Friday, April 6, 2012

Inspiration Today::Are you pushing your Creativity?

under the sea

This is the last of the series of sea paintings.  Its been wonderful exploring the sea and its underwater beauty.  Next week, I will start on a new inspiration and see what that brings to my art.
Octopus
encaustic and paper on birch panel 5x5

I've been thinking a lot about creativity, lately.  Seems like its in the front part of my mind these days.  The big questions I have been pondering is do I push my creativity enough?  Does my art have a voice?
I came across this video by OKGO - it made me realize that there are no boundaries, no limits to what we can do as artists.  You think you are pretty creative?  Check out this video - Creative Genius is even an understatement here::


Have you ever played the observation game?  What do you see?  You will usually always state the obvious things.  Then you ask again - What do you see?  We can usually come up with a few more things.. but by the third time - What do you see? Many of us get stumped.  Yet, if we allow ourselves to really see - to see the multidimensional layers of what's around us - then maybe we do start to see.  So, what if we adopt this in our art?  photography?  music?  OKGO obviously could get past all the boundaries that we set for ourselves.  I mean, REALLY, who comes up with stuff like this and then how in the world do you pull something like this video off?!!  REALLY! 
Its time to push a little or push a lot.  Its time to re-think and re-frame.  Its time to get a little more creative in what we do.  So, here's a proposal:: What if every time we do our art, we set aside a little time at the end to really try some new stuff, to push ourselves to dig in a little deeper.  You may be happy with what you do now, but maybe you will find something beyond what you do now that is even more exciting.  Start today really looking at the inspiring things around you and see what it can bring for you.  How can you push your photography? your painting? your music? your whatever it is that you do?  I'm going to try it and I'm kinda excited about it.  Think about it and you'll feel that little bubble of excitment grow from inside. 

I'm linking up with Paint Party Friday today.  I'm sorry to say that I will be out of the studio for the next couple of PPF weeks.  I will miss all of you. 



19 comments:

  1. How cool is that video!? Certainly pushing the creative boundaries..a subject definitely worth thinking about. Love your octopus encaustic too.

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  2. Way cool video ~ very creative ~ love your encaustic painting and your 'take' on creativity ~ thanks, namaste, ^_^

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  3. Love your octopus- amazing colors and details! Thanks for the video- I hadn't seen it and it surely is a reminder of how to see things differently!!

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  4. Great post. I love, love, love your octopus. I think it's my favorite of your sea creatures.

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  5. Beautiful textures. Happy PPF and a Happy Easter, Annette x

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  6. Interesting observations. Beautiful painting. Strange but creative video.

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  7. What a cool video - it must have taken forever; real work of art!

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  8. OH, I love your style! And, yes, I'm totally pushing my creativity. ;)
    Thanks for your comment.
    k

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  9. you will be missed also and I think your work has a voice... I love creativity discussions and did my masters in Creativity theory... it is an amazing subject and you will oly get better and better in your work the more you contemplate it... great post...xx

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  10. I love your octopus! I know nothing about encaustic painting but i love the effect.
    Your questions are all fabulous. As an artist, i am constantly questioning myself and my work.
    (and need i say that the questions are often more entertaining than the answers?) :-)
    Wonderful video too... Happy PPF! xoxo

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  11. Oooh....I LOVE this new little encaustic map painting! ;)
    Lovely!
    ♥♥♥
    Happy PPF!!
    Mary
    Mixed-Media Map Art

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  12. Great post! And your encaustic artwork is fantastic! I've been staring at it for some time! :^) Patsy from
    HeARTworks

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  13. This video shows you have to be "crazy" to be creative! Patsy from
    HeARTworks

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  14. Love your painting, awesome texture! Happy PPF!

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  15. Wow, that video was AMAZING and so is your art! You got me way inspired and excited now! Thanks for such a fun post! Deb

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  16. Hi Marji,
    Luved your video, very creative and your encaustic painting is beautiful., especially like the textures you created.
    Have a Happy Easter.
    Hugs, Annabelle

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  17. LOVE your octopus! Have a great time away.

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  18. You will be missed too.

    You have given me a lot to think about in regards to pushing creativity. I believe that it is so important to step out of your comfort zone and go to the next level with your work, try something you may not usually do or look at the same topic in a different way. Being stagnant with your work does not require creativity (well that's my opinion).

    Marji, In response to your comment on my PPF blog post:

    I have done some more colour mixing from the book, actually doing it, you learn a lot in the process, I grasped the concepts when I was reading it, and almost thought I'd skip physically mixing the paint, but I've learnt so much from looking at what different combinations of paint do when mixed together. I'm glad I have perceived. I can imagine it would be more difficult with encaustic. I've played with that media, stunning results and a beautiful quality, but a very difficult medium to use. GOOD LUCK.

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  19. Good article. I paint. I just took up some serious photography. I'm seeing that it requires a whole new kind of creativity.

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