, if you are using your imagination, you are being creative. So really, there is not one person who is void of creativity. I mean, if you are trying to find an excuse why you are not creative, you are being creative. 

That brings me to my goal in writing this blog, and that is to inspire you to be creative in a plethora of mediums. So stay tuned for some fun ways to let your creativity ensue!