33 ways to stay creative

on today and tomorrow, found by etsy tweet

I have already done 1, 7, 9, 11 and 31 this morning. It's going to be a good day!

what does a wish look like?

via 'hello to hitched'

get a pen and paper.

or open up a new document/app/list.
I'll wait for you.
ready?
now answer these questions. (write your first response, your first image, thought, sensation. There are no wrong answers.)

1. What does a wish look like?
2. What colour is happiness?
3. What does purple look like?
4. What does your self-image sound like?
5. What colour is today?
6. What does a rainbow feel like?
7. What colour is the smell of your favourite perfume?
8. What colour is your favourite song?
9. What does a cloud sound like?
10. What is the weight of your anger?
11. what is the shape of your imagination?

I answered them on my sisters blog, and they made me smile, and wonder. They were part of a series of questions to make you think differently about creattivity, from an early-childhood conference she attended. Thanks for sharing Mim!

These are my answers;
1.a bubble floating in the sky
2. colours reflected on a lake
3. a shiny eggplant
4. a symphony; sometimes swelling strings and sometimes discordant cacophony
5. crisp sky blue, cool and productive
6. soft and fuzzy. Like a Care Bear.
7. soft muted yellow (CK one)
8. like a black and white movie (Yann Tiersen-Sur Le Fil)
9. depends on the type of cloud. Rain clouds sound like a double bass. Wispy clouds sound like soft violin.
10. a lead ball, like a shot put in my chest
11. a piece of string on a white background that moves constantly into different shapes, like a cookie cutter.

If you post your answers, please leave a comment so I can pop over and see!

make something everyday

Creativity, I think, is a muscle. Use it often, and boldly, and it will grow. I'm a fan of 'doing every day' challenges, when you have a limited time frame and a work to produce, I think it switches off the critical part which demands perfection. Sometimes quantity is better than quality, I say.

So I particularly love this project, 365; make something every day, showcasing some of the projects chosen by participants. Some have subject themes (faces, two headed cats, self portraits, houses); some are focused on the technique (granny squares, drawing, beading, bookmaking, weaving, paper); and some do a bit of everything.

Don't take my word for it, go have a look. Lots of people make lots of interesting things.

And with that kind of quantity, you can pick and choose and build quality. Without the self confidence to run with an idea, any idea, it's impossible to make the leap into a perfect outcome. Make mistakes.

Speed Creating

Day 10: Mirror rorriM

Day 13: Bath Fountain


Day 15: Football Smoothie Maker



Day 2: Pop up Train Tray Surprise
(Some of my favourite projects so far)

I came across Dominic Wilcox by chance, he's undertaken a Speed Creating Challenge; he will make a new object, installation or creative intervention every day while going about his daily life.
At home, in the studio, on the train or wherever my day takes me, I will attempt to make something that interests me creatively and then quickly document it via photographs, drawings or video. Each day I will receive a small budget of £10 for materials.

And he explains a bit more;

I believe that this self-imposed project with it’s constraints on time and money will force me to take an instinctive and experimental approach. The fear of failure and the usual time spent thinking through the potential pitfalls of a project will not be an option and I will need to react swiftly to my thoughts, observations and experimental outcomes discovered along the way. I am not focused solely on the final objects or images but on the creative journey I take. Complete failures are expected and embraced.

I particularly like his last sentence there. Complete failures are expected and embraced.
I think it's easy to freak out about failures, but by forcing yourself to be creative no-matter-what and embracing mistakes, you can create all kinds of things you wouldn't have otherwise attempted.

You can see Dominic's other projects and ongoing works at his blog, and also photos of his work in an exhibition as part of the Anti-Design Festival's Mistakes and Manifestos events.