We all have creative slumps. There is nothing worse than staring at a blank page, a blank canvas, or any of our respective mediums thinking “Now What?”. However, these things happen. Sometimes switching gears can get us out of that slump, or taking a break and trying something new. As I said before “Creativity happens in all mediums”. Be a “Cake Boss” and make some awesome cake sculpture. Make designs with pebbles, sand or twigs. Make the biggest cardboard box Fort ever!
One exercise I learned was so simple it changed my perspective forever. Here is what you do… Take pictures of your day going to and from work. At lunch, outside, inside, take pictures of your desk, your commute on the train, document everything. Then, print them up and lay them out on the floor. Which one speaks to you? That is the photo you will use.
My professor called this exercise “The lines of your day”. I like to use this exercise as a way to generate ideas for new projects. You will need a piece of tracing paper for this mini project too. Take the photo and lay the tracing paper over it. Draw the lines that pop out at you. Remeber that these lines will become part of your new composition. So now you have the photo and the doodle let’s grab that pencil…
Using the tracing paper to grab the lines from the photograph that stick out to you. Then take those lines and use them to create your new composition. The new composition can be whatever you like. You can repeat a motif over and over again, or it can become something so abstract that it looks nothing like the original. The idea here is to have fun, think outside the box and get those creative juices flowing again. In my example, I used pen and ink, markers, and watercolors. I felt the need to play with these materials so I can get more practice with them.
I really enjoyed the time working on this mini project, I hope you will give it a go too. This to me is a great stress reliever, and you get to hang your art on the fridge! Please share this post if you know anyone who might need a creative boost. As always please like, share, and follow. Please feel free to leave comments and feedback, I’d love to hear from you.
Artfully yours,
Andi
Artful-Living 