Missing that caffeine magic

This tin poster (a birthday gift from Sam years ago) is in my kitchen, and makes me smile.



As I sit here trying to come up with some witty, colorful illustrations, I realize how much I rely on caffeine to fuel my creative urges. And because I have to limit my caffeine, my lack of "energy" is definitely affecting my creative urges. Which is obvious, because I'm busy blogging instead of drawing. I'm not sure how to get into the zone and be all hyped up about what I'm working on without chemical intervention. It's quite frustrating, and I find myself procrastinating or getting distracted by other things (blogging, tv, the pets, housework) just to avoid having to be imaginitive and innovative.

How does one get past this block? I know I've blogged about it before, but it seems even more difficult now. And I don't have the luxury of time to wait for inspiration to hit, so what is one to do? This has been a problem for me as a freelance creative person, and it's always something I struggle with. I wonder what the solution is, and how to get into the correct frame of mind to do what I need to do (and WANT to do, dammit). I know deadlines can be quite convincing, but I don't want to fall into that trap again and again. And since I'm working with a few new clients, I want to make a good impression.

So...what to do? Any suggestions from those who have to be "on" for certain projects?

Camper bird house project

I felt craftier than usual on Sunday and decided to decorate a cute little camper bird house for our backyard. I bought a basic bird house in a camper shape, acrylic paint, some brushes, and some scrapbooking stickers.


Here's my stuff set up on our enamel table. I was careful not to get paint on it.


I already had most of the paint colors, but had to run out a second time for some black and the scrapbooking stickers.

A few hours of painting, sticker application, and more touch-up painting, and...


Voila! A tricked-out camper for the birds (namely, wrens).


Complete with screen window and cute decals—the one on the window sill says "Are we there yet?"


In happy-go-lucky colors


All sides were lovingly attended to, too.


Ah yes, home is truly paradise, isn't it?

I'm not sure why I'm suddenly in this weird creative-happy-energetic-optimistic-visionary phase, but I'm going with it, whether it means making goofy little bird houses or getting started on a children's book. I liked the feel of the brushes and paint, too. It had been so long since I painted (5-10 years) and I found that I missed it. Perhaps I'll dabble in paint for a while and see what happens.

Hope you liked the project, and Happy Wednesday!

A place for me

I'm looking to set up an area in my house for my drawing table, pictures, inspiration board, and art supplies. I have a beautiful old teacher's desk that Jeanette gave me a few years ago, and I'd like to put it to use for my work. It's rough and curved and well used, but it's perfect for me. The only thing I need to do is figure out where to put it. I know I'd like to have it in a windowed area, if possible, because I often like to gaze outside and be hit by inspiration.

So now the question is, where? Pete has offered to let me set up my area in his music room, but I just about finished decorating that for him, and would hate to take away his space. There's also our goofy storage room that's right off the living room, but it's drafty, sloped, and has no lighting besides that which comes through the windows. I could set up in our bedroom upstairs, but then I'm away from the activity downstairs, which I prefer to be around. Then there's the sweet spot in the dining room in front of the wall of windows (see above) that I would love to set up shop in front of. But I'm not sure if it'll crowd the room too much and I'll have to move my stuff around too.

Hmmm....

Life and Flowers In Square

I've posted more photos in my currently favored square format here and here. Hope you like them. I'll be adding more as time and inspiration permit.



I really wish creativity was more of an everyday, planned, timed, slotted, and slated sort of thing. Instead, it's more like the weather, constantly changing, moving, and sometimes difficult to pin down. But it's always beautiful in whatever form it takes. And when I'm able to unfurl my humble kite—whether in the form of a paint brush, pen, or camera—and it's strong enough to withstand the unpredictable turbulence of my creativity, I am truly, truly blessed.

Inspiration is a funny thing

(Me having fun recently with my camera and self portraits)

As you can tell, my inspiration comes and goes here at reverie (and of course vivid). There are days and weeks where I have no creative inklings at all. Those are sad and dark times for me, very frustrating and weird. I'm not used to being like that for more than a day or so, and when I entered my third week of limbo last week, I was really starting to feel sad and a bit scared.

Then something changed this weekend. Somehow the world looked different, I was full of ideas, and couldn't run around taking pictures fast enough. Why? What had changed? I'm not sure, but I noticed I was a bit more bubbly and content than I have been during the last several weeks. I think there's a definite connection between state of mind and the pursuit of creativity, at least as far as I'm concerned.



Which raises a question: If things go on like they have for a while, with me being in the doldrums and things not going so well in some areas of my life, am I destined to remain dry and lifeless in my imagination? I certainly hope not. If anything, having fun with photography or drawing make me very happy, and make me want to create more.



So how to get that happy cycle going continuously? I'm not sure, but I'm glad it's here for the moment, however long.

Missing my cameras

Shooting in a gift shop in the Adirondacks, summer '07

I'm in one of those funks right now where I don't take many photos, and I'm not sure why. I've been busy lately, that's for sure, but I haven't been feeling very inspired either. It's sad, because I see so much beauty around me, and I also see lots of wonderful images being captured by others. What gives? I dunno. It's hard to jump start something like creativity that just tends to happen all the time, and it's something I take for granted. Ugh, frustrating!

So I'm in need of a kick in the pants as far as my creative juices go. What do you do to get things humming along again? Any advice?

Uninspired

I hate days like this. Yesterday I was a fountain of ideas, and today...nothing. I seem to be getting lots of housework done (I'm up to 6 loads of laundry), but beyond that, not much else. Well, certainly not anything fun or creative or interesting. I have scanned through tons of magazines like Domino and DIY, but I just feel tired looking at all the wonderful projects and ideas. I can't even seem to take any interesting photos today, either. I realize I'm having an off day, but these kind of days are still hard to deal with. I'm sure my migraine this morning had a bit to do with that...

Anyhow, this is all I could come up with today. Back tomorrow, hopefully with my creativity restored.

Creativity loves company

Georgia and I had fun splashing in puddles today...



When Georgia and I get together, we tend to feed off each other's creative energy. It gets to the point where we're almost giddy with possibilities. Today was one of those days. We ran outside at break time to photograph Georgia's lovely new rainboots, which I am so in love with! She wanted me to shoot some pictures of her standing and jumping in the water, so we headed outside to seek out some big, fat puddles in the parking lot. It was difficult at times because the puddles were few and far between, and we needed just the right one. We also had a captive audience following our every move, since several of our coworkers were watching us frolic outside our office's windows.

Here we are hard at work, totally oblivious to the watchful eyes inside.



Ah, that was a good puddle, as I recall.

We only wished we had more time to play outside, but pretty soon work called us back inside to our not-so-fun cubicles. I later told her I wished we could have stayed outside for an hour taking pictures and running about while we were at work, but then it wouldn't be work, would it? After a second we both agreed that no, it isn't our work now, but it COULD be our work for us someday. Once again, talk of possibilities was on our lips.

And so we went back inside with our heads held high, laughing and rosy-cheeked from the cold and the excitement, to continue our charade of mundane tasks while we secretly continued to play in our minds.