My husband showed me this video and I just had to share it with my readers. The video is very creative and must have taken a ton of patience to create. Maybe it will inspire some of you to create something as well. Enjoy!

Happy New Year! I hope all is well with you and your family. By now most of you are back in the swing of your normal schedule.  Many of you may have made resolutions for the new year and may be trying hard to keep them. Some of you may have already broken your resolutions and given up. Many people don’t make resolutions because they do not want to fail or feel guilty. They put too much pressure on themselves.

I don’t make resolutions for others to hear, but I do make some mental wishes that I try to follow through on. Some of those wishes involve getting healthier mentally and spiritually, exercising more, reading my Bible every day and losing weight. Sound familiar?

Am I always going to eat healthier? No, so when I have a day where it just doesn’t happen should I throw in the towel and give up? No. I will try to remember the words of Scarlet O’Hara in Gone With the Wind.  Scarlet said,  “For Tomorrow is another day”.

Some of you may be like me and want to start 2012 with a creative bang. If that is the case, make those desires known. If you want to be more creative and to create more often, add those desires to your mental wish list. Or for added support  share the experience with someone else. You may need that added support to follow through.

What are some things you can do to start 2012 with a creative bang?

1. Sign up for an art class.

2. Buy the art book you’ve always wanted but never got around to purchasing.

3. Create an area in your home just for your art work so you can leave supplies and projects out.

4. Go to an art supply store to see what supplies grab your attention and desire. You can also do this by going to art supply stores online or through a catalog.

5. Go to the library and check out art books or art instructional DVDs.

6. Keep a sketchbook and pencil next to the spot where you watch television. Doodle or draw while watching your shows.

7. Start an altered book. You can read more about this here.

8. Find an art group online where you can share your art work.

9. Visit a museum or art gallery.

I could go on and on but I won’t. I think you get the idea. Inspiration for creativity often comes from the simplest of activities. The main thing is to have the desire. Start out trying to be creative once a month, then once every two weeks, then once a week, then once a day. It may not come naturally. You may have to work at it.  Don’t kick yourself if you postpone your creativity, for tomorrow is another day.

I hope you have a wonderfully creative 2012. I would love to hear some of the things you are going to do this year to be more creative.

My daughter, Lara DeHaven, is a writer for My Creativity Blog. She also writes for her own blog, Texas Homesteader and another blog called Welcome to the Ranch.

Lara is very creative and has been spending weeks creating gifts for Christmas. Lara created a poem for the ranch blog that I want to share with all my readers. The poem was inspired and based on the classic Christmas poem by Clement C. Moore. I hope you enjoy it and have a wonderful and safe Christmas.

Twas the Night Before Christmas

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the ranch
Not a thing was stirrin’ not even a tree branch.
The boots were sittin’ by the fire with care
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The calves were nestled all snug near their mas,
While they awaited the arrival o’ Santa Claus.
And the horses in their stalls with plenty of hay
Were resting peacefully from their very full day.

When over the treetops there arose such a loud noise,
the animals all shuddered in place even the boys.
Away o’er the pasture the sleigh skidded past,
It tore up the dirt road; it was going so fast.

The moon on the lake and the growing rye grass
Showed the dewdrops had fallen like shiny, clean glass.
When what to our great surprise fell from the sky,
But a light dusting of snowflakes from way up high.

A White Christmas in Texas was too good to hear
I let out a “Yahoo!” and began to cheer.
More rapid than lightning the reindeer did run
They had to deliver  the gifts ’til there was none.

On, Dasher! On, Dancer! On, Prancer and Vixen!
Now, Comet! Now, Cupid! Now, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the hill!  While it is still nightfall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!

The mud flew covering the bottom of the sleigh
While the hooves slipped and slid and Santa yelled, “Hey!”
“What is this?  Precipitation has arrived?”
And I thought that this trip would be an easy drive.

Santa pulled back on the reins and shouted, “Whoa!”
Even if the reindeer wanted they couldn’t go.
It would be a short hike to the very next stop,
Just a mile walk, then a jump, skip, and a hop.

He was dressed all in red from his head to his boot
In a very large and fur-trimmed Cowboy-type suit.
A bundle of gifts he had flung on his back,
And it looked as though they would burst out of the sack.

His eyes, how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like apples, his nose a dewberry!
His cherry red lips were stained with tobacco,
And his once pure white beard looked a might yellow.

He trudged up the hill and then over the road,
Struggling to carry the weight of his burdensome load.
When through the darkness, he saw a twinkling, bright light
A candle in the window was a wonderful sight.

He plodded up the walk to the Holliday’s cabin
He rang the doorbell with his hands still holdin’ and grabbin’
Onto his big bag of special presents and toys,
For all the good little cowgirls and cowboys.

