In a previous post, I mentioned a personal creativity project I was doing based on the book The Artist's Way. As part of this project, each week I have to do an "artist date" in which I spend some some time alone nurturing my creativity - doing something that inspires me, helps unblock my creativity, or just gets me out of a particular rut. Yes, it's a date with myself. But some days you have to take what you can get. Kidding. I actually love the idea, and it not only helps me unblock through doing the activity, but by coming up with creative things to do as well.
I'm trying to do something a bit different each week, at least so far since I'm only in week three. It feels pretty uncreative to do the same creative exercise each week, especially if you're only three weeks in and have already run out of ideas. That being said, I might stick my foot in my mouth on this statement in week four or five. This week, I decided to create a photography "scavenger hunt" for myself around my neighborhood in Philly. I use the term "scavenger hunt" loosely. It's the closest thing I can think of to what I actually did. I chose 12 topics, at random, to photograph. I started making a list and they just kind of came to me - again, helping with the creativity. Some were more obvious - a specific item or category. Some were more open to interpretation - something that makes you feel xyz.
Here are the categories I chose:
1. A leaf
2. Something red
3. An interesting person
4. A sign (I meant physical, I guess you could do metaphorical as well)
5. Food/drink
6. Something that intrigues me
7. Something that makes me smile
8. Quintessential Philly
9. A fond memory
10. Something hopeful (represents hope to me)
11. Something "magical"
12. An animal
I think this exercise could be done with any number of creative activities: drawing, painting, making a vision board or a scrap book. The idea behind it was to just "go out and see what I find". It gave me enough direction so I wasn't aimlessly searching, but left plenty open to interpretation and individuality (the same thing isn't going to make everyone smile or intrigue everyone). If you're feeling blah, stuck, blocked, or just like you need to get out and do something different, I highly suggest this activity. Have fun and be creative with the developing the project as much as with the actual exercise. I'd love to hear what you come up with! Below are a couple of pictures I took. The full album can be seen on my Facebook page.
I'm trying to do something a bit different each week, at least so far since I'm only in week three. It feels pretty uncreative to do the same creative exercise each week, especially if you're only three weeks in and have already run out of ideas. That being said, I might stick my foot in my mouth on this statement in week four or five. This week, I decided to create a photography "scavenger hunt" for myself around my neighborhood in Philly. I use the term "scavenger hunt" loosely. It's the closest thing I can think of to what I actually did. I chose 12 topics, at random, to photograph. I started making a list and they just kind of came to me - again, helping with the creativity. Some were more obvious - a specific item or category. Some were more open to interpretation - something that makes you feel xyz.
Here are the categories I chose:
1. A leaf
2. Something red
3. An interesting person
4. A sign (I meant physical, I guess you could do metaphorical as well)
5. Food/drink
6. Something that intrigues me
7. Something that makes me smile
8. Quintessential Philly
9. A fond memory
10. Something hopeful (represents hope to me)
11. Something "magical"
12. An animal
I think this exercise could be done with any number of creative activities: drawing, painting, making a vision board or a scrap book. The idea behind it was to just "go out and see what I find". It gave me enough direction so I wasn't aimlessly searching, but left plenty open to interpretation and individuality (the same thing isn't going to make everyone smile or intrigue everyone). If you're feeling blah, stuck, blocked, or just like you need to get out and do something different, I highly suggest this activity. Have fun and be creative with the developing the project as much as with the actual exercise. I'd love to hear what you come up with! Below are a couple of pictures I took. The full album can be seen on my Facebook page.
 |
| Something that made me smile. |
 |
| Interesting people - dancing on the street corner |
What a great idea this was. It sounds like something I would like to try. I'm also going to pass it along to the digital photography workshop at Inglis House. The great thing about this that another time, you could complete change the list and it would be a new experience.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Yes, I like the idea that I could completely change the list - or the location. I did this in my home area, but would be fun to kind of compile a list and when traveling or in a different area, pick a few each day and try to get photos. I hope the Inglis House Photography workshop is able to utilize the idea - I think it'd be great for the residents.
Delete