Creative Every Day

Be a Gatherer

March 2nd, 2008

This owl is on the lookout for inspiration. Woot! Give a Hoot, Don't Pollute! Ahem...

We're into the 3rd month of being Creative Every Day. If you're having trouble keeping up or want to spice things up, try some of these ideas to help keep you going.

When I think about creativity and all the different ways we can express it, I think of different categories of being creative. One of them is:

- Gathering/Collecting: I don't necessarily mean physically gathering here, though it could be. In this form of creativity, I enjoy gathering ideas. I may be out looking for inspiration or I may just stumble upon it. This is why it's so important to have some kind of small notebook or sketchbook wherever you go! Here are some examples of this gathering phase:

• On a long drive back from NY with the hubster, the shape of the trees against the sky and the colors of the sunset sparked my imagination. I grabbed my mini-sketchbook out of my purse (don't worry, I wasn't driving!) and made a quick sketch along with notes about color combinations.
• I keep an inspiration book near my bed and often take double-sided tape, catalogs, and old magazines into bed with me and start tearing. Sometimes I tear out fabric patterns and mix them with furniture and pictures of teapots and bulletin boards. Sometimes, I put together images I'd like to have in my dream studio space and other times I just tear and tear whatever my heart desires and then put them together in combinations that please me. I did this last night, this time I was tearing through a design magazine and tearing out colors, tiles, and textures for a dream house.
• When the weather is kinder, a walk can lead to all sorts of discoveries, from a bright orange leaf, someone's grocery list, a beautiful rock, a worn metal washer, an incredibly bent vine. A camera can capture the things you see and sometimes these things can come home with you as inspiration or to be part of a piece of art!
• When I'm at the library or bookstore, I'm often in this gathering frame of mind. In the library, I like to wander the aisles and put my hands on any book that calls out to me. Then I'll escape to a soft chair near the windows and look through them all. I soak up all kinds of inspiration this way. I may take out some of them and the rest I leave behind.
• Sometimes an internet search is a way of gathering (although I have to be careful not to get too lost as the internet is endless and there is so much to find!) Looking up a word or phrase on google and then looking up that same word under the images category will often bring you interesting places. Flickr is full of beauty and inspiration and I'm constantly discovering new groups that are full of ideas. Do stop in and check out what some of the Creative Every Day 2008 people are doing over on the Flickr group and join if you'd like!

After gathering and collecting, you may want to bring some ideas to life. I'll write more about that tomorrow. Til then, happy creating!

**P.S. My friend Jessie just started her new business, Stray Dog Arts, doing pet portraiture and she currently has a show up of some of her gorgeous dog paintings. Her new website just went live. You've got to see the gorgeous work she does. Absolutely stunning! Congrats, Jessie!