his post should really be titled "Creative or Crazy?" or "Aliens Live in My Rug... " (I bet that got your attention). I've been busy with a million things - I still promise that Enamel PDF, but life is full of distractions (who, me?)... plus, it's taken more time than I expected to complete it. I'm overcommitted for one thing. Many of them are artistic commitments, which is good. Inspiration for them (or something entirely new and different) can strike at any time and from anywhere. It struck this morning... and so I was inspired to share an example of that experience (which also illustrates how inspiration can function as a distraction).
One of those commitments is participating in a group that's doing creative exercises with jewelry making. We've had an assignment a week for the past 7 weeks (1 week to go). It's a cool concept... but I'm behind. This morning, I was taking a shower, thinking about assignment 6 (which should have been finished the day before yesterday), when suddenly....
[Ok, this is where the "Creative or Crazy" part comes in. Assignment 6 was to get inspiration from a children's book. So I'mthinking about this, and how I love Dr. Seuss, and how he inspired me as an illustrator and how I might interpret one of his books for this assignment. I love his drawings, his take on "beings" and buildings, and his overall attitude and philosophy. Over the years I've done many different types of illustration, even drawn cartoons–and I love to doodle...]
So I'm letting my mind wander about the assignment and looking out past the curtain at my bathroom rug. The rug is rather plush - but very worn, so there are lots of lines formed by the way the pile lies down... and I start seeing faces. Of course, I'm not wearing my glasses in the shower, which softens the details that say "rug" and only helps increase the plush-pile "line" effect. The
faces/figures ("aliens") I see are just simple lines connecting that create expressions, shapes, etc., we've all seen them in tree branches, clouds and such....
As soon as I was finished, I had to capture some of the many images on paper, then head to the computer to draw them into the very cool program Scribbler (thanks Gail Lannum* for sharing this), and voila! Crazy fun faces... but that's not the end...
This brings us back to the "one thing leads to another concept... or everything happens for a reason..." and reminds us to trust the process - it will lead us somewhere...
I got so lost on scribbler that I dusted off
my USB tablet device and was inspired to draw some other fun stuff that I'll be using in the future. And I don't want you to think I'm not serious about art or inspiration... I am totally serious. I'm just willing to go with the flow and not afraid to admit that sometimes the craziest things get you to that inspired place. The aliens in my rug probably won't lead me anywhere (wink), except onto the next inspiration... Now, about that assignment...PS.... Gail, I know you did some cool cats in scribbler... but I swear this kitty was there in my rug :)
These scribbles are incredibly cool. I can't wait to see where this leads!
ReplyDeleteWhat fun scribbles--no--really drawings. Sometimes the best creative efforts just come out of left field (right brain?). It's not that the creation is any less valid, it's just less censored. Maybe your brain has been working on these drawings for years--you just didn't know it.
ReplyDelete--PH
LOVE that Scribbler!!
ReplyDeleteI see that you have come over to the dark side. Good for you!
ReplyDeleteCatherine