Paint Chip Inspiration

If you ever need a quick muse, go straight to your nearest paint or home improvement store and peruse the paint chips. With endless hues offering such descriptive names like Rocky Slope, Deep Cavern, Lightening, Painted Desert, and Monarch Wing, you can find yourself inspired by nature while standing in the middle of the paint aisle.



A random handful of paint chips can

get the imagination flowing. Try con-

necting a bunch of paint color names

in stream-of-thought story or poem:

I was beachcombing upon our Mother

Earth during the solstice. I noticed a

shimmering seashell and at the same

moment I saw lightening out across

the ocean deep. I ran toward the

seashell just inside the mouth of a

deep cavern, protected now from a

thunderous downpour. I watched my

seashell, as it lay on the sand, alight

into a calcite butterfly with each

pulse of lightening.

Pick a few paint chips that grab you and use those to write a few lines of poetry, or a detailed setting for a fictional piece, write a song, or use them to inspire your next painting or altered art piece. Recently we used paint chips during our Photo Safari creativity workshop by randomly chosing a paint chip color and then matching that color to something found in nature.

You can reverse these prompts by blending your own colors, creating a nice palette on your paper then coming up with descriptive “paint chip” names of your own.

Nature and inspiration are all around you!

See how we used paint chips to inspire creative play with your family.

 

 

The paint chip color "Cottontail" was the muse for this

little acrylic/pen & ink ATC.

Native Palettes

I recently led a “native palette” wildlfower walk where we created natural palettes from native plants along the trail by smearing and rubbing petals, leaves, and stems on paper.

It was a relaxing gathering of creatives on a wildflower wander, learning a little about some favorite desert flowers while exploring the Santa Rosa San Jacinto Mountains National Monument visitor center trails for a variety of shapes, colors, and fragrances to help our creativity blossom. We had a great time with the exercise, each making our own native palette and revealing some unexpected and surprising colors!

An example palette made

from plants & other natur-

al substances in my yard.



This is a great exercise to try, easy too. Grab some paper (water color, card stock, printer paper, pretty much anything goes), I recommend cutting an 8 1/2 by 11 inch sheet in half for easier handling. Press and smear or rub a variety of plant materials onto your paper. Experiment with different parts of the plant, try to keep pollen separate from petals, try fruits. Go beyond plants by smearing moist soil or mud, charcoal, minerals and other natural sources you find.

Want to take part in future outings that fuel your creativity? Check out Let Nature Be Your Muse meetups!


The group's collection of palettes (the first round)!



Creativity Hike

A couple of days ago I spent the morning with a group of creatives on a La Quinta preserve, exploring sources of inspiration as found in nature. I guided the group through a sampling of creativity exercises designed to get the creative process flowing. The group shared in the experience so openly, and I found their creative expressions and spirit so inspiring!

At the end of the hike, we gathered once more as "non-writers" to create a folding poem--a favorite exercise I like to include in any creativity outing and a great way to end a morning spent in such a profoundly beautiful environment.

Here are the two amazing group poems participants created on the spot--nature truly inspires:

Untitled

A fresh breeze brushing the winter desert.

A palette of natural color.
Calming colors –
desert seems still, but signs of motion everywhere
footprints, erosion, growth.

I saw life from all the holes in the ground.
Hundreds, maybe thousands of animals are burrowed there.
I enjoyed different perspectives of the palo verde tree –
up close it is large and grand,
from a distance, small and solitary.

Untitled
I wonder about the many forms of life has passed where we are –
Going into Nature today is going into the best art gallery in the world.
Nature is so glorious, I can’t describe it well.
Lizard watching me watching him. Peace.
Sun moving, revealing new crevices, homes to local residents.
And then rubble piles that look like ancient ruins that completes the cycle.

The Nature Coach as Featured in Insights Magazine!

I'm thrilled to be a part of the January 2011 issue of Insights magazine. The magazine features my interview with BlogTalkRadio host, Stacey Chadwell, discussing my two favorite topics: nature + creativity! Find out how I believe nature can help keep us on track, what I think is the most empowering thing nature does for us, and in what ways nature fuels our creative drive. Click for interview!

