Creative Experiments #17: October
Thu, September 30, 2010 at 12:18PM "If we did all the things we are capable of doing,
we would literally astound ourselves."
Thomas Edison
The October Experiments
Daisy Yellow
For tracking purposes, each experiment is valued at one creativity point unless otherwise noted.
♥ Think about a scent that evokes memories from your past. Rain on a dusty road, apple pie, fresh laundry on the line. Create art that relates to the nostalgic feeling. Ideas include sketching your nana's kitchen table, pressing flowers, creating vintage jam labels, photographing a clothes line. {This experiment is brought to you by Sophie of For Love and Idleness.}
♥ Using a video camera, the movie function on your digital camera or your computer camera, create a 2 minute movie of yourself saying hello to your friends in the blog-o-sphere. The experiment is to simply make the video; you don't need to keep it, edit it, or publish it! Write about the experience. {My daughter filmed me doing a pretend intro to my workshop-in-process and yikes, I hated seeing my wierd facial expressions!}
♥ Set a timer for 9 minutes. Write a stream-of-conscious page about the meaning of gardens in your life.
♥ Create a piece of art using only your hands, paint and water. No pens, brushes, scissors, tape, etc.
♥ Write a short story using paint chip names as characters or as inspiration. When I googled paint chip names, I found the wonderfully worded Why I Like Paint Chips at Bub + Pie. From The Design Observer Group, 100 Colors, 100 Writings, 100 Days.
♥ Take one photograph to represent each color of your rainbow, and post them in a mosaic (you can make it free at Big Huge Labs using pix from Flickr or uploading pix) or in a blog post. Your rainbow could be lime green through indigo, a standard rainbow, pastels, signs, flowers.
So, kiddos, grab an ART=HAPPY badge, and get started on the experiments you choose. If you write about them, send me a link! Check out all of the creative experiments!
[I ask respectfully that you do not copy/paste the experiments to your site, as excited as you are to do them. The content is copyright Daisy Yellow. Please link back to the list if you wish and of course post your experiments to share.]
So. Do I continue the experiments in 2011, or morph them into something different? Would you be into a Mr. Linky type of deal where you can post a link to your experiments? Free espresso scented soap? Photography experiments? Would YOU like to be a guest experiment writer?
September Experiment Reports:
Reader Comments (9)
Tammy, I love your experiments, but have never found the time to do any of them. (Okay, maybe there was one or two early on that I did...). When I'm not homeschooling, driving or desperately trying to keep the house picked up, I'm at my computer. Hauling out art supplies seems such a monumental undertaking by that point.
Rabia, Great point. The "keep the house picked up" part of the equation is what suffers in my house! I recognize that getting out art supplies seems impossible at times. Then of course you've got to put them away. So I've included a bunch of experiments that do not involve any art supplies. Writing prompts, etc.
Maybe you could sneak in some doodling in ink on paper while waiting for stuff to download, copying files, etc.
~ Tammy
Tammy,
Having thought about this problem of "no time for fun creativity" for a day or two, I've come up with two blocks.
1. Having a cluttered house really affects my creativity. I have a pretty high threshold for clutter, but the state of my home as been beyond that for a while. Not dirty, just messy. I got a start on organizing and putting away today and already I feel so much better.
2. The Internet. Internet in small doses is fun, enjoyable, provocative, inspiring. However, too much of it just makes me feel blah, like my eyeballs have been sandpapered. It saps my energy and depresses me. I need to unplug more! I did some pen-and-paper writing tonight and it felt good. :)
Thanks for listening to me think out loud. :)
My recap from September: http://melydia.zoiks.org/2010/09/september-creative-experiments-recap/
I don't know if I'll be able to participate this month, but thanks for the inspiration!
Rabia, Great discussion.
1. Wow - so true - mental chaos ensues when the clutter gets out of control. Life is more complicated than it should be. I've been sorting through the paper on the breakfast table for the past 2-3 days and already my mind feels less busy. It's not simply putting things away - because many things have no PLACE - that's the core problem.
2. This week, I made an attempt to reduce internet time. I'm finding that I surf less when there is an end point, somewhere I have to go or something I have to do. The challenge is when there are valid things to do on the computer and that morphs into surfing creative sites!
**********
Melydia, I popped over to your blog and read the recap of your experiments - WOW - just super! I especially loved the everyday sounds you noticed....
**********
Tammy
Thanks for including one of my prompts, Tammy!
Oh, I do hope you continue the experiments into 2011 - I kind of like the structure of a monthly challenge, because I find short term deadlines quite helpful - otherwise it turns into an "I'll get around to it some time" sort of thing. But whatever you think is best! Even if I dropped out a bit during the summer, I've really had fun with these and appreciate the time you've put into creating them.
at last! I typed up and scanned my September experiment wrap-up. I enjoyed them particularly! Thanks again, Tammy.
http://forloveandidleness.blogspot.com/2010/10/september-falls-to-october-daisy.html
Tammy I just found your experiments and I HOPE that you keep going. I have enjoyed looking back at all that you have tried and the out come of your prompts. I can't wait to start this months experiment. Im struggling to find my inner art-child and you are bringing her badass out. so please keep it up any way you feel not only inspire us but also yourself.
I did four of the experiments- painting without brushes, the collage of pictures, the meaning of gardens, and the video!