Entries Tagged as: Music
Featuring Fabulous Creative Every Day Participants
April 16th, 2010, Comments (15)
Every so often I feature the work of some of the amazing Creative Every Day Challenge participants. There's so much great work happening out there and we may not have time to get around to see it all, so I hope to share with you some work you might not have seen. I love the way you're all being inspired by the senses theme and I hope this work will inspire you to play with it even more this month!
Eva, of the blog, To be determined, created this super cool zentangle featuring the 5 senses:
Kim Mailhot from Queen of Arts, created this hilarious and creative "Spring Walkabout" post, which I encourage you to read. Here's just one of the beautiful photos from her post.
Julie Engelhardt, who blogs at She Dreams of the Sea, posted a picture of luscious berries along with this delicious poem. Yum.
Vicarious
the taste
of berries
cloudberries
blueberries
juneberries
sweet
smoky
velvet
on your tongue
not mine
Painting "Rocks and Mussels," Terrill Welch of Creativepotager's blog, found herself remembering the "smell of seaweed, the salt air, and the roar of the surf." I feel like I can taste the salty ocean air when I look at it too!
On her blog, Bobbi's Art, Bobbi Lewin has created gorgeous pelican images that are delighting her sense of sight (and mine too!)
Susan Loughrin, from the blog Organicsyes, has been doing a project she calls, "A Melody a Day" and recording these melodies on video. Here's her most recent one, called River Song. Beautiful!
So much beauty! Thank you all for sharing your creations with the world. You inspire me and so many others!
Sound Shifts Stuff:
An Interview with Fabeku Fatunmise
July 6th, 2009, Comments (10)
I'm so thrilled to be sharing this audio interview with the wonderful musician, artist, and sound healer, Fabeku Fatunmise!
I had hoped to have this ready for the month of sound for the Creative Every Day Challenge, but because of some technical difficulties with the recording vanishing temporarily, I couldn't do it. But the recording survived (phew!) and I just know you'll love hearing about Fabeku's work with sound and how it connects with art and creativity. Magical stuff. (Click on the link below to listen right here or right-click to download.)
Creation, Fabeku Fatunmise
Cymatics: During the interview, Fabeku and I discuss the science of Cymatics, which is the study of visible sound and vibration. It's absolutely fascinating to see how sound can impact form. (Turn down the volume if you watch the video.)
There's a great video introduction to Cymatics here and above is a demonstration of how it works, with sand on an aluminum plate. What blew my mind was how sound vibrations move the sand into patterns that look like mandala shapes or turtle shells. It certainly gives me pause about the impact of sound on the body when I see it like this.
Fabeku's New Website: Fabeku has just launched his brand-spankin'-new website, Sankofa Sound and it is awesome. Really. Go check it out. The about page alone is killer! I love the music memories Fabeku shares there.
You can also learn more about sound healing and how it works, schedule a session with Fabeku (in person or distance), and purchase one of Fabeku's amazing cds or downloads. I was also quite enamored with the collection of singing bowls he has for sale, each one in the shop has a recording of the sound it makes. So cool. Oh, and there's a blog too! Fabeku is also on Twitter as @fabeku.
Free Download! Yay!: Also be sure to check out Fabeku's fabulous *free* sound healing download right here. There are ninjas involved. Yes, ninjas. Go see for yourself.
Blue Deer, Fabeku Fatunmise
Thank you, Fabeku, for sharing your work with me and everyone here!
Close Your Eyes and Create
June 11th, 2009, Comments (12)
Creating to music can be a wonderful thing. It can be especially interesting when you allow yourself to be moved by the music, to respond to what you hear.
The following exercise is a wonderful way play with sound and creating intuitively. I share a similar exercise in the Art Picnic workshops and the next one is coming up Wednesday, June 17th, 8pm EST. Get all the details and sign up here! I would love to create with you!
I've set this post up, so that you can use the song here (if you're reading this in rss or email, click through to the blog to listen) or use your own music.
