Creative Process
Most Thursdays I join in with Our Creative Spaces which is great place to go and have a look at what people have been making each week – there are sewing projects, drawing, songs, craft, quilts, crochet, knitting…. anyway.
This week the challenge was to talk about what inspires us, our tips for creativity and I guess our ‘process’.
Personally I am inspired by lots of things – colours and colour combinations often grab my attention and make me want to start making. There are definitely times when I see something and set out to make myself one. I’m not too worried by that because a) I know I will never actually make something the same and b) we all start from some jump point even when we feel our work is entirely original and uninspired by anything else we often find someone else just around the corner doing the same (or worse doing it better!) and c) I don’t sell my work so I am not effecting another person’s livelihood.
I was walking around a fabric shop with a friend one day when she asked me if I realised I was touching all the fabric and making noises – I hadn’t realised but I definitely recognise that I feel fabric and I often go fabric shopping with no set plans in mind. I see fabric and then I develop an idea.
In life I hate the thought of a ‘uniformity’ or ‘sameness’ for me the great adventure is indeed that we are CREATED, UNIQUE and we each have a PLACE in history. Somewhere to stand, something to do, a voice. I think this pervades into every aspect of how I create – I find following patterns to the ‘t’ impossible, I rarely follow a recipe exactly, I’d never make the look on the pattern envelope.
For me creativity is a lot about ‘play’ – mucking around with stacks of fabrics and stacks of patterns. Looking at wonderful inspiring images online or on books – my creative inspiration on Pinterest can be found here – and as Pooh Bear would say ‘letting things come, it’s the best way to write poetry (or create) letting things come’.
I often make changes as I go along – if something doesn’t work as I thought it would or if some great idea comes to me.
The things I have made that I am proudest of most often are things that came to me when I played with ideas or started creating on some crazy whim.
I love colour and I love variety I sew, bake, felting, craft, I’ve done stained glass window making, jewellery making, decoupage, lighting, embroidery, photography, quilt making, written stories and poems, …. I’m sure there is other stuff I’ve forgotten….point is I like the process of making – it’s the finishing I find tricky
I love:
the imagining
the ideas
the owning, wearing, giving a thing that is unique
So what is your creative process? Do you start with a pattern? Do your ideas translate as you expect them to? Do you see the creative process as playing or do you take it more seriously or in a more considered way?
Click on the Creative Spaces button on the right for other people’s tips and thoughts and projects
Other stuff I’ve made this year
All images are things I have made in the last wee while
Make My Week #4 – Lounge Chair Re-Cover
Okay without sounding too vain I think this might be the awesome-est thing I have made. It could even be the awesomest lounge chair ever… that’s how much I love it.
I re-covered this year in 2010 (my first year of blogging) and although I liked it at the time it never really worked. Here is the results first time.
Here it is in progress.
Last year I was inspired by some über expensive patch-work couches I saw in magazines and a friend even pulled one out to give me when she saw one. It was meant to be.
I tried really hard to get a smooth tight finish and use fabrics that had a bit of weight (one of my mistakes from last time).
I LOVE this chair. And it’s all stash apart from the faux-suede/leather back part.
Total cost about $6 for the floral suede/leather/pleather plus some money for staples, glue gun and thread.
Other cool creative types doing inspiring things over here. Wait til a bit later in the day when the new link is up and there are some things to see. My post always goes up a bit earlier than the link.
A Little Coaster Loving
This week the weather co-operated and I finished these little coasters.
The images are from an old Goldilocks book. It was hard to choose my favs but I like the way this tells the story.
I didn’t make them with anyone in mind but now that I have made them I think if you had more coasters it would be a cute gift for a 3-5 year old for story telling with.
Creative genius and inspiration to be found over at Our Creative Spaces.
Make My Week #45 – Learning to Have a Go
This week’s make my week is a bit different for me.
I’ve spent a lot of my life saying ‘I’m no good at art’. But I’ve been thinking – yes some of our creative expression and inclinations come naturally but even then our ability needs training, practice, time.
So I’ve bought a journal with blank pages. I have my sister’s water-colour pencils and I’m starting with some art. My kind of art: words and snippets of this and that. But art nonetheless.
