Creativity

Sometimes it’s really hard for me to be creative…for past projects I would search for images or just sketch until something popped out at me. Most of the time I would find myself not really thinking an idea through and just jumping in and starting, this would help me generate more ideas. This was sometimes productive, but other times not. Often I would spend so much time making things and experimenting before I committed to an idea. This is great, but not when you have a deadline and need to get the final project going.

Ideas sometimes come at me at random times, I have to write them down or I will forget them. I find myself coming up with ideas at inconvenient times such as when I’m driving or at work, both places aren’t the best for me to stop and sketch a design. I try to record all these random ideas, I keep them in a special “life” notebook.


Thus far in my artistic career I would say I don’t really have a clear worked out process of developing ideas. To change this I have been reading the creative worksheets handed out by Jan in class. One thing that I found interesting is what was said in one of the articles, it stated that you have to think and sketch the simple and basic ideas before you can find and develop the good stuff. This is so true, get rid of the clutter before other options become clear. Bob Pitman, the staid glass teacher at Towson University, once told me that beautiful things take a lot of time. This is true with everything, I find myself saying this quote to myself when I get frustrated and stressed with my work.

When I’m stressed I can’t create, I feel pressure and I am only concerned with getting the assignment done. This is a hazard for me because it means I don’t create successful work. I have been trying to develop a way to relax myself and not stress my self, into a creative block. In order to combat this blockage, I listen to music. I listen to songs that I know by heart and can sing along automatically and then at the same time be doing other things ( I am doing this now). Driving also helps me to relax, this maybe not the safest place to go through my thoughts but I always seem to arrive safely and feel better. I have also been taking advice from my mom, she’s a great lady, and have been listening to Abraham Hicks the author of The Artists Way. I have been you tubing her lectures. Thanks to technology I can get a quick pick me up in no time, changing the way I am looking at a situation. Sometimes all i need is a positive pick me up and anything is possible....