21 Days Does a Habit Make?

They say it takes 21 days to form a habit. CED2010 has just finished 24 days so I may be well on my way to a new habit - creating every day! How about you? Have you formed this habit yet?

So far, so good. I am still on track for a new creation every day. And I am:

• Having fun!
• Learning - so much!
• Trying new things
• More focused on the process than on the results
• Amazed at the results
• Seeing some overflow into other areas of my life
• Still thinking about the theme - BODY
• Happy I am participating!

Monday: I wrote a blog entry about that challenge and posted my charcoal and pencil experiment then.

Tuesday:  Pondering the theme BODY, "dead body" entered my mind and I thought - "Hmm, how about an Egyptian sarcophagus?" and went as far as to look at images. They were already so ornate that it didn't feel right to try to Zen Doodle one. Then a stormy crime scene entered my mind, and this was the result.

Wednesday: Again thinking about bodies, what are bodies made of? Well, at first I was humming Moby We are all made of Stars (and I may still use that...) but really bodies are made of the DNA that forms our flesh and blood. This is my fanciful attempt to represent a body made of DNA.

Thursday: Relaxing....

Friday: I decided that I wanted to try a new medium. Since I had some pastels around and had years ago tried drawing a poppy from my garden using them and liked the resulting piece well enough to keep it, the next two are body studies using oil pastels.

Saturday:

Sunday: I like the zentangles/Zen Doodles I have done so far. I'm not sure quite what they really are or where they came from or how one is really suppose to draw one but I like doing them. Zen - very appropriate. Do you feel a zen/flow state of mind while creating a zentangle? Here is another one based on the body of Rodin's The Thinker.

These are my creations for every day of last week. I am looking forward to seeing yours!

A Toast to Getting it Wrong

Last night, I wasn't totally happy with my creation/experiment using charcoal pencils. I started talking to myself: "It's okay, it's fine. I'm learning. Practice makes perfect. Maybe I'll go back to fun creations before trying serious ones again but I will try again. (Etcetera.)" and then I stopped and laughed at myself.

Monday:

CED2010 is an exercise and an experiment for me, one that I am really enjoying. I surprise myself with the bizarre and silly images I have created in 2010, and while I would love to be a great "artist", that isn't really my goal. Some of  the CED2010 particpants are already excellent professional artists! Others, based on what I have read so far, yearn to be. And some are really hard on themselves. (Maybe we all are at times?) I am so impressed with everyone's creativity and ideas! And I have also found that everyone is so encouraging and supportive of each others efforts, and that is fabulous!

So today when I came across a great post by Mark McGuinness of Lateral Action discussing Creative Blocks, I thought I'd share it. In part 2,  Mark encourages an anonymous reader to go out and GET IT WRONG! Then he quotes e.e. cummings (I love quotes): 

"and even if it’s sunday may i be wrong

for whenever men are right they are not young."

Isn't one of the great parts of CED2010 that we have the freedom to get it wrong and learn from our mistakes? To share if we'd like to? Or not?

Two of the comments on that post also resonated with me (and the first surprised me):
Picasso’s technique was never to refer to his paintings as ‘works of art’ but always as ‘experiments’ or as ‘research’. A little bit of self-deception that got him past the perfectionist road block, resulting in a lifetime of continuous productivity.  Chris Vaughn
and:
"Wow, I just went through that entire thought process on my latest project..”what if I get it wrong? Then I need more materials. Oh, I have those, with enough to spare.” And then..”Wait! I’m making this up, it’s what ever I make it.” funny, how I needed to actually articulate that, actually ask those questions, but then also answer them." Martha Downs

What if you get it wrong tonight? I know that I will just be making it up. Are you going to make something new up tonight?

Hmm, now I have this urge to go listen to the Rites of Spring!

To mistakes!   Cheers.

EVA

Another Week, Another Creation Every Day!

Creative Every Day 2010 continues successfully!

