Re-Inspiring

This weekend a determined effort to rediscover my creative spark was made.

Went on a couple of trail walks.

Found more trolls stuck in bridges.

Hmm - photo crooked and still this is a great idea for piecing or putting together collages. Very nice pattern.

Close up of a metal bench.

I decided I needed to document where I find the close ups.  The arms would have been a good "R" letter if I lined it up differently to just see one arm. Ah, what you don't think about until later. Or even see it until later.

Don't even remember what or how I did this. Probably something, a bolt,  too close and off lighting. It's cool.

Other photos; many did not work out. It's part of the process. ;)  And, technically, yes, these last few were from the parking lot, not the trail.

I was reminded of the Create Everyday Class site and a lesson I hadn't done yet - decorate rocks.  (Yes, a quick bad photo. They largest is about 1 1/2" ) And, yes, that class was a year ago and I do still occasionally play in the journal I made for it.

The trigger was this book I had checked out with several art related kids books. There is one illustration for "Blend in when you need to. Stand out when you have the chance." with most of the "fish" designed outlined in black and one or two "fish" colored brightly in. They did look like decorated rocks. On the whim, went out and grabbed a few rocks and there you go.

Watched this DVD. I like her. She experiments, plays around with new techniques on small things and them finds ways to use her samples in her garments. She is a process person. Enjoys trying new techniques and figures out how to use the sample later. If at all. I can relate. She welcomes mistakes. Knows they happen. And  doesn't fear them. She said if a garment isn't working out, she waits 3 days, takes another look, and if she still can't save it she buries it, in the ground. So the natural fibers she uses go back into the earth. Some really good ideas. And why I thought all the rectangles on the brick wall would be a good piecing design. 

Also did some cooking (coconut shrimp), re-organizing of some of my stuff (I like to move things around and sort them out), made pickles from cucumbers we grew, made some lists.

Didn't add books to online book places (did read).  Didn't do work stuff. Well, not much. Doing the other things, walking, even doodling, helped me organize some upcoming projects. 

Needy, Needy, Needy

If you google "vital needs" or "basic needs", lots of interesting stuff comes up.

Putting the whole Drive thing aside for a bit.

I read something awhile back that said each of us has 7 unique vital needs.

There was a long list of needs to choose from. Like this: personal time; need to give and do for others; recognition for achievement; movement; sleep; approval or acceptance; order and closure; time alone; territory; financial security; being with people; anticipation; competition; learning something new; listening to music; having a project; touching; variety of experiences; structured time; unstructured time; one-to-one attention; group relationships; empathy; humor; spirituality.

Found this.

Maybe some things need to be added -  time in nature, even if it's your own patio and garden.

If your individual vital needs aren't met, lots of things happen. You may think you are meeting them in not so helpful or healthful ways. You are less likely to be able to deal with stress.  If you don't know what they are, you don't know what to do to fix things and meet your needs.

Here is an interesting relationship - the more of your individual vital needs that are met at work, the more you enjoy it.

Been rethinking this list and others to find my 7 and figure out how to get them met.  In a constructive way.

On How to Find Ideas

From Twyla Tharp The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life

She says there are many ways to scratch for ideas - reading, conversations, other people's handiwork, mentors and heroes, and nature.

On reading -

If you're like me, reading is your first line of defense against an empty head. It's how you learned as a  child. It's how you absorb difficult information. It's how you keep your mind disciplined. If you monitor your reading assiduously, it's even how you grade your brain's conditioning; like an athlete in training, the more your read, the more mentally fit you feel. It doesn't matter if it's a book, magazine, newspaper, billboard, instruction manual, or cereal box -- reading generates ideas, because your''re literally filling your head with ideas and letting your imagination filter them for something useful. If I stopped reading, I'd stop thinking. It's that simple. find

Some People Rescue Animals

I rescue plants. These totaled under $10 on the last chance plant rack at a big box home store. A mini orchid, a lucky bamboo, and a palm.  Any one of them was more than the $10 originally.

Yes, there are still some dried leaves, but most have been trimmed and all plants have new growth and are green than they were a couple weeks ago.