The Exercise: Have a pen and piece of paper ready and get into a comfortable position. Take a few deep breaths to center and ground yourself, then begin the music. Let the music play for a moment, then put pen to paper and close your eyes. As the music plays, let your pen move freely across the paper. Move it in response to the music and let your hand move whichever way it wants to go. Don't think about the end result, just let go.
You can do this for the whole music piece or just for 30 seconds, depending on how much time you have to play with. Letting the drawing go for the whole song can be a wonderful exercise, but do as much as you can.
When the music has stopped, take a deep cleansing breath and open your eyes. Take a moment to look at what you've scribbled. Do you see anything there? Maybe a face? A monster? A house? A fish? Or maybe a tree? Whatever you see there, take a moment to bring it out. You can color it in or just make it more clear. The image here is an example of what happened when I developed the image with colored pencil.
Often the symbols that pop up through an exercise like this relate to something going on in our lives or have some kind of message for us. Sometimes they don't. But either way, it's fun to play with. You could do some journal writing or dialoguing with the symbols that come up for you and see what they have to say or develop your doodle further with some paint.
This is a fabulous way to get started if you're feeling particularly stuck creatively. It takes all the pressure off of performing (your eyes are closed, so what can you do?) and allows a more intuitive response to come forward. Plus, it's just fun!
p.s. The fabulous Jamie has written about her experience of turning business meetings into Art Picnics right here. So cool! Love that idea!
p.p.s. Christine at BlissChick has posted a great interview with me at her blog, which you can check out over here.
p.p.p.s. (That's way too many p's! Be sure to stop by tomorrow for the featured Creative Every Day Challenge Participants post!! I've got some wonderful work to share with you!)
Click below to expand post and view music player.
(more...)CED June Theme: Sound
May 26th, 2009, Comments (13)
The *totally optional* theme for the Creative Every Day Challenge in June will be Sound!
This theme may be a stretch for some of you, but I encourage you to play with it.
How can you use this theme in your creations? Well, you could use the previous themes to help you brainstorm by getting playful and writing all the ways you could intepret the theme. Perhaps you will dream in colorful song? Or perhaps you will begin exploring the the sounds of your natural environment?
I will be posting about the theme throughout the month with different ways to approach it. If you need some suggestions, here are a few ideas to get you started. You could:
- *Make art inspired by a song or song lyric.
- *Create art to music and see how the type of music you listen to impacts your creations.
- *Explore making your own music.
- *Try sound healing.
- *Read poems out loud.
- *Sing (in the shower, in the car, with your kids, in public.)
- *Use guided visualizations in your art.
- *Pay attention to the sounds in your environment and reflect on them in your creations.
- *Make a recording of your voice to post on your blog (I'm planning to do this!)
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.
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.
Feel free to focus on the theme in your creative activities for the entire month or as much as you'd like.
And have fun with it!
Music... can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.
~Leonard Bernstein
Playful Resources
January 7th, 2009, Comments (19)
Rowena mentioned struggling with the theme because she really wanted to take her creativity seriously this year. And I totally loved that image because I've been there myself oh so many times. Imagine me pounding my fists on the table and shouting,
"It's time to get serious! I'm going to be creative now and it's going to be amazing! Seriously! No smiling!"
Sounds inspiring, right? No? I know for me, when I get too serious or when I feel restricted in some way around what I'm creating, I tend to get all stiff and what I create tends to lack a certain flow. When I create from this place of "have to" and "should", the creation tends to have an energy that you may not be able to name, but you can see something is not quite right. It looks a bit, well, uptight.
Play helps me return to the good stuff, the inspiration, the sheer joy of creating. So, if you're feeling any resistance to playing, I want to whisper in your ear,
"Go play! See what happens!"
