Summer Solstice

June 21, 2010 begins the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. Imagine what creative projects you could accomplish with longer days! How many times have you heard yourself say, if only I had an extra hour or two in my day, I could really get into a creative zone. Well, why not let this ancient “midsummer” event get you in the zone.

Think honestly about your time today and this evening, or over the next week; how and where can you make changes that will open up minutes or hours? Every minute you save will add up to a block of time you’ve successfully managed for yourself.

I might add that it helps to have an ongoing list of creative projects you would like to do, if you had the time. It should inspire you to enjoy your time in a way that is most uplifting for you. When the moment comes that you have an extra 30 or 60 minutes, you won’t go blank and waste time in trying to come up with “something” to do that you’ve wanted to accomplish. Will it be planning a yard project or a room re-do, starting or finishing that creative project, or trying out a new recipe? Of course, never underestimate the recuperative power of free time that involves doing nothing! As a creative being, it is essential to protect your creative time for daily snippets of inspiration or productivity.

Enjoy the beginning of summer marked by the solstice. There are many ways to celebrate this seasonal marker, from ancient to modern. What will you do to maintain your personal, creative time as the days grow shorter from now?

“Summer Solstice” by Ursula Freer, please visit her beautiful gallery.

Nature Time: Snap To It!

Last week's Nature Time is up for comments now that there is a new exercise (side bar). Please feel free to share you experience!

Carry your camera with you wherever you go today. Most cell phones have cameras built right into them, take advantage of the video option found on most cameras and phones today. Let your eyes explore around you throughout the day, snap photos of anything that strikes you: friends, your lunch, flowers outside your office, the sunset, colors, leaves floating in a suspended dance on a swirling current of wind. Don’t worry about the perfect shot—just get it so you can access it later.

Note what inspired you to take each shot, either at the time or when you’re finished, go through your photos/video, recall what inspired the image (liked the color, great emotion, delicate lines, etc.). Write these down as bullet points and look for a theme or pattern that may connect each photo. This will give you a sense of what inspires you.

Nature's Palette: Lavender Fields

In a previous post, I talked about the inspiration that could be found at your local harvest festivals, like lavender festivals, cherry festivals, etc. My family and I just spent the weekend at a nearby lavender festival and had a great time! These are fun for the whole family and events like these are a fanstastic source of inspiration for all the senses! While there, all I wanted to do was sketch or try my hand at a little painting or pastels like these artists...

I kept thinking of how fun it would be to set up a mini-easel for my son and let him go with finger paints and brushes and just see what we might create--perhaps something lavender-y, perhaps he would paint his famous monkeys :) We did manage to collect some flowers and make our own "magic petal potions!"

How will this nature palette inspire you today?

For ocean-inspired nature palettes, click the links below:

Ocean <--click

Seashells <--click

 

Nature Time: Clay Play

Clay play is up for comments now that there is a new nature time exercise (side bar). Please feel free to share you experience from last week's exercise below!

It’s all about texture and patterns. Grab some clay, Play-doh®, modeling clay—even natural clay if you are lucky enough to have a source. Roll out and pre-cut flattened, 4” x 6” pieces to take with with you into your backyard or nearby park. Find patterns and textures to start pressing your pliable, flattened pieces of clay onto. Try trees, interesting building surfaces, rocks, leaves, man-hole covers, outdoor sculpturs, sidewalk cracks. Use these pieces to stamp patterns onto your work or apply to clay works, or assemblage pieces. Or, let these impressions inspire a character or setting. Use as you creatively wish!

Lavender Festival

The site of lavender fields, lavender flowers, the smell lavender can inspire many creative outlets: drawing, cooking, gardening, photography, writing, painting—I’ve read lavender oil is a great oil painting medium!

Here’s a fun way to spend Father’s Day, and/or feed your creative mojo--the 123 Farm’s 6th Annual Lavender Festival this June 12,13,19 & 20, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. If you’re interested, please visit their website for details, directions to their Cherry Valley, CA location, festival activities, schedule, and organic herbs and oils for sale (including lavender, peppermint, rosemary, and sage!).

Lavender farms can be found throughout the region, check your local area for any local harvests, find out what's available in your area. Don't worry if lavender is not a likely harvest--now's a great time to learn about the organic goodies in your region to discover a local farm that celebrates the harvest publicly for natural inspiration!

Mmm...what inspires you most about lavender? Scent, sight, taste, touch...?

About the 123 Farm: http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M14941

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