He spoke not a word, when the door was flung wide,
But went straight to work while PawPaw moved to his side.
He whispered a secret into the old man’s ear,
And Santa smiled and said, “It was good to be here.”

PawPaw saw how our stockings had been filled with such care.
With his tractor, he pulled the sleigh from its muddy snare
The reindeer had enough time to lift up in flight,
“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

Cadavre Exquis

“The exquisite corpse shall drink the new wine.”

Some of you may be thinking, “What in the world is this woman talking about?” Sounds strange, doesn’t it? Apparently I don’t get around much because the exquisite corpse is something that has been around since possibly before the 1920’s.

How did I not hear about it? I don’t know. But luckily the student teacher I mentored this semester taught me how to use it in my art classes.

“The exquisite corpse” is a fun activity to help you come up with fresh ideas. Surrealists used the game to create some crazy art work. There are many websites dedicated to playing the game in some manner. The exquisite corpse can be played with words, images, and even video.

My student teacher gave my Art II students a brief introduction to ” the exquisite corpse” with a power point presentation. The presentation showed some art work that was created or influenced by the exquisite corpse.

If you want to read more about the exquisite corpse go to the sites below:

Wikipedia Article

ExquisiteCorpse.com

For Poets

The students were shown one site that is really quite fun and can be addicting if you are not careful. It is Corpsify.com. If you go to this site you can see images in the gallery of art work that has already been created. It takes three artists to create one piece of work and you are not allowed to see the other artists work until it is finished. If you have time, check it out!

So what did my students create? They created drawings of some crazy looking creatures. This is an easy activity. All you need: pencil and paper. If you want to create colored drawings, then the students could use colored pencil or markers. 

The students were given a piece of paper, 12″ x 18″. The paper was folded into thirds. Each student drew a head in the top third of the paper. I had to remind them to cover their work up when they were done. They also had to make sure at least two lines came down into the middle third of the paper so the next artist could see where to start their drawing. They traded papers.

The next artist drew the torso and arms making sure to make two lines into the bottom third for the third artist to attach to. I taped each section of the paper closed so that people would not be tempted to peek. Then the papers were traded.

The third artist was told to create the bottom portion of the creature. It could be feet or whatever their imaginations came up with. At the end of the class, the students were very anxious to see the artwork that was created. I had different students come to the front of the class and reveal the work. Then the creations were displayed on the bulletin board for all to enjoy.

 In introduction to this activity, my students played a word game. I wrote three words and then covered up the first two. The next person wrote three words after seeing my last word. They covered all the words except their last one. We continued adding words until everyone had been given a chance to contribute.  Some of the things we came up with were:

Blue Polar bears jump rope fast and furiously.

Foxes fainted in the heat .

Burning red leaves falling into my pockets .

Hot, buttered, yummy cookies make you fat.

Little fingers tickle pink kittens.

Slim, tall little pigs bite sweet delicious candy.

Do you get a visual from reading those? I do. Now all the words we put together did not make sense. Another way to play with words is to have a system. The way most people do this is to combine words from many people in a certain order. The order is:

The adjective noun adverb verb the adjective noun.

That is how the saying at the top of this article came to be. The originators of the game came up with that saying as they played the game.

So if you are having trouble coming up with some fresh creative ideas you might want to give “the exquisite corpse” a try. Have fun!

Detail of a Seurat Painting

Georges Pierre Seurat’s work has been a source of inspiration for my Art I classes. I created a power point showing his work and gave a general definition of pointillism. The students were then given an assignment to create a watercolor painting of a flower or butterfly using this technique.

I chose flowers and butterflies as the subject matter because I felt they were well suited for pointillism and relatively easy to draw. I found numerous images on the web of flowers and butterflies. I printed out two photographs of each and made a class set for the class to use a reference. To save on ink I printed them out in black and white with only one copy of each subject in color. The color images were posted on the wall for the students to refer to if they needed help with color choices. Most of my students did not really care about having color influences. They easily came up with their own color themes.

The students drew their chosen subject on a piece of 9 x 12 inch sulphite paper. Then they were told to paint the subject using Q-tips dipped in watercolor. The painting had to be created with dots on the page. This was difficult for some students because it did take more time and patience. The students were also instructed to only use the primary colors. So if they wanted to have green leaves on a flower, they had to paint yellow and blue dots. The combined dots would create the green for them. Many students found this impossible to comprehend and they used the secondary colors in their watercolor palette.  I could easily tell which students followed directions.

All in all the art work produced was vibrant and fresh. I am very pleased with the results of this project and will definitely do this one again next year. I was so inspired by the project, that I started a large watercolor of my own in pointillism. I wanted to see if I could do the assignment myself. I used a paintbrush instead of a Q-tip so I had dots that were much smaller. Plus, I cheated and actually mixed my colors. I have been working on the painting for at least two months now. I really like the way it is coming along. When I get finished I will post it here. In the meantime, enjoy viewing the finished products of some of my students. Maybe you will be inspired to try creating using pointillism.

