Entries from: September 2013
Creative Every Day Check-In: September 30 – October 6
September 30th, 2013, Comments (4)
This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities.
Join in the Challenge: You can sign-up for the 2013 Challenge here!
Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 9/30/13 - 10/6/13.
The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments. There is sometimes a slight delay in your link/image showing up in the Mr. Linky widget, so if you don't see it immediately, check back in a little bit.
You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter or Instagram you can use the hashtag #CED2013!
Theme: September's totally optional theme is Rhythm, which you read more about here.
Happy Creating!
Creative Every Day Theme for October: Healing
September 29th, 2013, Comments (6)
At the end of each month I will announce the totally optional theme for the following month. For the month of October 2013, the theme will be Healing.
As always, this month's theme for the Creative Every Day Challenge is totally optional. Use it if it inspires you, continue being creative every day in your own way if it doesn't, or do something in between. You can sign up for the 2013 Creative Every Day Challenge anytime. More info can be found here and the sign-up page is here.
I'll be posting about the theme throughout the month on the blog to help keep you inspired. You can use the posts here for jumping off points or interpret the theme in your own creative way. If you need some suggestions, here are a few ideas to get you started. You could:
- *Work through an area of your life that needs healing in art.
- *Find a quote that has helped you heal, write it out, decorate it, hang it where you will see it.
- *Write out any grief or pain you are holding on to.
- *Bring life into your space with fresh fall flowers.
- *Help a friend heal by sharing your creativity.
- *If your body needs healing, find creative ways to care for yourself.
How to use the CED themes:
If you're feeling creatively stuck or blocked at any point during the month, use the theme as a source of inspiration to get you moving. Feel free to focus on the theme in your creative activities for the entire month or as much as you'd like.
Using the theme is entirely optional for CED participants. Use it if it inspires you, ignore it if it doesn't. I'll be sharing posts throughout the month around the theme (among other things) to get you thinking about how to incorporate it into your life. I'd love to hear how you use the theme in your creative world.
And have fun with it!
Creative Every Day Check-In: September 23 – 29
September 23rd, 2013, Comments (2)
This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities.
Join in the Challenge: You can sign-up for the 2013 Challenge here!
Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 9/23/13 - 9/29/13.
The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments. There is sometimes a slight delay in your link/image showing up in the Mr. Linky widget, so if you don't see it immediately, check back in a little bit.
You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter or Instagram you can use the hashtag #CED2013!
Theme: September's totally optional theme is Rhythm, which you read more about here.
Happy Creating!
Creative Every Day Check-In: September 16 – 22
September 16th, 2013, Comments (7)
So sorry for the delay this week. This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities.
Join in the Challenge: You can sign-up for the 2013 Challenge here!
Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 9/16/13 - 9/22/13.
The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments. There is sometimes a slight delay in your link/image showing up in the Mr. Linky widget, so if you don't see it immediately, check back in a little bit.
You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter or Instagram you can use the hashtag #CED2013!
Theme: September's totally optional theme is Rhythm, which you read more about here.
Happy Creating!
Creative Every Day Check-In: September 9 – 15
September 8th, 2013, Comments (4)
This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities.
Join in the Challenge: You can sign-up for the 2013 Challenge here!
Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 9/9/13 - 9/15/13.
The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments. There is sometimes a slight delay in your link/image showing up in the Mr. Linky widget, so if you don't see it immediately, check back in a little bit.
You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter or Instagram you can use the hashtag #CED2013!
Theme: September's totally optional theme is Rhythm, which you read more about here.
Happy Creating!
Guest Post by Tara Leaver
September 5th, 2013, Comments (6)
Four Things To Never Do When Making Art {or ever, actually} And Ways To Counter Them
If you have ever wanted to express yourself creatively and smacked into an invisible wall of not being able to, you are not alone. I’m not a fan of rules, but there are some things I come up against so repetitively as part of my creative process, I felt it was time to install some devices to counter them so I could move forward into making art whenever I like with minimum blocks. These are four of the things that frequently limit both myself and other creatives I know, and some ways to dissolve them.
1. Judging
It's too easy, often ingrained, and so damaging. For me non-judgement is a constant practice, and I know I'm not alone in that. What we need is a space in which we get to play with our supplies without needing it to be or become anything. I am constantly developing new ways to make it easier for myself to be kind about what I'm doing and how I'm doing it. It takes effort, but any new habit does initially. It'll be second nature in no time. 
Anti-judging device: Allot a certain amount of time to just go for it. I like an hour before I start my day, if I wake up in time! At that point I haven't got sucked into anything else yet, and it feels like a present, which really helps. Also: laser focus, people. Lay out your materials in advance so there's absolutely no time for procrastinating; you go in, you do, when time's up you stop, and that's it done. Walk away immediately after and don't start picking it to pieces. Be firm with yourself but kind. The satisfaction of spending some time in your happy place is more important than the perceived quality of what you produce.
