Day 103: David Nicholls got me thinking...

At the moment I am reading One Day by David Nicholls which I guess you would call an 'adult book'. One of the main characters is called Emma, which I find a little weird. Perhaps weirder is how much she reminds me of myself. Have you ever had that when you're reading a book?

Anyway, it turns out she's quite a thinker and a creative one at that and when talking about her play she's performing for schools she says, 'once again life is failing to imitate art.'

Her irony got me thinking. Unfortunately life doesn't imitate art (that's all forms of art, not just fine art), but should art imitate life?

When I was wandering from painting to painting in London (look at yesterday's post for more of that) I found myself getting really annoyed at how unrealistic some of the paintings were. Would Jesus really have white skin living in Israel? Are medieval science experiments really performed in a darkened room with only one candle creating dramatic lighting on the faces of the onlookers? Was the young Lady Grey really wearing a brilliantly white dress at her execution to contrast the drab clothes of the others present? Would farmers from hundreds of years ago really wear purple trousers to work? The answer is, probably not. All of these are artistic details to emphasize certain areas of the painting, creating mood, depth, colour balance...

Art is escapism, entertainment, meaningful representations...so does it have to replicate 'real life'? Not if the creator doesn't want it to. Then again, the creator can make it whatever they want. That's the beauty of art isn't it? Its an interpretation of the world or maybe an experimentation of what the world could be...

What do you want to say through your creations? Do you want to imitate reality, show injustice in the world? Do you want to create a safe haven for people to escape to? Do you want to experiment with boundaries or try something no one has ever done before? You really can do anything! So, go for it. Be inspired by what has come before you and make it your own. Being creative means, when you've got something interesting to say, you have an interesting way of saying it! So, what are you waiting for?

Day 102: The Credit Crunch and BP Portrait Award 2010

It seems to me that the government is cutting more and more creative funding all over the place due to the credit crunch, so how are we supposed to get any inspiration around here? Can we be inspired when we don't have any money either?

Well, I am here to say YES! I spent the day yesterday visiting gallery after free gallery in London. It really is amazing how much free stuff there is to do in London. I mean, just walking around looking at buildings, people and soaking up the atmosphere is pretty inspiring.

First, I visited The National Gallery where I stared at old, old paintings of mythological scenes, aristocratic families and religious iconography. Its so cool how stories feed art and in turn, art feeds stories.

Whilst having my lunch on the steps in Trafalgar Square I watched a bazaar mechanical design piece called Outrace move around, flashing lights and making strange noises (I think it would have been a lot more impressive in the dark).

Then, it was onto The National Portrait Gallery, which had the BP Portrait Awards 2010 exhibiting. Intricate portraits by contemporary practising artists lined the walls with hundreds of people viewing them. Perhaps the funniest thing was the sight of  twenty school girls sitting on the floor in front of one painting , showing a girl with ipod earphones in. You literally had to hop over them to get past. There was also a little photography collection by Jason Bell, showing famous Brits living in New York.

On the way back to the train station (sort of) I quickly popped into The British Museum (which is massive and cannot be 'popped' into!). I only had time to look at the Egyptian collection (briefly), which was awe inspiring! I got told off by a 'guard' for touching this absolutely massive stone arm, once belonging to a Pharaoh's statue. In my defense, I had to touch it, people made that!

Check out this website which lists free comedy, art, theatre etc in London and see what you can do. There is SO much (despite the credit crunch) you can be inspired by, all for the price of a train ticket!

See what's in your local area too. There's bound to be a museum, gallery, local art/writing/dance group or something, somewhere near you.

Feel free to be inspired wherever you are!

Day 101: Dalmations

Oh, what a brilliant film! I remember watching the classic Disney animation when I was about 8 years old. It wasn't until many years later that I realised, Cruella DeVil, is really a, 'cruel devil' (clever, eh)! Disney made a live-action one too, which is amazing as well. Good old Glenn Close, she's soo evil in it!

Turns out, 101 Dalmatians was first a book by Dodie Smith. When I was a kid I thought Disney were the best story tellers in the world, but actually, they 'borrowed' everyone else's stories! But, this isn't about Disney, it's about the doggy adventures of 101 Dalmatians. There's a quest, friendship, love, villains, slapstick, heroes, singing...and of course, a happy ending.

For old times sake, here's a clip for you to enjoy:



If you've seen this, I encourage you to watch it again. It's funny what different things you see in a kid's film when you're grown up. Try it. How is it different? Does the story seem different now you're older?