Happy Creative New Year

Realize that every time you make space in your life for creativity—even if it’s just a sliver of space—you’re making yourself a better person and the world a better place. ~Sandy Ackers "10 Resolutions For A Creative Year"

It's that time of year when we dig deep and shift focus toward new ways to fulfill the desires of our inner creative. Make this year the year of creativity! Resolve to honor your gift of expression through unique and inspired creative outlets. Explore, dig, excavate, unearth, rediscover, dust off your creative impulses and give them light and life!

 

In numerology circles, "11" is the most intuitive of all numbers, representing illumination and deep insight as well as being very sensitive and inspirational. Sounds like '11 is an opportune year to follow your creative intuition, and let your expression run wild to gain deep insight.  As I am always saying, make your creative time a priority. If you take the numerology fun a step further and add up 2011 (2+0+1+1), you're good to go! As the number "4" typically signifies the grounded nature of all things...think the four seasons, four directions, four elements--very powerful natural elements providing a balanced, stable home-base for your creative exploration! Protect and keep your creative time a priority as a way to get back to your creative roots, to maintain balance and center yourself--again each of these representing the symbolic meaning of "4."

 

It's all intriguing fun, but even if you're not into the numbers game, the point is to recognize the conditions are always primed for your creative journey. Start by making mistakes (release your perfectionist tendencies), try techniques or materials you've never worked before, make messes. Read Sandy's link at the top of this post for motivating ideas that will get your creative juices flowing. Then lose control, creatively speaking, be wreckless and wild and raw. Transform.  Always remember to be kind to and love your creative self. Exhale magical poetry, brush strokes, images...

 

When you're ready to grow creatively, then your moment has arrived to begin a new journey. Seek and you shall find inspiration everywhere. It will even begin to find you.

 
 
Image/artwork: M. Hedgecock, "Seastar Grow" mandala
Numerology source: spiritual-numerology.com

Found Faces

Found faces. Sometimes they just "pop out" at us with their smiley innocence, their surprised expressions or their sweet flat-mouthed,  resignation. There are Flickr groups dedicated to them, and many who document their whimsical presence. Try this yourself by documenting any naturally occurring found faces in appliances, faucets, architecture, puddles, rocks...the opportunities are endless. Look for a variety of facial expressions in man made or naturally occurring objects. Look up, look down, look upside-down. Enjoy your encounters and feel free to share and post what you find!

Photo: M. Hedgecock

100 Tiny Muses

So many because they are tiny—with big possibilities! Each of the random entries below is centered around a simple moment, or a small element of nature, and presented as a muse to inspire you. (For five ideas, please see bottom of the list.)

1. the feel of natural clay
2. butterfly’s flight
3. the smell of rosemary
4. beach combing
5. pounding surf
6. watching deer
7. blue ice
8. bird calls
9. wind caves
10. velvety rose petals
11. thunder
12. the octopus
13. sand dunes
14. meteor showers
15. smell of rain
16. icicles
17. texture of driftwood
18. redwoods
19. rainforest
20. the milky way

21. wolf howls
22. pine cones
23. desert expanses
24. beach sand
25. river stone
26. meadow
27. oasis
28. inside a volcano tube
29. tide pool
30. coyote yips and barks
31. summer monsoons
32. a rainbow
33. the sound of raven wings
34. shark
35. spider web
36. finding a tooth
37. whale song
38. the moon
39. watching sunsets
40. crunchy snow

41. powdery snow
42. animal tracks
43. campfire
44. dry falls
45. tree bark
46. pine smell
47. thunderous waterfalls
48. fog
49. lightning
50. starry sky
51. wind in the pines
52. soft rain
53. thorns
54. spirals
55. water
56. acorn
57. echo
58. boulder
59. feathers
60. natural hot springs

