inspiration

October 8, 2011

Creative Weekend update

Ok, I know I said that I felt a creative weekend coming on…(that was on Wednesday) and here it is Saturday (what’s left of it) so I thought I’d share an ‘update’ on how the weekend is going.

Well, it’s going.

Quickly (!)

But even though I haven’t created anything yet – I do plan on being creative tomorrow.  And tomorrow is still the weekend even though technically it is the first day of the week.  (isn’t that funny?)

But, regardless – before my weekend is over – I WILL BE CREATIVE!!

I did spend the day browsing at a couple of art supply stores and the bookstore – looking for inspiration.

And here is what I found…

 

 

 

And you should be happy to know I’ve already started.

 

 

Eating the gummy bears!

October 6, 2011

And if you STILL can’t find inspiration…

That’s right.  Look inside your coffeemaker.

Its right there in front of you!  SEE!!

Even your coffee maker is trying to communicate with you.

“Look here!”  “Look at me!”  “I’m pretty!!”

“I’m a flower!”

Now, GO MAKE ART!

October 4, 2011

Mother Knows Best

Ya know, we have no business complaining about lack of inspiration.

Inspiration is everywhere.  Literally.  We just have to open our eyes and see it.

Just look around.

Nature is constantly creating art just for us to see.  She obviously wants us to create.

Why else would she go to all that trouble?

August 28, 2011

Life’s missing white space

‘Space is the breath of art’ – Frank Lloyd Wright

This taken from a post by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits.

…I’m not a designer, but I’ve always been in love with the design concept of white space.

It’s the space in a design that isn’t filled with things.

But white space can be used in the design of our lives as well, not just the design of magazines and websites and ads.  By using white space in our lives, we create space, balance, emphasis on what’s important, and a feeling of peace that we cannot achieve with a more cramped life.

The principles of white space

Some of the things white space accomplishes in design:

  • greater legibility
  • feeling of luxury
  • breathing room & balance
  • more emphasis

These same concepts can translate to our lives:

Clarity.  Instead of legibility, white space can give clarity to the things in our lives – whether they’re possessions, projects, tasks, or just things that occupy our time and attention.  A nice piece of furniture is more beautiful when it’s not surrounded by clutter.  A well-prepared piece of food is more tasty when it’s not smothered in sauces and piled with fries and cheese.  A presentation is more effective when we don’t use Powerpoint and have only a few points to make.

Peace.  When our lives are cramped, and our homes and work spaces are cluttered, we feel stressed.  When we have fewer things on our schedule and fewer things around us, we feel peaceful.

Breathing room & balance.  Many people talk about finding ‘work-life-balance’, but this is very hard to do if you have no white space.  Leave space between things to find the breathing room you need, and more easily achieve balance.

Emphasis on the important. When our days are non-stop busy, everything is important and nothing is important.  But put white space between things, and those things acquire more weight, and we place more importance on each individual thing.

Moth on storm door – natural light.

August 12, 2011

Welcome!

Come on in! I’ve got lots of room here –unlike my real studio, and this one is much cleaner!

The reason for this blog…I want to share thoughts and ideas about art and creativity with you.

I guess you could say it’s ‘what i do’.  I love to share.  I’m a gatherer of information and because of that I feel I have lots of ideas that need to get out.  I’m no expert by any means – I just spend a lot of time researching topics that I find interesting.  And if I think they’re interesting, then there’s the possibility someone else may too.  It all comes from a genuine need to be helpful.  I’m a people pleaser.  I come from a long line of people pleasers.

I also plan to use this site as a storyboard of sorts…I plan to post images along with ideas to help jump start creativity.  By doing this I hope to not only help those who read my site but to have it also serve as a reminder to me why these things are necessary.  I need constant reminding.  I’ve always found it helpful to write things down – so I’m writing things down here – for you and for me.  Hopefully it will be a win-win situation for everyone!    I have lots of ideas and I also have lots of images.  What’s the point in having images no one ever sees?  Its like that saying…if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it…well, its kind of the same with photography.  What is the point?  Images are for sharing.  And sharing is what I do.  And while I’m at it…I’ll pass along any interesting information that I think you might enjoy as well.

Hopefully my images will help to inspire you in some way and get those creative juices flowing.

You may notice some of my images have an odd look about them.  That’s because I shoot the majority with a camera I’ve had converted to infrared by a company called Life Pixel.

I’m smitten.  But they may not appeal to you…and that’s ok too – its just another one of the ways I ‘see’ things.  Infrared images aren’t typical images so seeing them may cause you to see or think about something in a different way – a creative way. And that’s the idea.  But don’t worry – I will be adding ‘normal’ images too.  So don’t write me off just yet!

Thanks for stopping by!