Jericha emailed me a few weeks ago and asked if I would like to write a guest blog article for her site. She stumbled upon My Creativity Blog while looking for blogs about the creative process.

Jericha is an artist, blogger, belly dancer, and model.  I have never met Jericha but I would love to. I visited her website and was intrigued. The energy I felt in her words inspired me. I am honored to be asked to write for her.

Jericha suggested that I write something to help people enhance their creativity in everyday life. It didn’t take long for the wheels to start spinning and I was coming up with numerous ideas. I started making a list as my thoughts popped up and before long I had a list of 40 ideas.

The article has been divided into three sections so as not to overwhelm the reader. We don’t want people’s eyes glazing over. To make things more interesting and to have some fun; Jericha makes comments about each item on the list.

Please take a moment to go check out this article.

Simple Steps to Creativity

I’ll let you know when Part Two and Three come out so you can read them too. I would love to hear what you think.

The False Mirror by Magritte

To be a surrealist means barring from your mind all remembrance of what you have seen, and being always on the lookout for what has never been.  ~Rene Magritte

Thoughts:

Finding ways to inspire art students can be a challenge for an art teacher. I try to come up with interesting projects for the students to do but at times I feel as if the creativity well has run dry.

When I feel that way I usually look for inspiration in another artist’s work. Studying  the work of others gives me a different perspective.  I find it helpful to look at art done in a completely different style from my own.

My Art II students are studying Rene Magritte’s work. The students spent a class period viewing paintings, drawings, and videos on You Tube showing Magritte’s surrealist view. Now they have to come up with their own surrealist composition. It has been interesting to see the ideas they are coming up with. They are not tied to the real world rules. They are free and can put things together in strange ways.

For some of the students it is a struggle. They are used to working a certain way with a certain style. This assignment is making them use their imagination. Using their imagination is almost painful for some. I am not sure how often they are asked to imagine in school. It will be interesting to see what kind of art work will result from this assignment.

I really like the quote above by Magritte. You do not have to be a surrealist to benefit from his wisdom. I believe that any artist that is struggling with inspiration could use the idea behind the quote to help in  moving on with their work. A fresh eye is always helpful when trying to create. If your work is realistic, be on the search for the perspective most people don’t see or notice. Try to be unique. Be on the lookout.

I hope this devotional gives you a great start to a wonderful Friday. Take care.

Prayer:

Lord, Please be with all those that are reading this devotional.  Help them to change their way of thinking long enough to see the world in a new and fresh way. Let this new vision encourage and inspire them to keep creating art work. I ask this in Christ’s name. Amen.

Here is the link to all the information you will need: 2012 Cover Contest. There are specific requirements for the images sizes that you upload so be sure you follow all the guidelines. There is a $250 prize along with making the cover of the magazine. Tell your friends and family to share this information with any students they may know. Tweet it, put it on Facebook, etc.

Smelling essential oils can trigger your brain to feel more relaxed or more energized. This phenomenon is fascinating to me. I have used peppermint essential oil to help me when I feel really tired and sluggish. I just smell it and after a few minutes I feel amazingly better.

I wondered if there are essential oils that can cause a person to be inspired or more creative. This thought got me searching on the internet, reading handouts and books, plus talking to people that have used essential oils. I thought there had to be an essential oil recipe to inspire or enhance creativity.

In my search, I found a video about essential oils and creativity on You Tube. You Tube is quite the resource when you want to learn about something new. I am going to share the video in this post. I have also learned that there are many recipes for creativity and many essential oils that can inspire a person’s creativity.

I plan to study more and experiment with making my own recipes for creativity. Look for more posts about this subject in the future. If you have any recipes or experience using essential oils, I would love to hear from you.

The recipe in the video you are about to view is:

10 drops jasmine essential oil
10 drops coriander essential oil
6 drops juniper essential oil

Marissa's Painting

My students have been working for the past two weeks on art work for the Congressional Art Competition. The theme of the contest this year is “Honoring America’s Brave Military Men and Women”.  I gave the students nine full days to work on this project and also several weekends.

I will deliver the art work to the office of U. S. Representative Bill Flores in Bryan, Texas. The work will be judged and the winning high school student work will hang in the Capitol for an entire year. I know there will be an incredible amount of competition for the honor of hanging in the Capitol.

I thought that some of you might enjoy seeing some of the art work my students created. So here are a few pieces:

Austin's Drawing

Aubrey's Drawing

Kimberlie's Painting

David's Honor

Leece's Painting

Tamierra's Drawing

Eggs with Marker Drawings

What creative projects did you do with your family this Easter? I hope some of you took some time to do something fun.

I bet many of you dyed Easter eggs. That is always a fun project to do with children. It can be messy and you may end up with pink and purple fingers, but it cleans up.

