Day 180: Blue

Today I want you guys to think about the colour blue.

Ask 5 people what the blue means to them. Then, do something create with that information. Art, Dance, Music, Drama, Writing, Animation...

I can be your first person: For me blue reminds me of my dad. It's always been his favourite colour and his clothes are never anything other than blue. He literally won't be seen without it.

Now it's up to you to do with that info what you want, as long as it's creative. Find four others and see where it takes you. Let me know what you come up with...

Whatever you do, start it with blue.

Day 179: Harry Potter

Over the past couple of weekends, I have been catching up on the Harry Potter films, ready to watch the 7th; Happy Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1. I know, I know, it's been out for ages. I'll get there.

Tonight, I watched HP4, The Goblet of Fire. They miss loads of the book out, don't they! But then, how are you supposed to fit 400 pages into two and a half hours?

It must be such a challenge to make a book into a film. How do they decide what's important and what can be left out? How do they decide what clothes the characters wear and who to cast? Which bits of dialogue do they keep and which do they edit out...?

Touch one.

That's my challenge for you today. Take a book you really like and see how you would turn it into a film, or a play, or maybe a game. Why not take a film you like and think how you would turn it into a book...

Be creative with the stories you love. How else could they be seen, heard, enjoyed...it's up to you!

Day 178: Homeless Creativity

Today, on my way home from shopping, I saw a homeless man. He didn't have a coat or a scarf, but he was playing a guitar at the side of the path. I don't know about you guys but sometimes I feel a bit funny about giving homeless people money 'cause I don't know what they'll spend it on, so I gave him a cookie instead. He seemed pretty happy with it.

Anyway, we got chatting and he said he'd just bought himself a new guitar (which I thought was a bit strange, as he didn't have a home) and was using it to make some money. He said not having one was like losing a limb, which I thought was really interesting. Here I was talking to a homeless man who didn't have a place to sleep that night and all he spoke about was how pleased he was with his new guitar...

I guess my point is, creativity makes people happy. It doesn't matter who you are or what you do, being creative in some way seems to bring joy to people. Even though that man had nothing, in a small way he was content because of his guitar, because of what his creative skills could do for him.

What makes you content on the cold nights? Maybe we all need a bit more creativity in our lives...something to think about.

Day 177: write a book in 30 days!

My friend sent me this list on Facebook and she called it a 30 day challenge. At first it just looked like a list of things you can do each day, but then I thought, why not WRITE about these things everyday? You could write 1 chapter each day, and hey presto, you got a autobiography on you hands!

Or, if a book's not your thing, why not write a song each day, based on the topic. Or if you're really feeling creative, do a drawing, an animation, a dance...

Whatever you do, see if you can use this 30 day challenge to help your work. Give it a go if you think your hard enough:

Day 1: introduce yourself
Day 2: Your first love
Day 3: Your parents
Day 4: What you ate today
Day 5: Your definition of love
Day 6: Your day
Day 7: Your best friend
Day 8: A moment
Day 9: Your beliefs
Day 10: What you wore today
Day 11: Your siblings
Day 12: What's in your bag
Day 13: This week
Day 14: Nicest thing ever said to you
Day 15: Your dreams
Day 16: Your first kiss
Day 17: Your favourite memory
Day 18: Your favourite birthday
Day 19: Something you regret
Day 20: This month
Day 21: Another moment
Day 22: Something that upsets you
Day 23: Something that makes you feel better
Day 24: Something that makes you cry
Day 25: A first
Day 26: Your fears
Day 27: Your favourite place
Day 28: Something that you miss
Day 29: Your aspirations
Day 30: One last moment.

Day 176: Baby bootie!

As you may know, the creative adventure I'm having at the moment (other than creative writing) is knitting. I thought it was about time I shared with you my achievement. Behold, the (single) baby bootie...

Isn't it cute? (get the pattern here.)When I finished it, I was so proud of myself. I love it when you try something new and you actually do something with it. Ok, so I've only made one, but I'm half way there, so wahoo!

What are you doing creatively at the moment? Is it time to start something new and exciting? Is it time to get on with what you are doing, step it up a notch?

Wherever you are, I hope my little baby bootie encourages you in your creative adventure. If I can do it, then so can you!

Go...

Day 175: Creating in a Winter Wonderland!

As the whole country has turned into a winter wonderland, I thought it only right to concentrate on the cold today. So, how can you be creative with the cold?

Well, I was thinking about ice sculpture. If you could make anything out of snow, what would it be...?

Here's some ideas to get you going:

Embrace the cold and use it to think creatively!

Day 174: Bridget Riley

For those of you that haven't heard of Bridget Riley, she's a British contemporary artist who is interested in how we look at colour and what our eye does to see it...

Her work was extremely influential on my art last year, so I really excited when I found slideshow. It's about her work and a new exhibition open at The National Gallery in London from now until May 2011. If you get a chance, go see it. I really want to go!

Be inspired by Riley's use of colour.

What could you do with colour in your creative works...?