I have been playing around with the January theme of BODY. Silly things, plays on words, come into mind and then make their way into my art book in fashions I don't expect when I start. The unexpected nature of these little creations of mine is surprising and fascinating to me!

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday: Thinking about bodies brought all kinds of shapes, and other aspects, to mind. I thought "hard body" and was going to try to draw a body builder. Once pencil was put to paper, instead of a body that was as hard as rocks, a body built of rocks appeared. Not sure if my attempt to also reflect the Northern Lights worked but I am just learning to use these watercolour pencils I bought. (I am learning so much!)

Thursday:

Friday: While thinking about a Body of Water, I started humming to myself Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay and ended up with this relaxing body/bay.

Saturday: As I was exercised (so far so good there too!), I was thinking about what to try next. So this is my amateur attempt at drawing myself. (My, I look so much fitter there!)

Sunday: I really enjoyed doing the Zentangle/Zen Doodle last week and thought I'd try a variation of that - still with the BODY theme. Da Vinci's "Man" kept coming to my mind - unfortunately not very accurately! I looked at the original mid-way through this and realized the head didn't go all the way to the top of the circle! Oops! Oh, well! It was never meant to be a copy.

The overflow of creativity into other areas of my life was limited this week - a new soup creation (using leftover salmon), and a start of a "startegic planner". (Hey! - that typo seems to make more sense! Hmmm.)

I continue to be so impressed by all the creativity I have seen from this group!! You guys (gals) are awesome!! I check out Leah's update page regularly, and the Flickr page occasionally. So many talented artists! Wow! I am enjoying all your work thoroughly and learning so much.

This week I may try to experiment with other tools - I think I have some pastels and charcoal pencils somewhere. (I wish they came with manuals.) Paints will have to wait for the summer when I can use them outdoors.

What are you going to try this week?

Happy Creating!!

Week 2 CED2010 - Creating Continues!

Are you having fun yet? I am!

I am SO impressed with all of your work!!! What an amazingly creative group of people the CED2010 participants are!

I continue my attempts at creation. By and large I am pleased with the results so far, and with the process. Sometimes ideas come into my head in the middle of the night and talk to me until I have time to create them. Others days are more challenging but so far I have created each day. Thinking of the theme BODY has led in me in interesting directions!

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

I had never heard of a Zentangle or Zen Doodle before but I have seen a number of them since joining CED2010. Wow!!! Those I have seen by participants are awesome and the process of creating one is fascinating! Here is my first attempt. I had no idea it would turn out like this  - that it would be an egg about to hatch. Very interesting experience! I like them! I think I will do more.

Friday:

Saturday:

Sunday:

Most importantly, my ulterior motive for participating is starting to kick in. I have also been creating in other ways. I created 2 Mind Maps and a preliminary Powerpoint presentation. The last time I wrote a paper, I was procrastinating terribly and couldn't get started. I finally decided to do a quick version of the presentation that would eventually accompany the paper. It worked tremendously well to clarify my thinking and I finished the 22 pages of my paper without much more procrastination. (Just a lot of work!) So, since the main thing I want to create this year involves extensive writing, I decided to try the same strategy. The Powerpoint has helped and I am clearer about what I want to write.

This year, I also want to create a fitter body (laughing to myself, thinking about the BODY theme) and I exercised 5 times this past week. So that is great!

How is your creativity in CED2010 affecting your personal or professional life?

Creative Every Day Check-In #1

Welcome to my first weekly report on my first participation in a Creative Every Day Challenge!

So far so good! I am 3 for 3 and have enjoyed each small creation.

I chose these two books as my primary tools for the Challenge. I bought them several years ago when I was in New York City and saw a special Tiffany exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The small version I am using as a bit of a journal for my thoughts during this creative journey.

The next three images are my efforts to date. "How to start?" I pondered as I opened my immaculate new notebook. With a single step!

After all, the theme for January is "Body"! ;)

The next two involve different kinds of bodies: - one snowy and one furry!

I haven't drawn much in years and drawing 3 days in a row is highly unusual for me. A very interesting experience thus far! I am having fun! Are you?

