Creative Boost Wednesday: Creating Creativity

Creative Fire Print by artsyville - $15

Today, I want to focus on nurturing creativity. This post is heavily influenced by Julia Cameron's book, The Artist's Way.


Cameron advocates for two basic resources in your creativity toolbox: morning pages and the artist date. Click here for more information on morning pages and artist dates. Both tools call for regular self-expression. Basically, do something creative everyday. Allow yourself to go beyond your usual comfort zones. Stretch yourself. Continue collecting pieces of inspiration in your artist journal or box. Do something creative you've never done before.

I highly recommend this website for creative prompts (called "catalysts"). This week, the creative catalyst is "What’s a family or personal tradition your cherish?" Many artists share they collages, journals, and mixed media creations. Try using an artistic medium you've never tried before. Use colors that you don't usually utilize. Be inspired by others' creativity on this website, Creative Therapy.

Further challenge: share your daily creation on a blog, Facebook, or other social networking site. Or start a regular art night, inviting other creatives to try out new techniques or mediums. Or look into joining a group at your local art league or school.

Crafty Reading - Snippets Magazine

There is a lot of crafting going on all over the world these days, but, crafting communites tend to be very local and a lot of wonderful media never makes it across the pond to the US. Here is a low down of some neat overseas crafing resources to keep an eye on.

Cut Out + Keep



This London based site has a lot going on. Their tag line is "Make and share step by step craft tutorials," and certainly their projects page is full of them. Think instructables but with a crafty flavor instead of the evil genius vibe. Cut out + keep seems to bring together a little bit of everything, in their blog you will find music reviews mixed in with their favorite DIY projects. But then you notice a nav tab at the top that says . . .

Snippets

Snippets is the online magazine hosted by cut out + keep, but it really seems like a beast of it's own. If you are wondering what's going on in the craft community in London this is the place to keep a pulse on. Music, DIY, artist interviews, and anything crafty fill the digital pages of Snippets.




Know of a far-flung site that all Etsians should check out? Share it with us!