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This post is the fourth and last in a weekly series on personal creative triggers: places, people or things from which I draw creative or artistic inspiration. To see previous posts click here.
In the first post of this series I admitted to being a documentary junkie; today I admit that my addiction to magazines is a very close second. In the same family as documentaries, magazines stimulate the creative juices in similar ways:- craft-specific magazines help us keep up with trends and practices related to our craft of choice whether it's writing poetry, macro photography or making art out of recycled bits & pieces;
- artist, writer or photographer profiles serve as inspiration and may even prompt us to study their creative processes and try some of their techniques;
- small business magazines are helpful if we're trying to build our creative practice into a self-sufficient entity;
- as with documentaries (see week 1), exposure to new subjects and ideas can trigger even more ideas by combining them with the ones we already have;
- picking up a magazine on a foreign subject can pull us out of a slump by introducing us to a new industry, geographical area or maybe even to a new market for our artwork or writing; and
- magazines are an easy and relatively cheap (some art or design-related magazines can get pricey!) way to dip our toes into a new creative world or medium, inviting us to learn and push our creative boundaries.
When it comes to magazines that inspire creativity there are some fairly common ones, especially in the world of mixed media:Somerset Studio
Artful Blogging
Where Women Create
Art Journaling
and mostly anything put out by Stampington & Company
But I like to mix it up a little to get some cross-pollination of ideas going around, here are a few others I've picked up at least once that were fun and inspiring in one way or another:
Architectural Digest
Shambala Sun
Mother Earth News
HOW Design
Success for Women
Nature Photographer
Writer's Digest
Artworks
Cowboys & Indians (OK I admit, Tom Selleck was on the cover)
Mompreneur
PINK
and many many more...
Um, did I mention my addiction?
How about you? Do you have any favourite magazines that either spur you into creativity or help you support it?
I'm going to be 37 tomorrow. To mark the occasion I thought it would be fun to review the status of last year's list of 36 things I wanted to do before I turned 37 (can someone please tell me where the year went?!):
1. run 5K
2. host a Creative Salon
3. update my resume
4.create my freelancing Web site and business card - Moo cards printed, URL bought and site under construction
5. save $5000
6. take a solo trip - it doesn't have to be far - A day trip to Montreal to catch the Van Dongen exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
7. show my artwork at a local café, restaurant or gallery - I showed at not one but two places: my hair salon and, though it's not local, at the Vision of Squam art show. Hurray!
8. go hiking somewhere new - A new to me trail at Mer Bleue Bog; Algonquin Park; Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine.
9. lose 10 pounds
10. find a pair of tall black boots - They're black, they're tall and they're kickass sexy!
11. hike Gatineau Park's Wolf trail again
12. volunteer
13. write a personal essay - maybe even submit it for publication
14. self-publish a book on Blurb about my Urban Living Experiment
15. clean/upgrade my PC - Yup.
16. see a Cirque du Soleil performance
17. get married (squee!) - Squee!
18. bake a batch of Mom's chocolate chip cookies
19. research and profile ten female artists on my blog - past and present
20. publish a resource list on my blog (creativity, personal finance, writing, starting a business, etc.)
21. meet three people active in the local arts community - One I kept in touch with and two others I have their card and chatted with them during a seminar on art and market readiness, so half a point for this one.
22. start a Creative Living Experiment blog - Voici!
23. re-read The Omnivore's Dilemma
24. go swimming - I waded in to my waist so I'll give myself a half point for this one.
25. go dancing - Yup, with the girls at Gracie's.
26. go on a solo date on a summer terrace with a book
27. write my morning pages at least four times a week - I can't say for sure that I averaged four times, but I think it was close.
28. visit NYC with D.
29. go dancing with D.
30. go canoeing - On Bennett Lake during our week at the cottage. It was bliss there.
31. make Mom's meat pie - Yup and yum.
32. take a drawing or painting class - Abstract Painting and I loved it; workshops at Squam
33. go to a Bluesfest concert - Blue Rodeo, KISS & a few more
34. have my photo taken for my Web site/creative business - Although the photo shoot was just for fun, I'd definitely use some of the photos on my Web site!
35. do something with my mandala series - I don't know what yet
36. paint/collage at least once a week
Despite only having done about half of what I set out to do I am happy with the results. In addition to what's on the list I did so much more and for the most part, all was in the spirit of creating the life I want. That for me is success.
I intend to put forward another list this year and it will probably be just as aggressive, 'cause that's just how I roll. I strongly believe that if I write it down there's much more of a chance I'll make it happen. Besides, I've not much to lose by doing so but oh so much to gain.
Stay tuned...
This post is the third in a weekly series on personal creative triggers: places, people or things from which I draw creative or artistic inspiration. Week 1. Week 2.
OK it's hardly original, but it's still worthy of its own post here because there's no denying it's one of my creative triggers. But how can I possibly reduce Mother Nature's creative inspiration to a bulleted list?
I won't try to include it all. I'll tackle only a fraction and focus on a few ways Mother Nature triggers creativity in my small world of visual art with the hopes that you'll find something valuable to your specific medium or practice. Here goes:
1) Nature's textures, colours and composition provide fodder for painting and photography. Think lines, patterns and colour juxtapositions for abstracts; vistas with mountains, water and sky for landscapes; and don't forget the birds and the bees - literally.
stillness reflected
fortuitous photo fluke of autumn colours
ice patterns with negative effect
2) Following the lead of shadows and sunlight (see week 2), nature exercises the imagination. Have you ever caught yourself cloud gazing or building fairy houses in the woods? Or maybe you see hidden shapes and images in the bark of a tree, the textures of a rock or the curves of a pepper?
3) Finally, nature instills the humility and stillness necessary for me to return to my Centre and connect with, among other things, my creative essence. Although not directly related to the canvas, the restorative qualities of nature do wonders for my spirit which in turn feeds my creative process. A hike in the woods or an afternoon by the sea can be the ultimate Artist Date.
Et voilà, three ways Mother Nature inspires my artistic play.
Sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle, Mother Nature's subjects are as endless as the artistic visions through which she is honoured. Surely she inspires in more ways than those captured here.
How does nature inspire you in your creative practice? Tell me. Show me.
Seriously, how could you not be...
Ashlynn Heather Elizabeth
Meet our new niece: Ashlynn Heather Elizabeth, born March 1, 2010.
She weighed a whole 4lbs 11oz. when this picture was taken. A wee angel she is.
"Authenticity is a force of nature. When you channel it to intentionally design the look and feel of every aspect of your life, your outsides begin to match your insides. And something truly magical happens. You continue to become more genuinely yourself, and you have more of what you want."
- Carrie McCarthy and Danielle LaPorte, Style Statement, Live by your own Design
