The Creatives - Viewing the World in a Different Way

"Calla, Like Georgia" ©Mary Montague Sikes

The Creatives are a different brand of people. The ones I've known view the world in their own unique ways. They are interesting and amazing folks. They look around them and see things others do not. They are often people who bring vision and change to a community.

I suspect the Creatives throughout history have always been a little different. They "think outside the box" to develop artwork, architecture, writing, and more. They are not your ordinary artists. I have always admired the work of artist Georgia O'Keeffe because she was brave and daring, living mostly in a world of art dominated by men. She looked at a flower and saw more than petals. She lived the life of a Creative.

"Hibiscus" ©MM Sikes

Who are the Creatives among the writers we know? Perhaps they are the ones who have stood the test of time. Shakespeare? Whitman? Thoreau ?

The Creatives "march to the beat of a different drummer," like the words of Henry David Thoreau. Do you know a Creative?

"Z" is for Zion National Park

Zion National Park, established in 1919, was the first of Utah's five National Parks. According to the National Park Service site, the people there 12,000 years ago hunted mammoths, giant sloths, and camels. Then by about 8,000 years ago, over-hunting and climate change caused those animals to die out. The people then focused on hunting smaller animals and gathering food. The Zion elevations, 3,666 to 8,726 feet, proved ideal for growing certain crops. Mormon pioneer settlers arrived there in 1856 and endured the hardship of flash floods and drought.

Howard Russell Butler

Frederick Samuel Dellenbaugh

The dramatic scenery of the 15-mile long Zion Canyon cut along the north folk of the Virgin River has inspired numerous artists, including Howard Russell Butler and Frederick Samuel Dellenbaugh. How fortunate that artists visited this National Park and inspired us with their depictions of the unforgettable scenery. The museum at Zion National Park houses some of this work.

  

Howard Russell Butler