Day 346: Creative Revelation!

This is actually last Thursdays post, but like I said the goo monster!

That's right folks, today I have had a creative revelation! It's one of those things that I knew really, but never spent time thinking about how amazing it is. I find revelations usually are like that.

Anyway, at school this morning the little Saltford primary kids and I were learning all about fossils; how they are compressed over thousands of years, but have to be in the right kind of earth to form...All very interesting, but then we made a poem based on fossils. We read through a famous old poem by Alexander Pope and picked out the images he'd used to describe a grotto filled with fossils.

That's when it dawned on me; creativity can come from anywhere and can combine anything. Today we were learning a bit of chemistry, science, history, english, but took elements of all those things and created out of them. We made a poem.

What do you love? What do you find interesting? Use it to inspire your creative side. If anything and everything can inspire creativity, then surely everyone can be creative! Amazing, huh?!

So get creative with the things that inspire you!

Day 332: Nature in the Urban Jungle

As spring gets ever more vibrant, I've started to notice lots of strange things. This morning when I was waiting for a lift at the side of the road, a blue tit caught my eye as it flew and landed in the road. Next to it on the road was a big spider, obviously injured. My guess was the blue tit saw the chance of a tasty snack, but before it could eat it a car came and the bird shot out of the way. It didn't return for the rest of the time I stood there. I watched the spider struggle, round in circles. Car tyres missed it by inches each time. No one notices a little spider in the urban jungle.

I find it bazaar when nature interacts with city life. Yesterday, I saw a hedgehog scamper across the empty road at midnight as I walked home from work. It's the second one I've seen wandering the street of Bath this spring. Where are they going? Have they just woken up from hibernation and looking for food? Come to think of it, I don't even know what hedgehogs eat. Isn't it crazy the thing we don't know about animals that live all around us?

This morning when I went into Saltford Primary School we were talking all about animals, which I thought was weird with all the interaction I've have had with them lately. We wrote poems based on Mandy Coe's poem, Invitation from a mole. Can you guess what animal I am writing about?

Invitation from a ...
Roll in the dirt
and    take   time
feeling
as you ripple along.
Bits get stuck but
no bother.
What was dry
becomes moist as you
                                   edge
                                        closer
to the sweet, crunchy, succulent
leaf.
It's worth the                    wait.

Day 327: Happy Birthday!

...to me! Yep, today is my birthday.

As you can see, I've got a busy day ahead of me! Plus, I am going boating, having a picnic by the river and then...


Yep, that's right, my lovely fiance bought me tickets to see the one and only Jamie Cullum. SOOOO excited. Tell you all about it tomorrow.

Do us a favour, as it's my birthday, try and do something creative so we can all celebrate together :)

Happy Unbirthday to youuu!!

Day 320: Burning up the sun...

Today has been one of those beautiful days where the sun's been shining all day long. So the best thing to do on a bank holiday is to get out in the sunshine.


We are about to head down to the beach and have a BBQ. Now as I'm writing a creative blog, I'm going to pose this question, is making a fire on the beach classed as creative? I mean, all we're going to do is destroy it, so can it be called creative?

Well, either way, when the weather's like this if you can claim anything outside is creative, then do it. The sun might go in tomorrow, so best make the most of it, eh?

Enjoy the sunshine!

Day 317: The Story of Stuff

I have to tell you, I'm pretty into green stuff. You know, caring for the planet and all that. I think it's a pretty important thing to do, but when you tell people that they just switch off like I'm some sort of hippy or something.

Yesterday I got sent this video about the production of stuff we buy (sound boring I know). When I saw it was 21 minutes long I thought, there's no way I'm watching all of that, but after a few minutes, I was hooked.  Annie Leonard uses this cool animation thing to visualise what she's talking about and I think everyone should watch it.

It's amazing what a bit of creativity can do when you want people to listen, eh? (ps, sorry about the little music video at the beginning...creativity's everywhere!)

Day 302: Kilter Theatre

Kilter are a theatre with a difference. The three things they value are sustainability for the environment, interacting with local communities and create positive change. They have taken these values and used them in what they call issue-lead plays, where they share with their audiences something they think is important.

