Hey guys and gals, I hope you like the new look for my blog. As much as I liked the old one it went a bit scwibbily (I am aware this is not a real word), which just isn't good enough for you all!
So, after much fiddling and tweaking, this is what I have come up with. Do you like the orange? I think it's pretty creative overall. Colours are important to me and I think they are overlooked in many ways...
Anyway, I am short of time today, but creativity is never subject to time! Have a look around my blog today. Do you like the new design? Why? Why not? What would you do differently?
Creativity is individual, but can touch many others. My little creative nugget for today is this; be true to yourself when creating. If you love what you make, it will show in the work and others will appreciate it more. I changed the title of my blog to creative thinkers, because that is what we are. Yay!
Alas, a creative person's work is never done, so I'm sure it will change come time...
...watch this space!
Saturday 17 July 2010
Friday 16 July 2010
Day 39: Calling ALL writers!!
If you write plays, poems, stories or anything of that sort then LISTEN UP!
There is an amazing competition for all of you aged between 5-25 (I recon that's most of you!).
Check out the Wicked Young Writers' Award. All it needs is 750 words of your incredible writing and you are in for a chance of winning some amazing prizes. It's FREE to enter and there are categories for each age group.
The closing date is 31st July so you need to get your stakes on. Half a month should be plenty of time for all you creative thinkers. Check out the link above for more details. It's a great website with loads of tips and help from Michael Morpurgo!
Competitions are great to enter if you want to take yourself seriously as a writer. I enter competitions and in November last year I won a prize. That can be you too, but it's like they always say, you've got to be in it to win it!
So, what are you waiting for? Get writing...Good Luck!
Thursday 15 July 2010
Day 38: Film-thoughts
How do you find a creative spark to feed your imagination?
This is definitely a BIG question, one I have tried to answer in a number of different ways over my blog entries so far (still 327 to go!). There is one way I haven't really looked at in a lot of detail yet and that is films...
I am not into writing/making films myself, but watching them helps me a LOT when it comes to inspiring my creativity. Even films that seem pretty generic can show me something I've never even thought of.
If you think about it, they touch on a lot of creative ends; story writing, plots, characterisation, photography, choreography, costume design, set design, styles, fashions, ideas, current thinking...you name it, film includes it!
Are you the kind of person that thinks about the films you've watched? If so then great, if not, I encourage you to give it a go.
Do it now with the last film you saw (DVD or cinema). Answer these questions:
-Did you enjoy it?
- Why?
- What was you favourite scene and why?
- Were the characters believable?
- Do you think the script was good?
- How did the characters achieve their goal?
- Was this believable?
- What style was the film going for (ie, dark and sinister)?
- Did their clothes match the setting/time period?
- Was it deliberate?
There are SO many questions you could ask of a film and many of the answer will tell you a little bit about what you like and where it could lead your creative work.
Let me give you an example from my own 'film-thoughts.' I went to see Twilight (the first one) when it came out which lead me to thinking about impossible relationships. Bella and Edward are like a modern day Romeo and Juliet, lovers who should be enemies. They should not be together because they are from different 'worlds.'
This idea inspired a story of mine. A well-to-do guy called James from a wealthy family ends up falling for a homeless girl, Lola. As you can see this idea seems to have nothing to do with vampires and werewolves, but its the concept I've borrowed!
Get it? I hope this helps.
Give it a go yourself and see how the films you watch can inspire YOUR creativity...
This is definitely a BIG question, one I have tried to answer in a number of different ways over my blog entries so far (still 327 to go!). There is one way I haven't really looked at in a lot of detail yet and that is films...
I am not into writing/making films myself, but watching them helps me a LOT when it comes to inspiring my creativity. Even films that seem pretty generic can show me something I've never even thought of.
If you think about it, they touch on a lot of creative ends; story writing, plots, characterisation, photography, choreography, costume design, set design, styles, fashions, ideas, current thinking...you name it, film includes it!
Are you the kind of person that thinks about the films you've watched? If so then great, if not, I encourage you to give it a go.
Do it now with the last film you saw (DVD or cinema). Answer these questions:
-Did you enjoy it?
- Why?
- What was you favourite scene and why?
- Were the characters believable?
- Do you think the script was good?
- How did the characters achieve their goal?
- Was this believable?
- What style was the film going for (ie, dark and sinister)?
- Did their clothes match the setting/time period?
- Was it deliberate?
There are SO many questions you could ask of a film and many of the answer will tell you a little bit about what you like and where it could lead your creative work.
