A Little of This and a Bit of That - Tracy Krauss

In case you missed it, here is this month's theme and prompt: (And I want to give a shout out to Sandi Somers for these wonderfully creative prompts each month.)

"Do you ever wonder what other writers do when they’re not writing? Some of the most accomplished and prolific writers don’t sit at their computers all day. Take Madeline L’Engle, who refreshed herself as she played the piano. Or take our InScribe blog moderator, Tracy Krauss, who loves quilting and drama. Sally Meadows is a singer/songwriter, and Jan Cox is an artist. (I could go on…)"

"Prompt: Tell us about your other art form. It can be something in the range of fine arts, or it can be an artistic garden, woodworking project or creative activities with your children. Can you find a larger meaning for your creativity and the Holy Spirit’s inspiration to you?"

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"Fall Splendour"

As it said in the prompt, I do like quilting and drama, although I haven't done much quilting in the past few years because of eye trouble. (It is too difficult to thread my needle. One of these days I'm going to invest in a self threading machine, but until then...) I have several pages on my blog dedicated to various creative pursuits. To see each one, click the links: 

My quilting page.

Drama on the other hand takes up a lot of my time since it is one of the subjects I teach at the secondary school level. In fact, this very day - June 15 - my students are performing twice - once in the afternoon for the entire school population and once in the evening for the public. They just finished two performances yesterday as well, so tonight is closing night. I put a lot of heart and soul into my 'kids', as I call them. We do two major shows per year and spend pretty much ten out of twelve months rehearsing. I often write the plays but this year we chose two scripts that were already published: Knights of the Rad Table by Pat Lydersen and And Then There Was One by Michael Druce. The first is a King Arthur parody and the second a spoof on an Agatha Christie murder mystery. Super fun... super exhausting... 

My drama page. 

scene from my play  'Mutiny On Mt Olympus'

part of a series I did for Christmas gifts

My first artistic love, however, was drawing. I filled sketchbook upon sketchbook as a child and I went on to study Fine Art at university, getting my degree in Art Education. I still teach Secondary School Art and enjoy it as much as teaching Drama, and I still love to paint and draw in my 'spare' time... (Spare time? That concept is actually laughable!) I do try to enter at least one piece in our regional juried art show each year.  

My Art page.

in my Art classroom

I lead worship at our church and find that playing the piano, especially worship songs, is a wonderful stress reliever. It is probably my best go-to activity when I just need to decompress. I have a piano at home, but I love to go over to the church when no one else is there and play the grand piano. It is very cathartic and I find it brings a lot of clarity, which is logical since it is really just another way to worship and connect with God on a one-on-one basis. No music page. (*smile*)

After reading the other posts this month, I am impressed with what a truly diverse and artistic bunch we are. It makes sense that writers, who are some of the most inventive people around, would also be creative in other areas as well. 

Tracy's Website