Their production Roots Replanted was held in an allotment where audiences interacted with the play, planting seeds and learning as they 'walked' through the play. What fun!

Here's a video about how they made their play:



So, what do you care about? Being creative is a great tool you can use to share with the world the things you think are important. Be inspired by Kilter's efforts. If they can do it, then so can we. Check out their website for loads of useful links.

How could you use your creativity to make positive change...? Why not share it below in the comment box? Let's inspire each other with the ideas we have...

Day 292: Takeshi Kawano

Artist, Takeshi Kawano has created these set of sculptures called 'Melting Animal Sculptures'.

Not much more needs to be said. I think the sculptures do a pretty good job of portraying their message. How could you speak through your creative works?

Be inspired. Be creative.

Day 290: WWF, be alert!

It would seem Pandas are craving biscuits of a Mango description. Yep, you read it right, Pandas love MANGO biscuits.



Well, if you can't have a bit of fun on a sunny Thursday afternoon when can you, eh?

Is it weird that I feel really sorry for this poor deceived panda? Why he's living in Australia is beyond me, but it's best not to questions these things.

Day 288: Rhianna, U2 and Justin Bieber sing to help Japan

These three musical phenomenons are just some of the artists clubbing together to make a digital album to raise money for those struggling in the Japan tragedy.

Big music label, Universal Music are putting it together and hope to have it out for the world to purchase by the end of the week, so keep your eyes peeled.

What a great way to use your creativity to help others. It got me thinking; what could us creative thinkers do to help?

Obviously these artists have fame on their side. If I made an album to help Japan, I don't think it would be as successful, but the point is, we are all creative and if we did our bit, then it will definitely help, even if only a little bit. 

What are you good at? What are your friends good at? Could you club together to make a difference? Think about other people/organisations you could include. Maybe your school/college/work?

What better way to put your creativity to good use than help support those struggling across the world? Put your creative thinking caps on folks and let's see how we can help.

Day 286: Bob Marley's sweet sunshine

The last two days have been filled with sunshine and I just love it! I dragged a chair out into my little sun-trap garden and ate my lunch watching the little birds that are nesting in our bush swoop down and eat the grains from the ground. They've fallen out of the bird feeder, which hangs on our rarely used washing line.

Whilst catching the sun rays, rare as gold dust in Bath, I was trying to think of something inspiring to share with you all on this Sunday afternoon, but all I wanted to write about was the sunshine.

My little garden is generally quiet, but as I sat there I could hear the odd lawn mower going, the shouts of kids playing in their gardens and people tooing and frowing from the park down the road. Everyone loves a bit of sunshine, especially in the UK. Generally, us Brits love complaining about the rain we get, but if you think about it, rain's actually amazing. Not only does it give us such a vibrant countryside, (and a flowing water cycle, of course) it also makes us appreciate the odd days of warm sunshine.

I feel like sunshine actually inspires a lot of creativity because it make people (in the UK, anyway) really happy. I mean, Bob Marley for one is clearly a fan. There's even a Mister Men book named after sunshine, followed by a film by the same name, but not really the same story! (Check out Day 264 for more of that one.) It's inspired me to write this entry anyway.

How does the sun inspire you to be creative? Have a think about it...in the sun...

Day 243: BBC's Human Planet

Have you managed to catch any of the latest documentary on the BBC? It's all about how humans manage to not just survive, but live a life in the cruelest places on earth; the sea, the Arctic, the desert...

I find it all amazing! Yesterday I watched the Arctic one and all they eat is fish (pretty much). I don't even like fish, but I guess it's just because I have the choice not to eat it. If it was that or nothing, I'd love it!

Anyway, one of the best bits of the program is at the end when the camera crew share their stories of how they captured these great scenes. Really fascinating. I don't know about you, but I never think about the fact that this is being shown to me because some stood in front of the action with a big old camera. It's an invisible creativity. I guess that's exactly what they're going for.

Without the camera, we wouldn't be able to see these incredible things. It's someones job to capture them for us. Can you imagine being able to say that you showed the world the resting place of the Titanic, or a clip of the Northern lights or the birth of a Panda bear...? Someone did!