61. limestone
62. reef
63. descending a steep trail
64. flying fish
65. clouds
66. forest
67. deep holes
68. fossils
69. moutains
70. cicadas
71. bone
72. leaves
73. lush ferns
74. desert wash
75. roots
76. bloom
77. caverns
78. currents
79. lady bug
80. sea stars

81. dandelion wishes
82. wildflowers
83. highlands
84. native ochre
85. following a mossy path
86. spongy
87. sting
88. stalagtites
89. fur
90. lichen
91. quartz
92. nest
93. aurora
94. ocean
95. summit
96. canopy
97. marsh
98. owl
99. shelter
100. wilderness

Ideas:

• Grab your camera and pick an entry from the list, then head out to capture at least 5-10 interpretations of your chosen word(s).

• Chose a word/phrase and write an inspiring or informative tweet (140 characters or less), then tweet it!

• Pick a number (1 – 100) at random and doodle that entry for 5 minutes.

• Randomly pick 5 of these words and connect them (any order) through a 5-line poem.

• Choose a word as inspiration for creating a mini painting, illustration, sculpture, etc. Go at least 50% smaller than you are used to working.

Please add to this list by sharing your entries in the comments! Especially any creative works or posts any of these may have inspired :)

Spore Prints

I recently came across an easy, artistic family activity of creating mushroom spore prints. It's certainly not new, and I'm sure some of you are familiar with this technique if not already have tried your own prints. The simplicity of the process truly makes it a great opportunity for combining art and nature with your children. Artists and other creatives would surely find it irresistable and take inspiration from these simple spore prints, creating unique, altered expressions (like nature-inspired artist Chris Drury's Destroying Angel – Trinity).

Creating a few delicate looking prints begins with finding good mushrooms (please KNOW WHAT YOU ARE HARVESTING, SOME MUSHROOM SPECIES CAN BE DEADLY, always wash your face and hands thoroughly during and after handling mushrooms and do not inhale spores). Gilled mushrooms seem to be the easiest to get nice prints. You might get different colors per mushroom, depending on the species in your area. One source shares that very young or very old mushrooms do not produce spores, so try to collect growing, healthy looking mushrooms.

Slice off stems and place caps (reproductive) side down on paper. Some spores are light, some are dark; experimenting with light/dark colored paper helps, or do a little homework. One source below mentions you might be able to tell by looking at the gills (if they're light or dark spores). Place a glass or bowl over mushroom caps to protect spores from floating off by preventing air flow--even the slightest, and maintaining moisture. Let sit, undisturbed for 6 to 24 hours. Remove glass, remove mushrooms and admire your creations.

For additional examples and how-to, for preserving tips, guidelines, poisonous mushroom warnings and proper handling, please visit either of these links:

http://crafts.newarchaeology.com/spore_print_art.php and

http://resurrectionfern.typepad.com/resurrection_fern/2009/08/not-all-mushrooms-are-alike.html

I cannot wait to try this one! Now, where to find mushrooms in the desert...



Images: “blue spore prints” Craftzine and “spore print” Nova Scotia Canada Conservation

Nature's Palette: Clinging Feather

Photo (feather) by Dries Knapen

Color is a powerful visual. A specific color or color combination in nature may be used as a warning, as camouflage, in mating, to attract pollinators, and more. Either way, it's purpose is to evoke a response. What colors do you respond to in the things you collect or the art you create?

The nature's palette series is a color prompt from nature itself, how will nature inspire you today?

Nature Time Exercise: Nature Journaling

Last week's Nature Time exercise moves over for discussion. Let us know how you took time to break out your inner nature journaler....

If you’ve never kept a nature journal, consider it a great way to build your writing tool box! It can be as simple as documenting a quick note of the first time you notice your favorite wild blossom, or migrating bird in your yard, or the first rutting calls of elk.

Nancy S.M. Waldman (The Practically Creative Quarter) found she did it for two reasons, one having to do with creative writing. She writes, “When writing, it’s often useful to have at your fingertips real notations of when the Indian Hawthorne blooms in Texas or if it’s believable that the first snowfall of the year might be as late as January in Connecticut or if a character could be hearing the frogs at dusk in Nova Scotia in mid-April.”

