from the editor

The Spark Issue

Remember kindergarten, when all of us were creative geniuses? When macaroni and yarn constituted “multimedia” and it was acceptable to lick the fingerpaint only to discover that purple doesn’t automatically mean “grape-flavored”? Somewhere along the line we forget that creativity is less about product than process—that the value of pummeling clay or doodling with crayons is in the sheer joy of it, not whether the final result ends up in a gallery (on the fridge is good enough!) Becoming a “creative type” again only means following your curiosity and seeing what happens—even if it’s simply adding a new herb to your regular ol’ Tuesday night salad (chopped cilantro, anyone?) or gluing your seashell collection onto the garage door (oops, make sure it can still open. Sorry, honey.) Not all of us can paint a brilliant field of poppies, type up a ‘zine, capture Lowcountry life, compose a catchy melody or stitch up a handbag like the fabulous women profiled this month, but we’re all capable of honoring the impulse. Heck, I may never draw a recognizable horse, but I’m not ashamed to admit I know what paste tastes like.

~jessica leigh

jessica.leigh@skirt.com