Creative Inspiration

I never used to think of myself as creative, but that's the energy that drives me at the start of each new season. I can feel it in the air.

I always look for new projects and ideas in January after the holiday season and while snow and cold keep me close to home. Years ago, I'd have a new plan or project lined up to pick right up - I learned to quilt - I made some very nice quilts, too - I learned to knit, to crochet. I tried woodworking one year - I made a couple of very nice cabinets out of scrap wood until Tom kicked me out of his garage. We have one hung in the bathroom for all the odds and ends that need a place there. I write, draw, cook, organize and even make new scripts for the computer.

By having a project or idea or plan lined up beforehand, I can dive right in as soon as the really awful weather hits. If I wait too long and winter is already dragging down my spirits, it's hard to find that enthusiasm. This year I feel eager to start something new but I feel a bit stumped. I have a couple of writing projects on the go, but I am looking for something more - well - hands-on and something that will take weeks or months - something I can give a bit of time to every day.

So I have been scouring the net for ideas and inspiration. In the Creative Every Day blog, the author, Leah Piken Kolidas, has used a theme for each month last year to keep the juices running. For example, in her theme for last September "Inspiration" she made a number of suggestions:

• Keep a notebook with you at all times to record everything that inspires you throughout the day.
• Explore the ways you find inspiration when you've lost your creative mojo.
• Find inspiration in unusual places (that wildly shaped tree, the colors in a puddle, the junk mail) and incorporate them into a piece of art or writing.
• Incorporate an inspiring quote into your art.
• Make a piece of art inspired by an artist you admire.
• Leave inspiration in unexpected places. For example you could leave a piece of art in a coffee shop with a note that says "free art" or you could leave a favorite quote tucked in a library book.

I may sign up to participate in her 2010 Creative Every Day Challenge.

Other inspiration has come from James Gurney's blog. He's the guy who illustrated the Dinotopia books. Also from draw-a-tree.com and naturesketchers, Making a Mark - well there are too many more to count.

In any event, I have a doctor's appointment in the morning. So I think rather than taking a book to read, I'll take a small sketchbook and pencil and see if doodling gets the creative juices running.