When it comes to art and being creative, there are no rules. Here are 6 things that every creative person must know about.

1. Aim to be different.

You can either aim to be “better” than all the other artists out there or you can aim to be “different”. Stop comparing yourself to other people. There will always be things that they can do better than you. Likewise, there are also things that you can do better than anybody else. You are in a class of your own. Embrace your uniqueness. Dare to be different. Look at Lady Gaga. When she was in grade school everyone would laugh at her for being weird. For being different. But it is because she has embraced her uniqueness that she has become the best selling artist she is today.

1. Challenges are what push you to be better.

No one likes having problems. But instead of thinking of them as problems why not think of them as challenges? Every time you are challenged you are pushed to become a better artist. Why? Because it is when you step out of your comfort zone that you learn and grow. There is more to art than what you already know. Be willing to discover new horizons.

1. Trust your gut.

We artists have gut feels. We know instinctively whether a piece of art needs something more or is just “right”. Yes, we should listen to what other people have to say. But in the end we should trust our instincts.

1. Simplicity is beauty.

A piece of art does not have to be complicated in order to be beautiful. More often than not, simplicity is the key to beauty. Remove distractions. Get rid of clutter. Decide what your main subject is and let everything revolve around that.

1. Make mistakes.

Making mistakes are the fastest way to learn. Don’t be afraid to go wrong. Make mistakes and learn from them. Avoiding failure is pointless. Sooner or later we’ll trip up. After all we are only human. Instead avoiding failure, learn to look at it from another perspective. Look at each “failure” as a learning experience.

1. Real artists create.

There are many kinds of artists. But the bottom line is real artists create their own stuff. Sure you can get inspired by the work of other artists. But don’t copy it. Make your own. Create your own mark. Try new stuff. Use old materials in different ways.

“Amy C. is an interior decoration aficionado and online marketer.  She also likes testing and trying new home and office decorating themes.  In addition to being an interior decoration hobbyist, she enjoys designing calming solar fountains and glass art.  Amy invites you to browse her delightful collection of glass vases”

Who hasn’t heared of the famous show by Disney, Art Attack? It’s a show about art that is watched by children all over the world. When I was a kid I remember never missing an episode of Art Attack. I would always be amazed at the different materials that were used to create art – materials that weren’t commonly used. It’s no wonder why it was the longest running show in ITV. It was on air for almost 20 years. It was originally presented by Neil Buchanan. On June 2011 it was relaunched, this time with a new host – Jassa Ahluwalia. The show is still fun to watch and you can learn many things by watching it. The main difference was that Jassa does not make the art himself. He only does a voice over of the step by step process showing an artist doing the art. I liked the way Neil Buchanan did things because he would create everything on his own. The art that Buchanan created was usually different. It wasn’t always clean and pretty. Most of the time it was unconventional and even messy. They had Splat Attack’s wherein eggs filled with paint would be dropped on paper or cottonballs dipped in paint would be squashed on a blank canvass. At first Buchanan would do a small version. After he would then recreate everything on a larger scale.

The big art attacks were one of the reasons for the show’s success. He would use all kinds of material for creating all types of art work. As a self acclaimed artist I really enjoy watching this show. Watching something like this inspires me. I thought that art did not come cheap. There are materials to consider – some of which can really be expensive. But watching this show made me realize that you dont have to buy expensive stuff to create art. You can be resourceful and use materials you regularly see around you everyday. Art Attack stimulates creativity. When you regularly watch something that is related to art then the side effect of that is that your creativity is going to be stimulated. You will start coming up with your own way of doing things.

Art is not just about paintings and sculptures. It can be present in normal and everyday things. It all depends on how creative you are in using the things you see around.

“Amy C. is an interior decoration aficionado and online marketer.  She also likes testing and trying new home and office decorating themes.  In addition to being an interior decoration hobbyist, she enjoys designing calming Solar Fountains
and glass art.  Amy invites you to browse her delightful collection of glass vases”

If there was a substance that you could use to mold and shape according to your liking it would be Play-Doh. Because of its flexibility and versatility it has become a popular medium for many people to play around with. One of the best things about Play -Doh is that it is especially made safe for children. Although it was first manufactured as wallpaper cleaner it quickly became a popular modeling compound when a group of children began playing with it. Play-Doh is non-staining, non-toxic, pliable and reusable. It’s perfect for inquisitive children who are about to explore the world of art.