I watched the movie Chocolat this weekend. What a gorgeous movie! (And not just because Johnny Depp is in it. Ahem.) The movie is full of magic, gorgeous color, and a wonderful story. It definitely made me feel more playful just watching it. Are there movies, books, music, or other resources that make you feel especially playful?
Here are some of my favorite playful resources, some meant to inspire you to play and others to make you laugh (because laughter often leads to playfulness!) I'd love to hear some of your resources for play too!!
Movies: Chocolat, Amelie, The Never Ending Story, The Princess Bride, The Goonies,
Books: Eat Mangoes Naked by SARK, the Harry Potter series, The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds, A Big New Free Happy Unusual Life by Nina Wise,
Music: Weird Al, Bjork, They Might Be Giants
Silliness: Lazy Sunday, Laughing Baby, Ninja Cat
Other ideas: Crayons, coloring books, doodling, dancing in your pajamas, making a fort in your living room (or from a large box like I did with my Grammy in the picture above)...have fun!
5-A-Day
December 10th, 2008, Comments (13)
The lovely and incredibly sweet, Jenn has tagged me for a meme that asks what 5 things you do to stay mentally healthy. This is certainly a great thing to think about, especially during these darker days of winter and the stress that can come up for many around the holidays.
Here are my top five things to do every day (or every week) to stay mentally healthy:
- Creative Expression: Clearly this is an important one for me, as you can see by the projects I run here and the title of my blog! Daily creativity, in whatever form it takes (dancing, painting, collaging, writing, cooking, crafting, photographing doodling) is such an important part of my life. It helps ground me, helps me release the internal backlog, and helps me be a better person.
- Snuggle: I am especially fond of my 4 kitty cats and I get daily love from them in the form of face pushes, cat massage sessions, and sweet purrs that warm my soul. And at night, the hubster and I happily share a full-size bed where we (and usually at least one cat) can be found snuggling up.
- Laughter: Laughing is so important to mental health. The hubster has a great talent for making me (and everyone around him laugh), I also love listening to comedy on the radio, and watching shows like 30 Rock and the Office to give me a good, hearty laugh. My laugh is ridiculously loud and people can usually find me in a crowd because of it.
- Scent: I love showering with a good-smelling shampoo. I also love the smell of cocoa in the winter, of chicken noodle soup, candles, pomegranate lip balm, a home-cooked meal, lemon dish washing soap, etc...I think good smells can lift you up. It's a small, simple thing that's a part of my everyday life that I notice and love.
- Movement: Some kind of movement or exercise is important for my mental health. I've fallen out of doing daily yoga, but want to get back to that as soon as possible. But even if I'm not on a regular exercise regimen, I keep moving through doing chores around the house, moving and dancing while I create, taking walks with my ipod, and chasing the hubster around the apartment.
How bout you? What are your five a day?
I'm not always great at tagging or at responding to tags, so if I tag you, feel free to do it or ignore it. And if I don't tag you and you'd like to do it, by all means, go for it!
I'll tag:
1. Judean (who made the coolest wreath ever out of ribbon spools!!)
2. Tammy Vitale
3. Elena
4. Jul
5. Jim
Today, after running around to the post office, other little errands, and packaging up things to send out, I spent the late afternoon playing with tempera paint and charcoal on drawing paper just to play with some internal questions and see what might come up intuitively. I'm still working on them and may or may not share images here when I'm done. It's good to play with no end product in mind from time to time and I enjoyed the process. I played some good tunes in the background and let paint drip and pour. I smushed it around with brushes, sponges and spatulas and looked to see what came through in the colors. I brought out bits of what I saw with a stick of charcoal. It felt good. And then the hubster came home and I washed my hands so we could share a yummy dinner. All in all, a good day. Hope yours was a beauty!
p.s. My calendars are all sold out! Thanks so much! I'll be sure to print more next year and to get them ready a little earlier too. If you're looking for some gifts, I still have my free shipping offer going on at my art website through December 15th! All you need to do is enter holiday08 in the coupon section at checkout.