Inspiring stuff! Check out Human Planet on BBC's iplayer.

[Picture from http://timothyallen.blogs.bbcearth.com/category/travel/]

Day 242: Barbara Hepworth

In the year 1965, Barbara Hepworth, the artist who made all these amazing sculptures, died in a fire at her studios in St Ives, Cornwall. Since then, her studio has been restored and opened up to the public.

In January, 2010 I had the pleasure of visiting this studio. It was a cold, blustery day, so my boyfriend and I had the place to ourselves. The garden is filled with her sculptures which we spent ages looking at, sharing our opinions.

Perhaps the strangest thing is her workshop, which stands still in history, unchanged from the day she left it. The calender reads May '65. The tools lay on the bench next to the unfinished sculpture, waiting to be picked up again.

Hepworth was 72 when she died and had a lot of help making her sculptors by that time. But her memory is held in that place, held in her sculptors, both complete and incomplete.

If you get a chance, take a trip down there. St Ives is a beautiful place with art, the sea and a cream tea waiting for you!

If St Ives isn't your thing, try the new Gallery, The Hepworth Wakefield in Yorkshire. It opens in May 2011 and will be home to rarely seen works by Hepworth as well as pieces by Turner and Henry Moore. If it's British art you're after, look no further.

Day 217: Wooly Winters

Good News Folks! I found out from BBC this morning that wool is on the up. More people are buying knitted stuff. More people are knitting. Which means, British wool is making money for our country, yay!

You wanna know why I'm banging on about this, don't you?

Well, the truth is guys, knitting is cool! Creating your own bags, clothes, toys...is the way forward.

So get out there and start creating. There's never been a better time to support our country's economy. Plus, it's real good for the environment too. Hardly any fossil fuels needs to be used to produce yarn and British wool is being sold all over the world.

If you need an excuse to get creative with wool, here it is. No more excuses people. It's time to be inspired by sheep!

Day 213: Creative Dinosaur Mission!

Today I am leaving my home to go back to Uni and it always makes me sad. There's going to be a lot of work to do this term and, to be honest, I just can't be bothered right now. All I want to do is knit and play on the Wii with my sisters (and eat chocolate!)

But I guess the truth is, they all have to go back to reality too. Even if I stayed here, they wouldn't be able to sit around with me all day. They have to go to work and school...and I have to go graduate : )

So, I think the best thing to do is have a creative plan, you know, to make it easier to go back. As of this moment I've decided my creative mission over the next term is to make something like this:

That way, I've got loads of time to do it and at the end of the term, I'll have something creative to show (besides the creative writing I do for my course.)

Why not give yourself a creative mission, something that's separate to what you do every day. Have a think. What do you want to do? Set yourself and deadline and swing it into action!

Day 208: Lazy Days

Happy New Year everybody!

I always feel like I should do something noteworthy on New Year's Day. You know, something to start the year off. But, to be honest, I'm just too tired. Last night I went to bed at 3am after bringing in the New Year, so I don't really feel like doing anything other than sleep right now. Know what I mean?

So, what could I put on a creative blog to inspire you all today, as a sleepy, lazy lady?

As I sit here thinking, I can see this:

My lazy cat, Bracken. Now that's what I want to be. If I could be any animal for a day, a cat is what I'd be. What do they think about? Do they have a craving for mice? Are they actually asleep when they're all curled up like that, or are they really listening to us all...?

Here's my other cat, Bramble, being equally lazy upstairs. What a life eh?

Why not have a think this New Year's day? If you could be any animal for a day, which one would you be? Those thoughts might be useful one day...creative thoughts usually lead somewhere, so go on, have a lazy thought day with me...

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 169: World Beach project

Do you fancy yourself as a installation artist?

Want like working with natural materials like stone?

Do you want to get involved in bigger things?

Well, if there's a yes in there, I've found the perfect project for you!

It's called, The world beach project. I found out about it on the V&A website (an museum in London). The project is open to anyone, any age, anywhere in the world! Basically, it wants everyone to get involved in making art with stones from the beach, just like this one:

Find out more about the project and see what has already been done.