Let me give you an example from my own 'film-thoughts.' I went to see Twilight (the first one) when it came out which lead me to thinking about impossible relationships. Bella and Edward are like a modern day Romeo and Juliet, lovers who should be enemies. They should not be together because they are from different 'worlds.'
This idea inspired a story of mine. A well-to-do guy called James from a wealthy family ends up falling for a homeless girl, Lola. As you can see this idea seems to have nothing to do with vampires and werewolves, but its the concept I've borrowed!
Get it? I hope this helps.
Give it a go yourself and see how the films you watch can inspire YOUR creativity...
Wednesday 14 July 2010
Day 37: Oli
All you budding writers out there, try this out. In fact, even if you're not a writer, give it a go anyway. Anything that gets your creative juices going is worth it! I recon it could spark off a lot of ideas (hence why I'm sharing), not just for story writers. Okay, here goes...
Look around you and find an object (something vaguely interesting. Don't chose a plug socket or something boring like that.) Now I want you to imagine that your chosen object is you (ie, you become a lamp).
Now write 50 words exactly which describe you as this object. How do you feel? Do you like what you do? What do you look like?
Oh, and one more thing. Each word can only be one syllable! (ie, one sound like cat rather than kitten.)
Take a look at my example. See if you can guess what I am:
This is my safe place, cool and dry. Light streaks through the blinds all day. Specks dance round me, full of grace.
All at once my stretched out leaf is touched by a beam and I glow. Some dust lands on me, but some falls. Here I stay, at peace.
In case you didn't guess, I am a plant which sits in my bedroom. I have had it since I was 14 and he is called Oli (sort for Oliver).
Have a go yourself. I love doing these kind of challenges. It's fun to see what you can say with such restrictions. Plus it's great for editing and makes you really think about your word choice.
If you're a musician, try writing some lyrics this way. If you're a script writer, try describing a scene or doing some dialogue. Poets, I think it would be great for you.
What my teacher said to me, I shall say on to you; if you can write this, you can write anything!
See where it takes YOUR creative mind...
Look around you and find an object (something vaguely interesting. Don't chose a plug socket or something boring like that.) Now I want you to imagine that your chosen object is you (ie, you become a lamp).
Now write 50 words exactly which describe you as this object. How do you feel? Do you like what you do? What do you look like?
Oh, and one more thing. Each word can only be one syllable! (ie, one sound like cat rather than kitten.)
Take a look at my example. See if you can guess what I am:
This is my safe place, cool and dry. Light streaks through the blinds all day. Specks dance round me, full of grace.
All at once my stretched out leaf is touched by a beam and I glow. Some dust lands on me, but some falls. Here I stay, at peace.
In case you didn't guess, I am a plant which sits in my bedroom. I have had it since I was 14 and he is called Oli (sort for Oliver).
Have a go yourself. I love doing these kind of challenges. It's fun to see what you can say with such restrictions. Plus it's great for editing and makes you really think about your word choice.
If you're a musician, try writing some lyrics this way. If you're a script writer, try describing a scene or doing some dialogue. Poets, I think it would be great for you.
What my teacher said to me, I shall say on to you; if you can write this, you can write anything!
See where it takes YOUR creative mind...
Tuesday 13 July 2010
Day 36: Mmmm, yummy!
Yes, today's entry is all about cakes! I'm not talking about boring buns with raisins in them (don't get me wrong, they certainly are yummy), I'm talking about colourful, creative, beautiful lookin' cakes! Doesn't it make your tummy rumble just looking at them!Well, you too can make amazing looking cakes like these. Here's a recipe for making 12 cup cakes:
4oz (115g) Sugar
4oz (115g) Butter/Margarine
4oz (115g) Self Raising Flour
2 tea spoons vanilla essence
2 Eggs
12 cake cases
1 baking tray (if you've got one with little holes in for the cakes to sit in they are best)
Instructions:
- Mix the sugar and butter together until fluffy
- Add the 2 eggs and mix well (if you can use a whisk to let lots of air into the mixture)
- Add the flour through a sieve and the vanilla essence and mix well (use the whisk again)
- Put the mixture into the cake cases using a tea spoon
- Put them in the oven on gas mark 6 (200 degrees) for 15-20 minutes until golden brown
Now comes the fun part, decorating them! Go crazy and get creative with it. Add food colouring, sprinkles, letters, whatever you can find. Put you own funky design on it. The choice is up to you! Look here for icing options, there are many! There's even a video about it!