Although Play-Doh is a great tool for kids to experiment around with, it is not only for children. It is for anyone who wants to have fun and play around. It can also enhance your creativity. The beauty of Play-Doh is that it is formless and pliable. You can do anything you want with it. It enhances creativity by giving us the opportunity to mold and style it into any shape that we want. Through this we can let our imagination break free. When playing with clay you don’t even have to think. Just let your emotions and imagination guide you.

I believe that in playing with Play-Doh all children need is a lump of Play-Doh. There is no need to add cutters and other devices. If you add in too many gadgets this may actually stint children’s creativity because instead of coming up with something on their own, they run to cookie cutters and molds. If you want your children to step out of their comfort zones and grow as artists then give them the opportunity to be creative.

You can also use Play-Doh to create mini-models of your favorite superheroes, cartoon characters or even food. It doesn’t have to be an exact replica. You can embellish or mold it according to your taste. Play-Doh is the perfect medium for budding sculptors. Children can play around with it and just create anything. There are many ways to stimulate creativity. And one of the best ways is by using Play-Doh.

“Amy C. is an interior decoration aficionado and online marketer.  She also likes testing and trying new home and office decorating themes.  In addition to being an interior decoration hobbyist, she enjoys designing calming solar fountains
and glass art.  Amy invites you to browse her delightful collection of glass vases”

Cover of Altered Book

In order to give my Art II students something to look forward to at the end of the school week, I have given them an altered book assignment to work on every Friday. The assignment is something that I have always wanted to do myself, so I am also creating an altered book at home in the evenings. I have found that having an example of an assignment that students can hold helps them understand what I want. So each Friday I bring my altered book to show them.

So, what exactly is an altered book? It is a book that has been altered with various art media in order to change it from a book to an original work of art. The theme for my students’ altered books is ART. That theme is not exactly original, but I feel it is a great theme in order to stress the elements of art, the principles of design, and various art techniques.

Our school librarian donated numerous hardbound books for us to use. The books are old obsolete encyclopedias. It feels good to be able to recycle these books. I asked my students to look for things at home that they might be able to use in their books. Some of the items I mentioned are:

junk mail, coupons, puzzle pieces,
magazines, feathers, ticket stubs,
stickers, old postmarks, stamps,
ribbons, yarn, thread, old jewelry,
beads, shells, and candy wrappers.

Design with Markers

The altered book counts as a major test grade. This nine weeks the students are being graded on the cover design and three double pages. When I say “double page” I mean two pages facing each other when the book is open. The cover design is 40 points and each of the 3 double pages counts as 20 points each for a total of 100. I will grade the student on their creativity, originality, effort, following directions and craftsmanship.

Last year I gave my students a similar assignment but the students were allowed to pick their own theme. That did not work well because many of my students lacked motivation and self-direction. So I learned from my mistake. This year, not only have I specified a theme but I have also told them certain requirements for their pages. I have also set a deadline of October 7. This deadline will be the first of several since the students will work on their altered books for the full semester.

Pages of Texture

The three double pages required this nine weeks are:

• drawings that express the students interests and personality,

• a creative design using markers,

• and a page that incorporates collage with pictures and words.

I have quite a list of altered book pages that I will assign in the future. I will let you know how it goes and will post some of the pages from the books for you to see as they get turned in.

When it comes to being creative there is no right or wrong, black or white. It is not bound by rules or rigid policies. Many people think that only artists can be creative. But the truth is anyone can have a creative streak. All it takes is a little imagination and unconventional thinking. Here are some of the benefits of being creative.

Provides an outlet for our emotions. In life there will be times when we are confronted with all sorts of trials and problems. Being creative gives us an avenue for self expression. It can act as a catharsis for negative emotions.

Stimulates neural activity. Our brain is like a muscle. In order for it create new cells it has to be used often. Situations that call for creativity forces us to think. Thinking stimulates neural activity which in turn enhances brain power.

Helps us develop a positive mindset. Creative people are usually positive people. Those who are too structured and bookish will find it hard to solve problems they are not familiar with. But creative people are not bounded by what is normal. They think out of the box. They are willing to try new things, to step out of their comfort zones.

Enhances sense of self. Being creative allows us to explore many aspects of our personality. We can learn things about ourselves and discover new talents that we didn’t know about before. It can reinforce what we do know about ourselves. This process can enhance our sense of self and increase our level of confidence.

The beauty of enhancing our creativity is that we can learn to look at the world in a different perspective. Being creative is not only about art or music. It’s the way we approach life. It also boils down to attitude. Adults have the tendency to become too structured. Life can do that to us sometimes. As we grow older let us always remember to keep on being creative and to continually challenge ourselves to grow and become better.

“Amy C. is an interior decoration aficionado and online marketer.  She also likes testing and trying new home and office decorating themes.  In addition to being an interior decoration hobbyist, she enjoys designing calming solar fountains and glass art.  Amy invites you to browse her delightful collection of glass vases”