So get creating and get involved!

Day 134: Rainbows

Today has been grotty. One of those days where it feels like it’s about five in the evening constantly, the clouds are so dark and foreboding. Yuk, is all I can say. Rain has been falling on and off all day and don’t my socks know about it!

So, naturally, I chose to get the bus home from town, rather than risk another down pour. You know when you have one of those busy days where you haven’t stopped and everything seems a bit gloomy? There really is nothing that could perk you up. Well, that’s my day.

Anyway, as the bus tootled on down Upper Bristol Road through puddles and drops of rain, I saw a group of lads all looking up at the sky behind me, but I didn’t think much of it. Then we drove past a mum with a toddler in a pushchair. She too was pointing up at the sky behind me and her cute little kid in a bobble hat had a massive smile on her face.

At this point I was thinking, what the heck is going on behind me, so I turned. There in the sky was the brightest rainbow I’d ever seen. As it went up, it disappeared behind a dark cloud, out of sight, like it was just peeping to say hello.

Aren’t rainbows amazing? They completely lift a dark day. But I was thinking...if the day had not been so rubbish, would it make people as happy?

I think the thing about rainbows is their timing. When it’s dark and rainy, a quick burst of sunshine will bring out a rainbow and brighten everyone’s mood. Good old nature inspiring us all once again.

Timing. How do you use it in your creative work? Something to think about, maybe...?

Day 118: Today's Forecast

Today, in Bath, it is raining. In fact it has been raining here for the past THREE days and, I don't know about you, but I have a REALLY hard time trying to appreciate the rain. I go as far to say, I hate it. It makes me miserable and cold and wet and lethargic and no fun!

Yesterday I was sitting in my kitchen having a cup of tea and watching the rain tinkle down from the sky, covering all it finds, even spaces you thought it couldn't reach. Rain saturates everything. My little garden had been transformed by the rain. The fences and timber beams were darker than usual (by that I mean the odd day it's NOT raining in Britain), almost black and even thought everything was damp, I couldn't help but think it was beautiful.

It got me thinking back to when I went to the beach as a child, so excited about all these brightly coloured stones I'd found. But when I got home, of course, they were dry and had lost their vibrant colour.

So it would seem that wetness does have its plus points. The rain is, after all, why we have such rich, beautiful countryside in Britain. There is something quite nice about sitting in a warm house listening to the rain beat down on the window pane. Cosy, you might say.

So, on this wet weekend, I am asking you to look at rain again and give it a bit of thinking time. Being stuck in doors does have its pros. It's inspired this entry after all, so maybe you could give rain a chance today and see where it takes you.

Just a thought...

Day 105: Daydream Believer...

Today, I'm not really sure what to write about. I think about something like blogging, putting a picture on, maybe a writing exercise, but nothing captures my imagination, so how can I ever hope it will inspire yours?

So, as I sit here on my bed, looking out the window I see a little spider, shaking in the wind on its web. It doesn't move, trying to be invisible from the world. But when it thinks no one is watching a few of its legs wriggle around. Is it hoping for a fly? Is it thinking about putting in a new web line? Is it even thinking at all?

'Hello, little spider.'

Do spiders even have ears to hear or do they react only to movement? Maybe if you have 8 eyes you don't need ears...Did you know that the web of a spider is stronger than lead, if they were the same thickness? What amazing creatures.

I killed a spider the other day because it freaked me out as it crawled up the inside of my trouser leg. And I ruined a web (which is actually a whole home) by walking through it. I'm not proud of either of these things (as a vegetarian), but I feel better for telling you about it.

So, what has all of this gabble got to do with creativity? Well, I think there is a lot to be said for daydreaming, for spending time thinking about little things like spiders. You never know when a daydream could turn into an idea, something that could be used in your creative works. I get a lot of ideas from daydreaming and I am proud to call myself one. Yes I might miss a few train stops or bus stops whilst doing it, or I might walk into a spider's web but it is worth it and I couldn't be any other way.

You get where I'm coming from?

I hope you enjoyed my daydream today. Feel free to share yours with me too! Give a little time to daydreaming.You never know where it might take you, or me, or anyone for that matter...