Being Creative = Nurturing Creativity

Sometimes creativity needs a boost, you know? Something to help it along, to inspire; and adequate time for an idea to take root in your mind, and pester you until the mock, the very first one, is in your hands.

Since the hiatus over the summer, I’ve been feeling a bit out of practice, creatively speaking. I’ll often sit down to blank paper to brainstorm ideas, and sometimes can’t seem to pull what’s in my imagination out onto the page. But instead of getting discouraged and feeling wretched, I decided to fix it: by seeking out creative avenues and small simple projects that allow me to think in a more artistic way, and totally outside of all the handmade loveliest we produce for Quill & Ink.

It was during a trawl of artistic blogs on the internet that I first discovered Keri Smith, who has formulated the most wonderful creative prompt list – you can find it here.

It didn’t take me long to begin rummaging through boxes to find a blank journal, and to steal Lou’s coloured pencils and begin sketching; and it felt wonderfully good to be doing this simple creative thing that wasn’t for anyone else but me (and now you).

And best of all? It’s fun.

The challenge today: to draw all of the things in my bag. Paper is slightly scrunchy because the kids wanted a better look at what I was up to.

Sometimes there are a couple of weeks between entries, other times it’s a matter of hours. I’ve not bound myself to a strict deadline, which ends up freeing the experience even more. I just pick out a square at random, whenever I have the time, and think of a creative way to do what it says.

I have noticed though, that slowly, very slowly, a small creative spark seems to be elbowing its way back to the forefront of my imagination. And there have been some strange little ideas born over the last week that I’m all curious to try out. I guess that’s the best thing about having a creative break; you never know what direction your rested imagination will take once it’s put back in to action…

How do you ignite or restore creativity in your own life? Or, how do you deal with creative lulls?

Nat

Diaries, journals and childhood keepsakes

Lately I’ve been reminiscing about my child/teenage-hood diaries.

Most of them had cheap locks on them, that if you pulled with even the smallest amount of force, it’d practically fall open. I’d also often only write on half the page, or until I made a spelling mistake; and then frustrated with myself, I’d either tear the whole page out, or start again a few pages along.

I was a girl obsessed with perfection, and to some extent, I still am.

And the content? When I was young, it was random rememberings of beautiful days; as I grew, it became a collection of crazed rantings in which I fixated on the unfairness of situations and things, or in rare entries, the boys I liked.

There is one thing that I’m sure set me apart, in terms of journaling - that is, once they were full up with all my secrets, I burned them, one page at a time, in a stone furnace in our backyard. For some reason, I remember looking forward to this (almost) yearly cathartic burning – it was almost like by doing it, I was able to shed the skin of the previous year, leave behind all the nonsense, worries and craziness of the previous months, and start completely anew on paper.

And in terms of journals, starting anew is the best, isn’t it? Crisp blank pages, sometimes a brand new pen, neat orderly writing, and wild stabs at being poetic and/or imaginative.

I just loved those new journals; they each had such possibility.

As I got older, the burnings slowed, then stopped altogether – and now I have a small collection of journals that I don’t think I could part with, each one wrapped in tissue paper and stored carefully in a huge box in my closet. They’re sticky-taped shut, dated, and brimming with secrets and forgotten parts of my life – almost like mini time capsules. I like the idea of opening them up again when I’m wrinkled and grey and rediscovering my young, impulsive self.

Because I’ve been remembering journals and diaries, it’s made me think about whether my two little munchkins would be the type to keep them as they grow up. Granted, they’re still very young and can’t even write their own names; but if I can think of them as pseudo time capsules, it may just give me an opportunity to start a wee bit earlier.

And then, as if it was all meant to be, I stumbled across this blog post by Katie Rich, a Brooklyn based creative mum-extraordinaire, and promptly fell in love...

Ruth's journal entry from April 21, 2009 from Katie Did

Katie’s two girls, Eve and Ruth, illustrated the best part of their week in their own journals every Sunday, and with some explanations from mama Katie, produced something so beautifully age specific and special – an treasury of the best bits of their life over the course of a year, as seen through their own eyes.

Isn’t that just precious?

So, I thought I’d give it a go with Judah. At two-and-a-half, he’s able to tell me about what he’s drawing, and loves pencilling intricate spiralled objects, which could turn out to be our dog, a blue truck, or his little sister. I’m hoping that it’ll be an evolution of drawings over the next however many months and years, and an opportunity for me to pass on something I loved as a girl.

Nat