This is a fantastic way to connect nature to your craft and I encourage you to start a nature journal today to see where nature inspires you…

Inspired by Nature: Ocean Voices

This is an amazing collaboration of nature, specifically our oceans, and the creative spirit it inspires. Spoken from the depths of our core, we are invited to share our thoughts on the ocean and to be a part of a deep passion and need to protect and celebrate it. From sound artist Halsey Burgund’s Ocean Voices interactive and beautifully creative website…

Sound artist Halsey Burgund and marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols joined forces to collect the voices of people around the world recounting their personal experiences with the ocean. Combined with music written by Halsey, these voices become an integral part of audio collages which listeners can create to suit their own preferences (click LISTEN below and follow the instructions). You can help them by sharing your voice and spreading the words of all participants around the globe.Article - Voices of the ocean

Tonight’s debut/tickets

I can't wait to try it...tell us what you think :)

Ten Fascinating Nature Phenomena to Inspire You

It's a 'natural' kind of creative inspiration. Give a peek at these curious natural expressions. Pick one as a prompt for a poem, an article, or your next piece! The last one (I don't want to give it away) really intrigued me! But it was the huge "Penitentes" that immediately inspired a sculptured piece for me...I can't wait to bring it to life with my own interpretation in clay :) How will YOU be inspired? Ten Fascinating Natural Phenomena

Idyllwild Earth Fair

Hello Creatives!

Saturday's Idyllwild Earth Fair was the best year ever! The event was overflowing with a variety of vendors, booths and friendly visitors who all love and celebrate the earth. Always one of my favorite events, this year was indeed the busiest!

The Nature Coach (me!) was there with a booth, inviting people in for a little creative break with my Tree Mandala exercise. We were busy with activity, chatting with old friends and new friends, and of course a little creative play with many participants throughout the day! I was especially happy to meet two fellow Let Nature Be Your Muse MeetUp members, Michele and Jenny (and families)! Thank you both for stopping by and introducing yourselves--it was a pleasure to meet you!

I had a great time meeting people and enjoying their personal tree mandala creations! We received wonderful feedback from everyone who took a creative break with us, including a few participants who shared some very heartfelt and kind words about creating their mandalas...it was a very inspiring day for me to be in the company of so many creative souls willing to try something a little different! Thank you all :)

A little about the Tree Mandala exercise: “Mandala” is Sanskrit for circle. Traditional meanings of mandalas vary by culture, although many share a common belief in its significance as a spiritual or ritual expression. Mandalas are also used for meditations, establishing a sacred space.

Mandalas are filled with symbolic art. They are sometimes used as a teaching tool depicting stories, events, the cosmos, even our perspective of the universe, through detailed symbols and designs. Jungian psychology view mandalas as a symbol for connecting with the self.

Participants were asked to choose a tree cookie and draw a symbolic design of their own that tells a story, perhaps their story for that day. They were to reflect on how their creative process during this exercise could shape the outcome of their own personal, creative goals. For example:

Were they easily distracted?
Did they get into a creative zone?
Was this something they'd ever done before?
Did they experience a relaxed state of mind, or something else?
Did they plan out a design first, or jump in drawing to see what emerged?
What was their agenda?

What do these questions reveal about your creative process, and ultimately reaching your goals?

Nature Doodles

As a new “Nature Time” is added to the sidebar, last week’s Nature Doodling is up for comments.

Doodling seems to really be making a comeback in the art world. In addition to being recognized as a valued artistic expression, it’s a great creative warm-up, mental wind-down, meditation, or creative exercise that anyone can do! This week, look to nature for doodle-like impressions. Examples might include: beetle tracks, spider webs, water stains on canyon walls, dendrites (mineralizations), larvae scars on old logs…you get the idea. Find an example of a nature doodle & copy its original, natural form/lines onto your paper. Enhance the original nature doodle by adding your own doodle art for a unique expression of creative “nature.”

Image: Leaf miner tracks. Credit: Martin La Bar via a Creative Commons license.