If you haven't ever seen it, then spend an hour and a half watching it, 'cause it's a great story with great characters.

Oh Disney, how I love you! I'm sure there will be many more entries given over to it's magical kingdom of creativity and inspiration, but for now, I am reeling myself in to just Dalmatians.

How will it inspire you?

Day 100: Wonderful Words and David Almond

Woop woop! I've reached day 100 and the creative juices are still flowing! Yay!

OK, enough shenanigans. To celebrate the occasion in a properly creative way, I thought I'd give you 100 creative, inspiring words to use as you wish. Say them aloud and give them time. Roll them around on your tongue and appreciate how wonderful they sound:

creativity, languid, stupendous, cheese, catastrophe, endless, time, faces, monumental, considerate, appealing, justification, consequence, aloud, moon, abundant, yoghurt, sunshine, yellow, apparently, despite, brambles, fantastic, crisps, eleven, chocolate, anthology, inspirational, doctorate, ungulating, transparent, enough, glue, toilet, dangerous, tepid, xylophone, punctual, styrofoam, complicated, distance, honestly, banished, tickley, curious, amount, complicated, disease, rainbow, fascination, tomorrow, apple, joy, darkness, grace, liquid, toasted, lolly, bumbled, verity, stupid, swish, crackling, plop, disgusting, correct, handle, saliva, elusive, intrinsic, consider, tractor, temperature, bottle, walnut, kitten, munchkin, obviously, wash, momentum, sing, beautiful, dangle, squeeze, wax, coil, ball, venom, bobble, tug, copy, loaded, flute, cosmopolitan, rumble, illuminate, explain, tuna, stretch, huzzah!

There you have it! One hundred wonderful words. Try them in an accent! For example, you can't say, styrofoam in anything other than an American accent! It sounds amazing (reminds me of Bolt, watch it if you haven't seen it). I do have to give a quick mention to David Almond here, as he inspired this flow of words, so thanks!

Happy 100 Day!

Day 99: Enjoy it

Yesterday, I went to a poetry event in Bristol. The evening was filled with performance poets (which I will elaborate on in a future entry, so watch out for that) who stood up, did their thing and everyone clapped. Some (I thought) were good, others, not so much. That's the way it goes with open mike nights, I guess.

There was a man named Tim sitting on our table who's a poet and performing himself. Before the performers started we got chatting and he said, 'I think the main thing is just to enjoy it, really. What's the point of doing something creative if you don't enjoy it?'

'Exactly,' I said, vigorously nodding my head.

This little comment of Tim's made me view the whole evening differently. Did all of the poets performing enjoy it? Some performers went up, big smiles, hands waving. They recited their memorised poem with confidence and ease. Others tottered up nervous and apprehensive, read out their poem and quickly sat down, embarrassed by the applause.

Perhaps enjoyment of such things grows over time? All of them must love writing poetry, but perhaps not all of them love performing it...yet.

I would HATE to go up there and perform. It's not my thing, hence why I'm writing a blog for you guys instead. Do I love this? Yes. It would be damn hard to write this everyday if I didn't enjoy it...BUT, its still a challenge sometimes.

I think we have to find our 'thing' and stick to it. Sure, try out new things, but go for what you feel drawn to and go for it, enjoy it.

What do you enjoy creating? Music, art, dance, animation, socks...whatever it is, do it because you enjoy it. If you do it because you love it, your motivation will keep it going a lot longer than fame, money or whatever. Besides, you never know where it might take you...

Day 98: Websites

WARNING: Today's entry is a bit of a rant.

Allow me to walk you through my morning. I have spent its entirety on ONE website trying to sort out the simplest thing. All I wanted to do was tell 'them' I have changed my Uni course from Art and Creative Writing, to just Creative Writing. Easy, right? WRONG! Why? Because the website is RUBBISH!

My morning's task was one of those necessary ones like a banking or insurance. I thought, 'I'll do it on the web, it'll be easier.' Why is it that websites for these essential tasks are the WORST websites? It is IMPOSSIBLE to get through it without your blood pressure rising to an uncontrollable level.

You're password is wrong...you're on the wrong page...you have the wrong form...your entry date is wrong...we need a copy of your passport...confirmation is required...

I literally thought my eyes were going to pop out at one point, they make me sooooo...

I am almost 1000% sure I am not alone when it comes to this issue. Do you get REALLY ANNOYED with poorly layout websites which make, what should be a simple task, a maze of frustration and confusion?

Am I alone here?!