Instead of just dying eggs with the colored tablets and food coloring that most people use, I thought it might be interesting to also include drawing in the creative process. In the past we have drawn with a white crayon. This creates a resist and the dye does not attach to the egg where the crayon is. That gives you a white drawing with a dyed background.

Isaac's Horse

When I went to my daughter’s home to dye eggs with the grandchildren I brought colored sharpie pens. The ink in the pens is permanent, so we were able to draw on the eggs and then dye them if we decided to. I cooked the eggs and let them cool. Then I dried them off really well. I purposely made sure the eggs did not get put in the refrigerator before drawing on them because I did not want condensation to be a problem. If you try to draw on a wet egg with a marker it will bleed and make a mess.

I created an egg using the markers to use as an example of what could be done with the marker. I had fun doodling and drawing designs, swirls, lines, shapes, hearts, squiggles, etc. on the egg. I used several different colors and decided that my next egg would be only black. I wanted to see how the design would look limiting my color.

Egg with Black Marker Doodle

My grandchildren saw my example and quickly got the idea. They grabbed markers and an egg and sat at the dining room table. My daughter decided she wanted to create an egg as well so we all went to work. It was amazing. All four grandchildren sat there in silence working on our individual eggs. I commented on the silence and decided this was a great way to get children to switch over to their right brain. The only talker was three year old, Andrew, when he wanted to get more eggs to draw on.

Usually when we dye eggs it is done in a matter of a few minutes and the children seem disappointed that we are finished so soon.  But this time the drawing process made the kids take their time. They really thought about what they were creating. They took pride in the product. Some of the eggs were dyed after they were drawn on. I think they turned out nicely. How about you?

Kyla's Bunny

Cypress Tree Reflections

Spring Break is always a welcome time after teaching all year. I usually have so much that I want to do or accomplish. There is never enough time, especially with only a week. I desire spending time outdoors getting some exercise, reading, and doing something creative. This spring break we took a short trip to Concan, Texas. We went to the Lost Maples State Natural Area and spent a day hiking. We drove the Three Sisters, a loop of three county roads that take you through some pretty scenery. We spent time on the Frio River hiking with our dog, Molly. I got to read, hike and take a lot of photograph of some beautiful scenery and wildlife. Wow! They have a lot of deer out there in West Texas.

Another Cypress Reflection

The photography was my creative outlet. You may think that isn’t very creative, but it is a start. It is a beginning. Sometimes we just have to be satisfied with taking those creative baby steps.

Another Scene of the Frio River

When I took pictures at the Frio River I tried to look beyond the beauty of the actual water. The cypress trees all along the river captured my attention with their majesty. These large graceful trees towered over me. As I walked along the edge of the river these trees reached down below me holding fast to the ground with their long curving root systems. Keeping my eyes on the trail was important if I wanted to keep from falling over these gentle giants.

In many of my photographs I decided to focus on the trees. Instead of talking pictures of the actual trees, I took pictures of the reflections of the trees in the water. I tried to get photographs at different times of day with different conditions. Here are some of my photographs of the river. Now that I have these pictures at home, I can now take some time to see what I can do with them in my sketchbook and in watercolor. When you are limited on your time and want to be creative, pull out the camera and see what interesting subjects you can come up with.

Rocks and Reflections

I would love to know what creative things you did this spring break. Write a comment and let me know. Take care.

Flower arrangement is an art that brings beauty to our environment. It can add a touch of class to any room or office space. Although it may seem easy, arranging flowers is a skill that has to be practiced before you can do it right. Adorning your home with flower arrangements can bring harmony to any house.

Just like other mediums of art, you need to put into consideration different elements such as proportion, color and balance. However, there is no hard and fast way for doing things because ultimately it will depend on the artists’ personal style. There are many people who love filling their home with different kinds of flowers. But if you have to order them from a florist it can be expensive. Why not do it yourself? Here are four flower arrangements you can do at home.

• Horizontal Arrangement. This is a simple style you can do at home. All you need is a shallow container and a huge flower to be used as the focal point. Low lying leaves or drooping branches are added to complement the focal point. This type of arrangement looks great on coffee tables and accent tables.
• Triangular Arrangement. This is a common type of flower arrangement that is often seen in many hotels and stores. As the name suggests, the whole thing is triangular in shape. You can achieve this effect by putting the tallest flowers in the center while smaller flowers are put on the sides maintain is triangular shape. This type of style has a more formal effect and is appropriate for formal occasions and parties at home.
• Vertical Arrangement. In this type of arrangement, tall flowers are used such as roses, tulips and carnations. They are placed inside a short jar and are complemented by shorter fillers to make it appear balanced. This type of arrangement looks good in kitchens and center tables, especially when used in combination with beautiful glass vases.
• Crescent Arrangement. This type of style follows the shape of the crescent moon. It’s a bit more challenging to create, compared to the previous three mentioned. To achieve the curved effect, flowers that have a natural curve are used.

Take advantage of the natural beauty that flowers provide. Decorate your home with flowers today.