Writing prompts? Project starters? Story beginnings? and other random idea generators?
- Try the Imagination Prompt Generator!
Looking for Inspiration?
December 1, 2008 by Leave a Comment
Inspiration Quote
November 16, 2008 by Leave a Comment
Imagination is the true magic carpet.
– – – Norman Vincent Peale
- How can you use your imagination to achieve your creative goals?
Find Your Color
September 11, 2008 by 2 Comments
Did you know that each of us has a personal color? It’s based on the day we were born and can give us insights into our personality and inspire us. Mine is pistachio green.
Pantone, the color experts, have worked with Michele Bernhardt to develop this system.
- Find your color at Colorstrology.
Create a Visioning Collage to Inspire You
September 4, 2008 by 2 Comments
Materials:
Large piece of sturdy white paper / poster board
Magazines to cut up
Scissors
Glue
Colored Markers
Pens
Paints
A Creative Dream
Begin by going through the magazines and randomly cutting out images and words that appeal to you. Once you have about 10-15 images start imagining your dream and how what you’ve chosen represents this. You may want to choose an image or word that represents the essence of the dream and place this in the center of your paper gluing it securely in place.
Next, working with the other images, begin gluing them down in whatever way makes sense to you and your dream. You can also add color with markers, pens or paints.
After the collage is complete it should represent your achieved dream. Place the collage in a place where you will see it every day and spend some time each day visualizing yourself in your dream collage achieving your goals.
- Check out this flickr group for inspiration.
Living the Creative Life
August 28, 2008 by Leave a Comment
I just finished reading Living the Creative Life: Ideas and Inspiration from Working Artists by Rice Freeman-Zachery, and I recommend it to anyone wanting to get a peek inside the mind of today’s working artists.
The book features 15 artists and tries to answer the question, “what is creativity?” by covering useful topics like keeping a journal or sketchbook; work spaces and work habits; and the all important, living the artful life.
Comprised of responses by a diverse group of artists, I was pleasantly surprised to see mixed media artists:
And local Cleveland artists featured:
- Rebekah Hodous
- Scott Radke
Finally, try this exercise, I’ve adapted from the book.
- Make a list of the 10 most creative people you are inspired by and then write down some of their creations to get a better idea of what inspires you. For example, is it people who make grand works or those who integrate creativity into their daily lives?
Inspiration Quote
July 25, 2008 by Leave a Comment
The best hope of solving all our problems lies in harnessing the diversity, the energy, and the creativity of all our people.
– – – Roger Williams
- What problems could you solve with the help of other people?
Do Flower Essences Improve Creativity?
May 23, 2008 by 2 Comments
In Greek mythology, Iris connected Heaven and Earth by creating the rainbow thus bridging the real world with inspiration.
Similarly, Iris essence is believed to increase your intuition and enhance creativity, especially if you are feeling blocked. Dr. Edward Bach made flower essences popular through the remedies he developed in the 1930s to help patients with emotional issues.
Today, spritzing iris essence under your tongue or applying it to pulse points daily may provide you with inspiration for your next project.
- Find it here.
Design Principles for Self Improvement (Part II)
April 10, 2008 by 5 Comments
While I was thinking about this post last night, I was also watching one of my favorite shows, The Big Idea on CNBC. One of the guests was Ty Pennington that hyper yet creative carpenter on those home improvement shows. He talked about how the principles of home design can be used to create our dream life. For instance, he talked about choosing colors and objects for our homes that reflect our personality.
Karim Rashid, a designer and author has a similar philosophy in his book design your self: rethinking the way you live, work, and play. Rashid is best known for his innovative home product, furniture and interior design. Early on, he writes that humans are here to create and that living in such a mass produced world entitles us all to use design, not only to create our environments but also our lives.
Covering topics ranging from life, love, work, and play, this colorful book also includes a section at the end with a yearly guide to getting the most from your life. Despite loving this book and it’s advocacy for leading a creative and individualized life, I found it odd that it was also filled with prescriptive lists and Rashid’s own strict guidelines of how that life should be lived. Still, it’s a must read book to learn how this contemporary creative genius lives and works.
- How are you using design principles in your daily life?
Design Principles for Self Improvement (Part I)
March 28, 2008 by 1 Comment
Is it me, or have other people noticed the trend of applying design principles to personal growth? As a visual person I am intrigued by the possibilities of exposing these ideas to more people.
Why? Because we live in a society that is increasingly visually based and are inundated by millions of images on a daily basis. Why not understand these principles and use them to our benefit?
The first time I encountered this idea of design as a means of self-improvement was in Lucia Capacchione’s book, Visioning: Ten Steps to Designing the Life of Your Dreams. Capacchione’s background is in design and art therapy and she blends her experience in both to inspire readers to create vision colleges to help them attain their dream life.
Her 10 design steps for visioning are:
1. Make a wish
2. Search for images and words
3. Focus on the vision
4. Compose the design
5. Explore and find order in creative chaos
6. Create the collage
7. Articulate the vision
8. Reinforce the dream
9. Embrace the reality
10. Celebrate the dream come true
- Now, create your own collage.
World Community Arts Day is February 17
February 12, 2008 by 1 Comment
With the theme “art as a catalyst for caring and sharing,” World Community Arts Day promotes creativity and personal expression. Celebrated on February 17, the organizers simply ask you to do an arts project, in any medium, that promotes the theme of “caring and sharing.” They then ask you to post it online and send them a link, so it can be included in their worldwide effort to promote the arts.
To share your art: Artists can add their work to Flickr 
And if you are like me, who created a collage to represent the green circle that symbolizes World Community Arts Day, then you can join the Green Circle Flickr Group and post it.
- Whatever you decide, just do something creative on February 17
Image World Community Arts Day