Where is the positive bit? Well, stay with me. If you think about it, the Internet is a relatively new phenomenon. It's been around for (roughly) ten years now, which is still pretty young. Just think about how it will change before its Twenty. How old are you? Could YOU be the one making those amazing changes it so desperately needs over the next ten years?

On behalf of the whole world I am asking all of you who have the remotest interest in websites to step forward and please take the baton from those who are 'designing' them now. It seems that the world needs creative people. YOU can do it better, I know you can. Keep going! We need you!

All I have left to say is, Thank you!

Day 97: Don McCullin

In 1964 a photojournalist named Don McCullin won the World Press Photo of the Year Award for this photograph.

Now, the question I am asking you today is, do you think this is creative? Is this a beautiful photograph? Do you think it has good composition and exposure? What about it's subject matter?

Don McCullin worked for The Times Magazine for over 25 years, photographing wars like Vietnam and the Cyprus Civil war (which the above photo is from). He showed the citizens of Britain what was really happening in these conflicts with gritty black and white photos of people grieving, hurting, dying through war.

I visited an exhibition of Don McCullin's work and started thinking about how we use our creativity. For a creative person, Don McCullin is an inspiration. At the very start, the small boy Don loved photography. What he did with this love as a man shaped much of photojournalism and people's view of war for years to come.

Even though you might think your love of art, film, music, dance isn't doing much at the moment, don't give up on it. If you have the passion to do it, then hold onto it and see where it takes you in your future...

Day 96: Your five words...

I have just finished reading a book by Marcus Sedgwick (who is an amazing author by the way. If you like dark, mysterious fiction, check him out). This particular book of his is called Kiss of Death. It's a vampire-type novel set in Venice and there's a bit at the end that got me thinking (dangerous, I know).

Now if you REALLY want to read this book, perhaps don't read today's blog, 'cause it does give away a bit of the mystery (but only a really small bit, an sub plot of the story, if you will).

Let me fill you in before I continue. In the book there is a diary entry from Sorrell's (one of the main characters) grandfather who died long ago from lack of sleep. Sorrell's father is now suffering the same illness and they read the diary to try and find some answers. The final diary entry is just five words,

'Sunshine. Glass. Aurora. Wine. Simono.'

The book then leaves it until the last page to reveal these word's meaning:

'Those were the things [he] loved more than anything in the world, and he wrote them down to preserve them forever.'

He was a glass maker, his wife was called Aurora and his son, Simono.

What a cool idea! Could you put down in only five words the things you love most about the world? The idea that words on a page are captured forever, long after we are gone is amazing. What would you write?

As I was pondering over what I would write, I had another thought, do you recon these five words would change over your life? I'm 23 now, but I think that when I'm seventy my five words would have changed. I might have married, had kids, grand kids, seen the world, written a book, done a bungee jump...who knows!

So, my task for you today is to find your five words, write them down and put them in a special place. Put the date on it and in twenty years time let me know if they are still the same...

Day 95: Creative Allergies

In the last few days it has come to my attention that I am actually allergic to white space. In particular, I am most heavily struck by this allergy when facing a massive expanse of magnolia wall. My breathing goes all funny and I start grabbing for bits of anything to fill the space with.

Perhaps this is part of being a creative being. Do you know where I am coming from fellow creativians (I am aware I just made this word up)? Is it just me or do all creative types get this desire to fill emptiness (a blank page, music score, canvas, film,) with...something?

I think on some level I always knew I was allergic, but I have just moved into a new (magnolia) bedroom which is BIG. You know what comes with big? LOTS of white! Arrrr! So, I have spent the last few days trying to fill the white with colour (yay!).

Luckily, I have a massive Indian wall hanging which has been sitting in a Lee Cooper carrier bag for the past 5 years, probably crying. So, I got my sewing skills out and fixed tabs to the back, and hey presto, the white is now pink. The trouble is, a room has four walls!

The second wall has a window on it. That scene is always changing, so I'll let that one off. The other two are more difficult. Living in a rented house, (student) I am 'not to affix any notice, sign, poster or anything to the internal surfaces of the property.' Blue tack is NOT ALLOWED! Well, I had to get around this somehow or my allergy would become unbearable. So, between an existing picture hook (it was already there so it's allowed to stay) and a cleverly disguised pin on top of the door frame, I hung some wool. From this I pegged six strips of crape paper, all covered in postcards of pictures, patterns and colour. On the opposite wall? A mirror leaning on the mantle piece. Sorted!

How do you cope with such allergies? How does your creative mind work around rules and boringness? How would you transform a (horrible) white space and make it yours?