Full Blue Moon Dreaming and 2010 Word of the Year!

Happy New Year!! Happy Full Blue Moon! Dream on and Dream BIG!

My best wishes for a happy, healthy, prosperous and creative 2010 to all of you! Thank you again, Jamie Ridler, for introducing me to the wonderful idea of creating these Full Moon Dreamboards! Thank you too, Christine Kane, for your idea of the Word of the Year! I've chosen to combine them together in my Full Blue Moon Dreamboard.

As I hum along with Dean Martin, I am thinking about the year to come. How very fast they fly by! 2010 promises to be an excellent year and I have much I want to accomplish. The fireworks in my FMDB seed some of my wishes for this year. These include (since the image of that part of my dreamboard isn't as focused as I'd like it to be - note to self "Buy new markers!"):

• Contribution
• Art
• Create my Path
• Research
• Play
• Inspiration
• Invitations
• Travel
• Energy
• Friendships with Remarkable People
• Focus
• Magic
• Prosperity
• Passion
• Write and
• Fitness.

CREATE! is the Word I have chosen for 2010.

CREATE!

I chose "CREATE!" as there is something specific I want to create this year. A document but it may become a book. It will be a minimum of 60 pages and the most I have ever written is 22, so I know this will be a challenge. I still have much research ahead of me but the time has come to start writing. And creating. It has little to do with the type of creativity I see in the dreamboards - Or does it? Does creativity and creating in one arena lead to creativity in another? I am betting that it does. What is your experience?

What kind of mechanisms can I put into place, I wondered, to ensure that I create this year? Participating in the Full Moon Dreamboards is one way. Already in my 2 initial efforts I am astonished by the finished products and by the process. Amateurish they may be, but they are my creations. So I have started to create! Another decision I have made is to participate in the Creative Every Day 2010 Challenge. Some days creating will be the writing I want to do. Other days - who knows?! I feel excited just thinking about it!

I looked at one of the Flickr group slideshow that Leah Piken Kolidas, creator of CED2010, mentioned and immediately started to doubt my ability. Amazing artwork has been created! At the moment of my worst angst, I looked back at the screen and saw this:

Wow!!! What an amazing image to see at that very moment! Thanks so much Annette Q for your great picture! The synchronicity continues!

In 2010, I will Create!

Full Cold Moon Dreaming

One of the things I love about the web is the synchronicity of it. An interesting little thread leads to another stimulating post and to still more. Ideas flow. Curiosity reigns. Creativity often hidden, blooms and flourishes!

Last month, I came across Jamie Ridler's site and was introduced to her Full Moon Dreamboards. I LOVE the Moon, especially when he is Full, (and talkative) and tonight he is especially beautiful. And "Dreamboards"? Very intriguing! This felt like a creative endeavour that was worth trying, one worth reviving this little inactive site so I could participate!

So many beautiful and varied submissions did Jamie receive for the Full Frost Moon that there were oodles of ideas on how to proceed. But what would work for me? A trip to the art store was in order! (Any excuse.)

Intending to buy bristol board, I came away with a large 11x15 watercolour pad and the same size art book. Confused as to which side of me won out: the artist wannabee who received the artbooks and watercolour pencils; or the practical gal who couldn't fathom where to store these (to be) completed posters but knows where a pad or book could live; I realized that a perfect win-win situation was found and all of me left happy!

My first Full Moon Dreamboard:

With Christmas in mind, thoughts wrap around my tree to clarify this month. Full Moons are the perfect decor. Nutcrackers stand guard and make me smile as I start to bring out my own collection from their long stretch of storage. Books call to me to be read: "Pick me, pick me!"

The second full moon in a month is relatively rare and is called a Blue Moon. So I am looking forward to the next FMD, to using the phrase on New Year's Eve "once in a blue moon" as often as possible and to singing along with Dino!

Thanks to Jamie for this fun idea, and to everyone for the motivation to join you in Full Moon Dreaming.