This is what I made. The words are mine, the picture is mine and I am going to use my journal to play around making things that are sometimes pretty and sometimes disappointing….. because I figure ultimately if I want to learn a bit I need to try. And a blank page is an indication that I’m too scared to try – and I’d rather not be (unless you want me to eat weird stuff or climb to high heights!)
The words are about my spiritual journey – in case you thought I was really going out of my mind!
What creative endeavour have you vetoed out of your life because ‘you’re no good at that’?
Finally Another Family Night
Flip has been saying for so long – ‘We need to have a family night’
So inspired by Cat’s cool family night I stole her idea.
We talked about the Creator and how we see amazing things in the way we are made.
How we see all the incredible variation in trees, people, animals…. things that remind us God didn’t just ‘make stuff’ he is incredibly creative.
And we know he made us like him (in his image) so we are creative too.
And just to prove it we made our own creations using only 2 things toothpicks and mini-marshmallows and even with such a limited set of things to work with we all made something different. Some of us worked fast (Bounce) some of us had strategies and descriptions of what we were doing (Flip) but we all created something.
Creativity is something I would consider a core value – something I want my boys to understand and enjoy because I think it enhances our lives to experience and explore.
It was great to spend some focussed family time together. Thanks Cat for sharing your night and inspiring ours.
Make My Week #39 Button Chandelier/Lightshade
I think chandelier might be a bit of a stretch. This is what I started with:
This is my first lighting attempt but I’d like to make a variety for all the light shades in the house.
This one needed some tweaking but I am pleased with the final results.
It is now hanging in the boys’ room.
Thanks to Meghan for the buttons – there are still heaps left!
Don’t go anywhere though before you’ve entered my giveaway.
Starch-o-rama
So you may remember I have got a little partial to the delights of starching fabric onto the walls
This is my latest effort
On the back of the toilet door
because there is no place Jesus doesn’t love us
Today I am linking in with this awesome place – our creative spaces – every Thursday it is a great big link up of all sorts of amazing creations people have been up to. Pop over and get inspired.
Make My Week #36 A Plane! (guest post)
Well technically as I am writing this post it isn’t a guest post but my ‘make my week’ is made by someone else.
My lovely bro-in-law whipped up this little beauty for my boys yesterday morning because he felt the urge.
No pattern just one of those mysterious brains that can work these things out.
Due to the never-ending but hopefully ending soon renovations all creative endeavours have hit an all-time slow.
So thanks Alex for keeping the creations coming – we love you!
Make My Week 1/52
Start easy I say.
Thanks to my sis for this little idea.
1. Take all your Christmas cards and cut them into tags/ strips.
2. Punch a hole.
3. If you have any ribbon lying about you can thread that through.
Gift Tags
Christmas gift tags made. I’d put mine with the Christmas decorations and tree when I put it away to save me losing them during the year. As I now have way too many of these at some point (closer to Christmas) I will give some away.
See What I Mean?
Making these also helps me start along the way to being more kind to earth and buying less stuff brand new.
‘Make My Week’ is one of my 2011 challenges to myself. You can read about all my challenges for this year under the button at the top of the page labelled 2011.
I am planning to be a little more exciting with my making as the year progresses!
Day 70 and 71
Make, Give, Contribute, Challenge. 1 year, 100 creative challenges. 17/100 complete.
Today I made ‘Gourmet Icecream’ which I flavoured with Lemon Curd – idea c/o sister No1. I have a group of people coming for dessert tomorrow night which gives me the opportunity to get through a few more recipes.
I also completed Challenge 79 – listing all the colours I could think of. I didn’t allow myself the use of light or dark as a colour (eg dark blue) but I did allow myself one bright – bright blue. Without too much brain strain I managed to come up with 79. Which I found humourous as it is challenge 79.
We seem to be all recovered here after a nasty bug which treated us all to greater and lesser extents.
The charity quilt is coming along and I plan to purchase the inner batting tomorrow which will hopefully mean it gets finished this week.
Excitingly I have also been asked to be involved in the 48 hour film festival in April. This is with a team I have worked with before who are all lovely and chilled which is pretty amazing considering what has to be achieved in 48 hours.
Off to see Anne Frank the play this evening so a nice end to a somewhat grotty week.