The best remedy to the allergies is creative thinking!

Day 94: Jazz

Just a short entry today. It's one of those, 'it does what it says on the tin' kind of entries.

If there's anyone out there who's into Jazz, then check this out, Jamie Cullum (check out more about him on the website) is doing a two part radio show on BBC Radio 2 all about Jazz. You can listen to the first part on iplayer, where he interviews Clint Eastwood about his love of Jazz.

Two really inspirational people together on the radio, what more could you want?

The second session is on Tuesday 14th Sept, 7-8pm. Put it in your diary or something.

Creative people are jazzing up the world (terrible, I know)!

Day 93: Unwritten books

I recon there must be millions of stories that exist only in people's heads. I don't mean stories about people's lives, I mean fictional ones they have made up but never had the chance or opportunity to write down.

Perhaps you have a story in your head. One that gets bigger and bigger over time, but it's just up there, in your head, waiting. Maybe it's just an idea.

You know, there IS such a place where unwritten stories are being told, a whole library in fact. If you think it's time your story was told, even if it's only in note form, visit the Library of Unwritten Books. Their aim is to collect unwritten stories and put them all in a well deserved book. They are being collected through random encounters in parks, city streets and public places. Once over 1000 are recorded on paper, they will be brought together to make one collection. All stories are welcome from anyone and none will be rejected.

How did I find out about this? I was in the Library and there was a whole shelf full of empty paper booklets. Yep, they were waiting for our stories...

What would you write...?

Day 92: Water droplets

Yesterday, I was traveling on a train. Big drops of water fell on the windows and raced along with the speed of the train. Rain always makes me a little bit sad. I'm not really sure why. Maybe it has some strange link to my childhood. Rain means you can't do stuff.

As I stared out of the window of the train, unable to concentrate on my book, I found myself thinking about water. Droplets of water. Wouldn't it be interesting to be a droplet of water for a while. You could start off high up in the hills and trickle down. Eventually you might end up in the sea, where you evaporate and become a cloud. Imagine all the things you'd see. Then you'd come tumbling down, but where do you land? Do you get caught on the leaf of a big tree before getting stuck to the bottom of a slug? Maybe you evaporate back up into the sky and become a cloud again. Maybe you get swallowed by an animal, go all the way through and end up...

You try; if you were a water droplet, where would you go, what would happen to you? Do you speak to other droplets? Imagination is a great thing to play with, especially when it's raining...

Day 91: Get stitched up

Are you a secret knitter, but think it's too uncool to 'come out'? Are you into crochet, but don't know anyone else whose into it? Have you always fancied becoming a stitcher, but never really knew how?

Well, never fear my fellow stitcher friends, I have found a MASSIVE community of stitchers for you to get involved with! They are called 'Stitch London' and they are an online collection of knitters etc, from all over the world. They regularly meet in London at different public locations and knit!

Perhaps the best thing about it is it's FREE! Anyone can join, young or old, beginners or experienced knitters. Everyone has a place in this creative group, so get involved if it's your thing. If it's not your thing, well, perhaps it could be. Free things are always worth a try!

Check out their website to find out more. If you join you get newsletters, stitching patterns, competition info, plus info about up coming events. They've even got a blog you can follow/check out from time to time.

So, with winter on the way, why not snuggle up in front of the T.V./a good film and get stitching. This could be the perfect opportunity for you to share your creativity and ideas with those who are right on your wave length...

Day 90: Who's the man!

Last night I went to a wedding reception. It was one of those weird occasions where you don't know anyone there except the person you go with. You nervously dance on the dance floor, sip wine and smile...

Perhaps the strangest thing about the evening was the DJ. Imagine my surprise when I walk into the 'disco room' and see a 60 year old man strutting his Micheal Jackson style moves on the dance floor. Yep, he was the DJ. Slightly bazaar to say the least!

But it got me thinking about people's dreams. If the crazy DJ wasn't so intimidating with his amazing moves, I might have gone up and ask him if being a DJ was his life ambition. But, alas, I didn't so I have nothing to do but assume.

My point is that people have dreams, ambitions, hopes for their futures, but how many people achieve them? Well, it would appear that it's never too late (or too early) to go for it. If you've got the skills (or the moves) then use them. If you haven't got the skills, then get them! Go on a course, go to an after school club, a weekend club...speak to that guy, that contact, that friend whose 'in the business'.

There's no time like the present to follow your dreams. Be inspired by the 60 year old DJ. I certainly am! Get out there and go for it!