2. Comparing
What I call 'other-ising'; focusing on others’ work in a way that leaves you feeling disheartened and lacking. The internet especially can suck you into a vortex of comparison. We so easily get caught up in the image and forget there's a whole person behind what we're looking at, that they struggle too, and probably worked very persistently for a long time to become as good as they are. Of course for some it comes more easily, but there are things you can do that others can’t and wish they could. Swings and roundabouts.
Anti-comparing device: No peeking! If you know you're in a state where seeing something amazing by someone else is going to trigger you, step away from the computer, the art books, Instagram, or wherever you're likely to find something that's 'better than what you can do'. Then apply the anti-judging device.
3. Being rigid
Don't make rules about how things ‘should’ be. Most work is recoverable, and if it's not, well that's an excellent opportunity to practice that all important self-kindness. I can get very caught up in how someone else does something, and then get in a tangle when their way doesn't work for me. It's essential to remember that your way is the absolute best way for you, and while it can be inspiring and helpful to borrow from others' methods, ultimately you create your path by walking it, and sometimes that means breaking rules, doing things in a weird order, or racking up a bunch of things you don't like before producing something you do.
Anti-rigidity device: Experiment and play. Tell yourself before you begin that whatever happens is going to be just fine with you, because you're just testing out some ideas. I find approaching my easel with that kind of easy going attitude, which I put on like a coat if I'm not feeling it right to my bones, can free me up to have a great time. The focus is self-expression, not producing a masterpiece.
4. Giving in to fear
There are many possible paths to just sitting down and doing it that are scattered with boulders and pot holes to trip us up. It won't be good, I don't know where to begin, I'm not inspired, I don't have time, I'm rubbish at this so why am I bothering, I'll waste materials, I've just remembered I MUST do xyz immediately - all based in fear and all surmountable. One thing's for sure; giving into the fear means no fun creative time.
Anti-fear device: Be kind. Be as kind as you can possibly be, and then be kinder. I discovered recently that I have been carrying around the unconscious belief that there's a limit to how kind to myself I can be, and after that I have to get the whip out. Total insanity. If fears threaten to stop you before you've even started, pretend you're a child, or a friend, or someone you're teaching, and whatever you'd say to them, say to yourself. Most likely it'll be along the lines of, it's ok, whatever you do is just fine; let's have a play and see what happens. Make it more of a multi-sensory pleasurable experience with some snacks and something to listen to. Remember that it’s about FUN.
Obviously there are all sorts of ways we thwart ourselves creatively; these are just some very common ones. What’s your biggest stumbling block when it comes to just starting? Do you have any magical devices of your own we can add to our toolkits?
::::::::::
Tara is an artist and writer living and working from her home studio on the south coast of England. Always looking for ways to make it easier for anyone to bring creativity into everyday life, she has written a book, Creative Spark, and is currently developing an art based ecourse by the same name, designed for anyone wishing they could be more creative but held back by fears or not knowing where to start. If that sounds interesting to you, you can find out more here: http://taraleaver.com/creative-spark-ecourse/. Tara's Creative Spark ecourse begins October 14th. Early bird registration opens very soon!
Creative Every Day Check-In: September 2 – 8
September 2nd, 2013, Comments (1)
This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities.
Join in the Challenge: You can sign-up for the 2013 Challenge here!
Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 9/2/13 - 9/8/13.
The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments. There is sometimes a slight delay in your link/image showing up in the Mr. Linky widget, so if you don't see it immediately, check back in a little bit.
You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter or Instagram you can use the hashtag #CED2013!
Theme: August's totally optional theme is Rhythm, which you read more about here.
Happy Creating!
Creative Every Day Theme for September 2013: Rhythm
September 1st, 2013, Comments (0)
I apologize for the delay in posting September's theme! I was sick all week and didn't have a chance. This month's theme seems to flow right from last month's theme of cycles. I hope you enjoy it! At the end of each month I will announce the totally optional theme for the following month. For the month of September 2013, the theme will be Rhythm.
As always, this month's theme for the Creative Every Day Challenge is totally optional. Use it if it inspires you, continue being creative every day in your own way if it doesn't, or do something in between. You can sign up for the 2013 Creative Every Day Challenge anytime. More info can be found here and the sign-up page is here.
I'll be posting about the theme throughout the month on the blog to help keep you inspired. You can use the posts here for jumping off points or interpret the theme in your own creative way. If you need some suggestions, here are a few ideas to get you started. You could:
- *Explore the idea of rhythm in a piece of art.
- *Create to your favorite music.
- *Make music. If you play an instrument, take it out and play. If you don't create rhythms with what you have, join a drum circle, make music with a child.
- *Pay attention to the rhythm of your days, write about it.
- *Include sheet music in collages.
- *Notice rhythms in Nature and let it inspire your work.
How to use the CED themes:
If you're feeling creatively stuck or blocked at any point during the month, use the theme as a source of inspiration to get you moving. Feel free to focus on the theme in your creative activities for the entire month or as much as you'd like.
Using the theme is entirely optional for CED participants. Use it if it inspires you, ignore it if it doesn't. I'll be sharing posts throughout the month around the theme (among other things) to get you thinking about how to incorporate it into your life. I'd love to hear how you use the theme in your creative world.
And have fun with it!
