New Beginnings...

So, I just can't not write a blog entry today, even though I don't technically have to do it. It's kind of habit now. I have to let myself down slowly, you know?

Anyway, as you might have noticed the old blog's got a new page, dedicated to the competition I ran at Ralph Allen School in Bath. Thanks a bunch to all the cool kids who entered the competition. Your work is now in a book for the world to read! Winners will be announced shortly...very exciting!

The anthology is nearly ready to go on sale so watch this space for more info...

As for me, well, I think I'll go do a spot of knitting with my free afternoon...What creative endeavours will you get stuck into today...?

DAY 365!!! Be a Creative Thinker too...

Wow people! I have successfully reached the end of my blog challenge completing 365 posts to inspire creativity! I hope your have been motivated to get creative through at least one of the posts I have created over the last year. It's been great fun and I've learnt a lot about writing and about what creative opportunities going on all over the place, ready and waiting for us to get involved...

This is by no means the end for Creative Thinkers. Watch this space for more inspiration, but please don't be cross if I miss the odd day or two. So, as I sign off from my year of blogging, I leave you this challenge:

What do you to be creative? Write, bake, knit, dance, paint...whatever it is, try doing a little bit each day for a year and see what you can achieve. Take up my challenge and become a creative thinker for the world to see...

Be inspired. Be creative.

Day 341: Doctor What

This is what I'm talking about people. Using what you like as inspiration for creativity. I know I alllllways go on about Charlie, but I just think he's so cool. Check this his video below and be inspired!

Day 339: Stumble Upon

My friend Beth told me about this website. You can go on it and search for anything you want (ie, wooden sculpture or knitting pattern) and it will lead you to a website about that thing. It's a great way to find websites you wouldn't normally find.

Check out this video to find out more...



...and then get going. What inspiration will you stumble upon?

Day 319: Royal Wedding Creative Competition!

As it gets closer and closer to the Royal Wedding the whole country seems to be getting in the patriotic spirit. Everyone's flying their Union Jack to show their support for Will and his wife-to-be, Kate.

This got me thinking about our flag and how it's used all over the place. You can get posters, t-shirts, mugs, cushions, I've even seen a sofa covered with it! Sometimes its in different colours or using textures. Sometimes there's flowers added or that worn leather look...It's been used over and over again, but the all the creative ways in which its changed astounds me. For a flag, it's a pretty elaborate anyway, so to use that as a base it a difficult one I reckon.

What would you do with it? How would you change it to make it unique? Have a think and a play, then send me your creative flag pictures and your name to emma.fowler@bathspa.org by 28th April 2011. I'll put the best one on my blog on the day of the Royal Wedding to celebrate. Have a go at getting creative and share it with the whole world at the wedding!

Day 318: Working with Windmills

Here is a story all about a windmill. This windmill:

But this story starts partway through, as I, the story-teller can only retell the second chapter of it's life. It was found, broken and discarded outside a house. Its sails had fallen off, its paint chipped and old. The windmill had been forgotten, in a state of disrepair, or was it?

The lady who found it decided it wasn't the end for this windmill and took it home. With a bit of glue and a few coats of paint, the battered windmill was restored to it's former glory and sits in a sunny garden for all to admire.

And now it's found its way onto a creative blog! What a wonderful example of using forgotten things to make beautiful creations. You know what they say, one man's rubbish is another man's treasure. So keep your eyes pealed. You never know what could be waiting for you to restore. It's a great way to get creative and use your talents...

What will you create?

As for the first chapter of this windmills story, well, I'll leave that up to your creative imagination to discover...

Day 311: The Hobbit!

I am SOOOOO excited. I just watched the first video blog about the making of the long awaited Hobbit film. For all you Lord of the Rings fans out there, check it out RIGHT NOW. They have rebuilt Bag End, Rivendell and they look beautiful. Peter Jackson gives you the rounded tour and it's so exciting!

This clip is not just for LOTR/Hobbit fans. Creative people listen up. This clip is full of weapon making, Costume design/making, Choreographing fights/action scenes, set building, shooting...you name it, it's there.

I am so siked about this film and we've still got to wait two years, but you know it's going to be worth it! Peter Jackson is amazing. An inspiration to creative folk everywhere!

Ps, if you haven't read The Hobbit, DO IT!!

pps, Is it just me or do you have a massive urge to watch Lord of the Rings RIGHT NOW???