Sooo, here's your chance to use your creativity to feed the mouths of many...
Monday 12 July 2010
Day 35: Creative cultures
It's summer time now and I recon quite a few people will be going off on holiday to hot (and cold) places all over the world for a break.
I've been wondering about other countries and cultures recently. Is creativity used differently in different places? Does it have different values in different cultures? Are different activities and pursuits seen as creative compared to English ones?
Things like beauty are definitely interpreted differently in different cultures, so I'm pretty sure creativity would be 'graded' differently too.
Take India for example. Colours are vibrant all over India. Their clothes, temples and spices are all bright. Weddings and funerals are full of colour and music, nothing like the traditional English ones. Music is different, films are different, art is different. In fact there is very little about India that could be regarded remotely similar to English culture.
So, what am I getting at? I'm encouraging you to look and listen when you are away this summer, wherever it is. Even if it's still in England, local culture still changes. India is of course an extreme example, but wherever you go, have a look for me. How do they regard creativity? Is is important? Is it public? Which senses does it engage with? But don't just look, take it in, process it and use it...(take your notebook!)
What will you find this summer to inspire you...?
I've been wondering about other countries and cultures recently. Is creativity used differently in different places? Does it have different values in different cultures? Are different activities and pursuits seen as creative compared to English ones?
Things like beauty are definitely interpreted differently in different cultures, so I'm pretty sure creativity would be 'graded' differently too.
Take India for example. Colours are vibrant all over India. Their clothes, temples and spices are all bright. Weddings and funerals are full of colour and music, nothing like the traditional English ones. Music is different, films are different, art is different. In fact there is very little about India that could be regarded remotely similar to English culture.
So, what am I getting at? I'm encouraging you to look and listen when you are away this summer, wherever it is. Even if it's still in England, local culture still changes. India is of course an extreme example, but wherever you go, have a look for me. How do they regard creativity? Is is important? Is it public? Which senses does it engage with? But don't just look, take it in, process it and use it...(take your notebook!)
What will you find this summer to inspire you...?
Sunday 11 July 2010
Day 34: T-shirts
Today I have been thinking about design. Everything that we see in the man made world is designed by someone. Cars, buildings, microwaves, gardening tools, mobile phones...even this blog was designed by someone (sorry its gone a bit scuwiff at the moment. I'm kinda waiting for it to sort itself out!)
All these thoughts were whizzing through my mind whilst I was working and what do I see at work? People. So, I was thinking about design and seeing lots of people which made me think about t-shirt design (we get there a last!).
T-shirt designs always fascinate me. All the different colours, shapes, styles, patterns...There really is so much I could talk about, but I'll reign myself in! I'll focus on what's on the t-shirt.
You can get your generic spots or strips or the label designs which spell out their brand name somewhere, usually in a completely indiscreet way (you know the ones I mean.) I'm talking about unique, one-of-a-kind cool designs.
My top prize for today's t-shirt viewing session goes to a boy who was wearing a white t-shirt completely covered in little black ants (prints, not real ones that are squished on or anything). The black and white made the contrast stark and it completely captured the characteristics of an ant colony, whilst still being a cool t-shirt design; brilliant!
With this in mind I am asking you to get involved in my t-shirt search. Keep an eye out for t-shirt designs whilst you're out and about. They are everywhere!
What would YOU put on a t-shirt? How would it change for the other gender, or a different market? Would you use transfers or print on the fabric...?
Be different...Be creative...
All these thoughts were whizzing through my mind whilst I was working and what do I see at work? People. So, I was thinking about design and seeing lots of people which made me think about t-shirt design (we get there a last!).
T-shirt designs always fascinate me. All the different colours, shapes, styles, patterns...There really is so much I could talk about, but I'll reign myself in! I'll focus on what's on the t-shirt.
You can get your generic spots or strips or the label designs which spell out their brand name somewhere, usually in a completely indiscreet way (you know the ones I mean.) I'm talking about unique, one-of-a-kind cool designs.
My top prize for today's t-shirt viewing session goes to a boy who was wearing a white t-shirt completely covered in little black ants (prints, not real ones that are squished on or anything). The black and white made the contrast stark and it completely captured the characteristics of an ant colony, whilst still being a cool t-shirt design; brilliant!
With this in mind I am asking you to get involved in my t-shirt search. Keep an eye out for t-shirt designs whilst you're out and about. They are everywhere!
What would YOU put on a t-shirt? How would it change for the other gender, or a different market? Would you use transfers or print on the fabric...?
Be different...Be creative...
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