Day 300: Bath

Shocking, shocking! I can't believe I've successfully managed to reach the 300th day of my blog challenge. Yay for me!

Anyway, every so often I like to treat myself to watching a Charlie McDonald video on YouTube. He amuses me and his videos are the perfect amount of time to enjoy a (cooled down) mug of tea. Today is one of those days (if you can't treat yourself on your 300th entry day, when can you, eh?) and it turns out Charlie is from Bath.

As I now live in Bath I really enjoyed it, perhaps more so than usual and as it's creative I thought I'd share Bath with more people by putting it on my blog too:



Really I should make my own video of Bath and be proper creative instead of just directing you to another person's creativity. Does it help if I say I'm going to do some knitting now?

Day 299: Carl's Beach Theatre

Today I want to dedicate this entry to a creative friend of mine who is currently developing a beach theatre. Now that's what I call a creative thinker. What better place to harbour your creativity than on a beach in Devon?

Have you ever been to a Devon beach? I have so many fond memories of beach holidays in Devon and the idea of pitching up with just a towel to sit on and watch a performance sound just amazing.

Similar to me with my writing competition at Ralph Allen School (which is going great by the way. Tune in next week for more on that!) Carl is running his theatre-with-a-difference for his final year uni project. It's so cool to do a degree where you can take what you've got and share it with the world. A Maths degree just doesn't give you the same benefits!

Check out what Carl has planned in his blog. Be inspired by what's going on around the UK. Think about what you've got and what you could do with it...

Day 294: Have Great Expectations!

So, here is a list of things that popped into my head this morning. Chose one to inspire your creativity today...

Honeycomb candles dyed pink, orange or purple.
Fairy cakes, shaped like black bats.
Umbrellas dripping with rhythmic raindrops.
Salt collected on your skin after swimming in the sea.
Fresh Coconuts filled with sour juice.
The crinkle of new wrapping paper.
Balloons.
Coffee in the mornings.
Talcum powder.
Church bells from the Abbey tower.
The ache of your jaw when you taste lemons.
Somewhere over the rainbow.
Counter clockwise.
After tomorrow we'll be finished.
Laughing until your tummy hurts.
Counting ancient steps weathered by walkers.

Why not make your own list and see where it takes you? Give your imagination a workout!

Day 256: Tavi Gevinson: Teen Queen of Fashion

Now if this girl is not an inspiration, then I don't know who is. She is a teen blogger who just started writing about what she loves; fashion. Now she is considered a big name in the fashion industry, and has been invited to fashion shows around the world. She even has her own clothing label now and is in the process of starting a magazine about, you guessed it, fashion.

Check out her blog, Style Rookie, here.

What do you love? What are you passionate about? I think it's time the world heard about it to be honest. So get on it and blog it!

Day 236 & 237: Oops, I did it again!

Ok, so today there is no excuses. I forgot. I actually completely failed to remember to write my blog yesterday. In fact, it wasn't until about 5 minutes ago that I actually realised I hadn't done it! You'd think after doing something every day for 235 days, I wouldn't forget, but I did. So there you have it. Can I put it down to being a scatty creative person? Will you let me??

To make up for my failings, I will brighten your day with not one, but two entries (lucky you, eh?)

It seems only right to talk about when creativity goes 'wrong'. What do you do when something you're working on isn't going how you want? What if someone else doesn't like it or it's just really hard? Do you give up? Should you give up?

You might be thinking I've brought all this up because I forgot to write yesterday. Well, partly, but I also got my marks back (on Friday) for the open chapters of my novel I'm doing for my final year. They were ok, but not what I wanted. I don't know about you, but I find it really hard to pick myself back up when I get bad grades. My story is a part of me and someone marked it. It's only natural that I feel down about it.

BUT, it's what I do next that's important. Do I keep going, working my butt off to make it as good as Emma Fowler can, or do I put minimal effort in, concentrate on my other projects and resign my story to failure?

I think you know which one I'm going to (try) and pick.

Creativity is a personal thing, but most of us do it to share. I don't know about you, but I don't want to keep it to myself. I do it for others as much as I do it for myself. Not everyone will like it, but some people will. And I'm still learning, you know. I often expect too much of myself. Quite clearly I'm not going to be perfect at writing a novel. I've never done it before!

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't give up. If you're creative, then it's a part of you too and it aint gonna go away! So keep going and enjoy it!

(Stay tuned for another exciting entry on Creative Thinkers!)

Day 232: Creative Juggling

You'll be pleased to know that I am a lot more level headed today compared to yesterday! And I have finally made a decision about my theme. It is (definitely)...

Curiosity.

Now, that's one creative decision out the way, it's time to move on to another. How can I create tension in the next scene of my story...?

Sometimes it can be really tricky trying to keep all your creative things going at the same time. One of my teachers likes to refer to them as spinning plate (on sticks, you know?). How can you keep them all spinning with only two hands and one brain?

Do you ever get lost in everything you have to do? Do you ever lose momentum for one when you're really enjoying something else?

Well, I do. I'm trying to organise the writing competition, planning workshops and write another chapter, but all I want to do is some knitting! (That's not even mentioning this blog!)

So what can us creative people do, eh? How can it be achieved? To be honest, I am certainly no expert. All I can say is, we all have trouble and I know how you feel.

If it helps do what I do...take one day at a time. Yesterday I was flustered about the stupid theme, but today it's sorted. Juggling is all about timing, so maybe if we focus on one bit at a time it'll all be fine...

BUT don't forget to have fun...what's the point of it all if it's no fun?

Day 231: To be or not to be...is that the question??

Ok, crunch time. Today is the day I decide the theme for my competition...

And the winner is, Chaos and Curiosity!

BUT...Is that a cop out? Is it giving the competition entrees more choice or is it just me backing out of making a decision? As the organiser of this project, I want to do what's best for the pupils. I am, after all, doing it for them...

Isn't being creative tricky sometimes! Let's be honest, there are just too many decisions to think about at times, so what do we do?

I always talk to others and get their opinions, but at the end of the day, it's my creative work, so I have to make the decision.

In this scenario, I'm going to try turning it round. If I was going to enter a competition, would I prefer one word to two to choice from? The choice would probably open up more ideas, but then I'd get confused with which word I should choose to write about.

Am I therefore pushing the decision to someone else? Are the two themes a burden or a helpful motivation...?

To many questions! I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in all this creative confusion. Sometimes you need to know that, so here I am telling you.

Come back tomorrow and hopefully you'll find a more level headed creative thinker!

Day 163: Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2010

For the past four years this new award has been given to the funniest book of the year. There's two categories, aged 6 and under, and 7-14. As this is a blog for teenager, it makes sense to let you know who won the older categories this year...

Well, the announcements were made yesterday and the winner is...

Louise Rennison with Withering Tights.

Recognise the name? Rennison is the author behind Angus, Thongs and perfect snogging, which is now a hilarious film. But this latest teen fiction novel sets out to be a bigger success! It's about a boy-obsessed teenage girl who gets up to all sorts at her performing arts school. Michael Rosen (who invented the competition and is the top judge) had this to say about it:

'This is a witty, wry, inside view of what it feels like to be a gawky, witty girl who knows what's going on around her, is detached enough to comment on it all, but carried along in the flow all the same. There's a gag on every page with loads of funny situations and people.'

So there you have it. If you fancy a funny read, this book is the way forward.

One last thought, if you were to invent a competition, what would yours be...?

Day 161: Illuminate Bath Festival and Ice Book

Over the past few weeks I've been helping out with my uni's arts festival. Most of this included standing out in the cold, making sure no one stole the projector, but actually, I'm really glad I did 'cause it showed me what's going on around me. There is so much creative stuff happening at my uni by students and teachers. A lot of the time people don't get to see it.

Here's some of the thing that I saw:

Perhaps the most amazing thing I saw was Ice Book made by Davy and Kristin McGuire.  It's basically a pop up book, but animated by light. It tells a touching story about two characters in an enchanted land. I watched it in a dark basement in one of Bath's pubs. Atmospheric! Definitely check it out on Davy's website.

Sam Drew also had his poems projected on a the Bath buildings for all to see and read. They had been animated by graphic students and caught the attention of thousands walking the streets of Bath.

There were so many other things going on to show Bath what talent there is around. These two things inspired my creative ideas and I hope they help you too. Their creators are real people taking their work out into the world and showing it off! It's good to go and see what's around. You never know what might spark your own creative work, so get out there and see what's about in your area.

Day 145: Alice Kuipers

Last night I did something I have only done once before in my life...I read an entire book cover to cover. The weight of my achievement kind of comes crumbling down when I tell you some (most) of the pages only have 50 words max. But, needless to say, I did it and I am pretty pleased with myself.

'Well, what is this book, Emma? For goodness sake tell us!'

Alright, calm down. Jeez!

It's called Life on the refrigerator door by Alice Kuipers. A girl called Claire and her Mum live together, but both lead very different, busy lives. Most of their communication is done through notes on the fridge and this is what we, as the reader, see of their relationship. It's very cleverly done and so touching. Everyone should read it!

I did a bit of research into Alice Kuipers and it turns out she too has a blog. It's really great if you want to get into writing so make sure you check it out. Life on the refrigerator door is her first novel. I often find the first ones are the best, so good news for all new writers, eh! Here's to hoping. One day, i'll share my writing with you all, but for now take a look at Alice Kuiper's work. It really is inspiring stuff!

Day 143: Creativity after death

I have spent the last few days preparing to saying goodbye to my Grandma. She died suddenly a few weeks ago now and the whole family gathered together for her funeral yesterday. Isn't it funny that there's people in your family you don't speak to in years, but as soon as a funeral comes along, the whole family are brought back together again. I'm pretty sure my Grandma would like that.

So why am I chatting away about a funeral on a creative blog?

 When I started this blog I had a strong sense that creativity made people happy, gave self worth and was a path to self expression. I still think it does all these things, but the last few weeks have shown me that, actually, creativity is for all occasions.

When I found out Grandma had died I wanted to make sure I would remember the day, so in my own creative way, I bought a novel and wrote in the front so I would remember her. That book will help my own writing and in turn inspire creativity. I'll keep it forever.

My sisters, cousins and I were asked to choose the flowers that went on Grandma's wicker coffin. We chose autumnal colours which she would have loved. The way they were arranged was beautiful. Floristry really is an art that creates real meaning for many special days.

One of my sisters, Becca, spent a whole day baking cakes and snacks for the wake after the funeral, which everyone enjoyed (of course). I know my Grandma would have been proud of her.

These are just little things, but I think it's significant that they are creative in some way. So, today I wanted to share this with you and encourage you that creativity, even in the smallest forms are everywhere, even after death.

Day 120: Dream Jobs

Today, in lesson, we were allowed to talk about our dream job. I find it's one of those things people are a bit embarrassed to talk about, like if they say it out load it will get lost in space or jinxed or some other such nonsense. But, when they do talk about it, they won't such up and their enthusiasm actually makes your own brain hurt.

You know the feeling?

Well, this happened to me today. I was all shy about it and then it was like I exploded and actually almost forgot I was in a classroom with loads of other people who wanted to share their dreams! A little embarrassing, but you can't say I lack passion!

So what is your dream job, I hear you ask? Well, in a nutshell, I want to do exactly what it is I'm doing now in this blog. I want to inspire young people to be creative in whatever way I can. I want to be that inspirational visitor you get each year at school, where everyone says, 'wow, I want to do creativity too!'

Anyway, enough about me! I want to talk about you guys. What do YOU want to be? What's your dream job?

Could you do me all a favour? Can you write it down and put it in a box and look after it, because I am conducting an experiment (in my head). I want to know if dream jobs change. I'm pretty sure they do. Check this out, 10 years ago I did not want to inspire creativity, I wanted to be a paleontologist, then a artist, then a historian, then a nurse, then a youth worker, then a writer (I still want that!) and now an...well, I guess you could call it an inspirer!

When I look at my list, I just get excited about how many things I could be if I put my mind to it. And the same can be said for you. I bet if you made a list of 'past dream jobs' they would be just as adventurous as mine.

We can be anything we want, so go for it! Write down that dream job and do whatever it is you need to get there. With creativity on your side, you can do anything!

Dream big. Think bigger!

Day 119: The Queen's adventrue

Today I want to tell you a story about a friend of mine. She's called Elizabeth and she travels all around the country everyday on the surface of a twenty pound note. I want to say she flies on them like Aladdin, but to be completely honest with you, it's actually just her face! Yep, you've guessed it. I'm talking about the Queen.

Now, on one of these twenty pound notes, along with the face of the Queen, you will also find a number. Not just any number, but a phone number. If you find it, ring it and you will get a spritely 'hello' from my friend Alice!

She has started her own blogging adventure. On 30th September she used her little Queen faced note and began her adventure, but I won't tell you too much. That's for her to tell you. Check out her blog here and see the magic unfold...

What a brilliant, creative and truly inspiring thing to do with the Queen's head!