Tuesday 15 June 2010

Day Ten = Creativity Boot Camp

Day ten - Creativity Boot Camp.
I've missed a few days cos I wanted to take photos but just haven't done that. So today have decided just to do the journalling for now and possibly think about the photos later.

Journal prompt today is thinking about the experiences of the day. That's easy, it's like making a list. I can do lists. In fact I love them.

At the end of your day, think about the millions of sensations you experienced. Try to answer these questions.....
Which ones stand out in your mind as being the most pleasant?
Today I finally collated a load of data from two different people that will answer a question that we have been trying to get hold of for over a month. I felt really pleased that we finally had cracked it, in just one day's hard work. Now all I have to do is analyse it all!

Were there any that were repulsive?
I had to go to the GP today with suspected kidney infection. I was asked to pee into a tube - yuk, why cant we have a pot to make it a little easier, instead of trying to aim, without being able to see clearly down there, to pee into a pot which is less than an inch wide. That was yukky especially as I managed to pee all over my hand. But even worse was seeing how awful my urine actually looked. NOT healthy, not healthy at all. So thankfully I have some antibiotics and will start to feel a little bit better.

Did any bring back memories from your past?
I can't really think of anything specific really, not from very old past. But more recently I had a kidney infection only a few months a go and remembered how bad the pain was then.

Did any motivate you to do anything particular?
Oh gosh, I am harping on about this blasted kidney infection, when I really dont want to think about it, I just want to get better... quickly. I have been feeling uncomfortable and suspicious of a urine infection. Then in the morning the pain started to travel to the side of my back. Exactly the same as a couple of months ago when I had an infection before. So this pain motivated me to make the doctor's appointment, rather than wait and hope it goes away. Cos that just makes the pain much much worse. So I am pleased I was motivated enough to do that.

Did any of these sensations inspire you in your creations?
Not today.

If you were to try and capture creatively any of these sensations, how would you do it?
Hmmm, that's a tricky one. I don't really know to be honest. I had a great journey home, very quick with little traffic, and it didnt take too long to get out of the car park, like it usually does. So I did some journalling about how leaving the car park is the best part of my day.

30 day colour challenge

I am off to buy a journal after work so I can join in on this challenge which starts today. How exciting. I wish I didnt have to go to work, so I could stay at home and CREATE all day!!!

30 day colour challenge

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Friday 11 June 2010

Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell Video

Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell Video

An absolute fravourite of mine from when I was about 19years old. Playing this as loud as physically possible and yelling at the loudest possible. Sod the neighbours! I remember singing this with a group of work colleagues one new year's eve. We all had to work New Year's day and stayed up all night listening to music and drinking and then went straight to work. Couldn't do that now! Happy memories. Singing this loudly used to help let out any frustrations I had at the time.

Thursday 10 June 2010

Days 4 and 5

Creativity Boot Camp - days 4 and 5

Finding it difficult to keep up. Feeling pretty exhausted in this humid heat we have been having and not been too well either. But I do hope to keep going and join in on this creativity course. It certainly is giving me food for thought and it is great to see other people's work, I really enjoy that part too.

Day 4 - Heavy Metal is the word prompt, but I haven't done anything about it yet. Just about dragging myself through the day at the moment. But I will do.
Day 4 - Journal prompt. To write about what elements of some photos taken during the day have motivated me to take them. I went for a little walk today, and although i didn't actually take any photos, I did look at the world around me and think about what I would photograph and why. I walked along a footpath next to a field of unripe wheat. Several things captured my interest in this lovely green field. I noticed that the field stopped dead in a line, making a wall along the footpath. It was a very even line. I imagined the wall as a block to my creativity, which I am certainly feeling today. I was mesmirized by the sharpness of the line. The other thing that I was intrigued by the wheat was the colour of the stalk. To look at the field you would think it was all green. Not so. The stalks were a milky blue. A very lovely colour. I wish I could have captured that on camera and tried to capture that colour and the contrast to what one would expect. The final thing I noticed about the field was the tracks made in the even field by the tractor. You could see the two lines that the tractor wheels drove along when the farmer planted the field. I have been walking in the countryside since other fields of wheat have grown and seen the wheat grow each time. Something I have really enjoyed. I recall playing as a child, one summer, in a wheat field behind where we lived. Happy memories. The tractor lines on today's field went over the brow of a small hill. It reminded me of life's path, going off into the unseen future.

Day 5 - Word prompt - Grow. As mentioned above I love walks in the countryside and watching everything grow so fast in the Spring. It is amazing how green everything looks right now. The grass, where it has been left uncut, is practically thigh high. Amazing. But the one main thing about the word grow that strikes me is growing up and growing old. I did as suggested and listened to some music from when I was young and very emotional. To be honest i think i am still emotional inside, but you have to keep it under control, otherwise you really would be out of control - and that is no good. Cos that means no job and no money and no house etc etc. I enjoyed listening to the music. There are always good memories of 'when we were young'. I think we still do have those emotions within us. I still feel frustrated when unable to do something I want to. Trying to think about my hopes and my expectations. I always knew I wanted a family and have been blessed with three beautiful healthy children, for whom I thank God every day. I am so proud of them and pleased that I have managed to raise them reasonably well. More than i could have hoped for. Other hopes and dreams, like travelling. I managed to do that too. So really I have managed to achieve everything important that I wanted to do when i was younger. I would like to make a difference to someone, make someone's life better for something I have done. Perhaps being a Cub Scout Leader has helped with that a little. So all in all, I really am quite content now.

Photos to follow............

Mental as Anything - Live it Up Video

Mental as Anything - Live it Up Video

Tuesday 8 June 2010

Day 3 - multilayers

Day 3 of creativity boot camp and the word of the day is multilayers. Plenty of ideas with this one, first thing that came to mind was layered cake! yum yum. Unfortunately no layered cake in the house at the moment, so had to think of something else. I found some great layers in the roses. Here is one pink rose out in my front garden.


Then I went for a walk in the woods with Millie and tried to capture the layers within the woods. The hedges and the trees and the grass. Where I am thinking this has more impact is in the countryside with the bright yellow rapeseed fields against the green backdrop. Thanks to this creativity course I think I will go out there and actually take some photos of the yellow layered against the green, instead of just looking at it. Watch this space! But I did find some layers within the woods. I like to think that the woods themselves contain layers within layers. Not only is it a lovely place for us humans to enjoy with our youngster and dogs and horses, but deeper down a layer are the mammals - the squirrels etc and even deeper down another layer are all the insects. The woods mean different things to different people/wildlife. I absolutely love going out there and exploring the textures and layers that are seen in the countryside.

Finally I took a picture of Millie in the garden. She managed to pose for a full 2 seconds, long enough for a shot. She had been a good girl in the woods and had not moved a muscle when we came across these squirrels having their dinner within 10 feet of us. She was on a lead though!

Day 2 - picnic

I took some photos using Andy's camera as I knew it had macro on it. Found out later that I have macro on mine too! I have taken the picnic photo on his camera and wont be able to upload it until tomorrow.

But thinking of picnics, we had a picnic in a country park with my nieces and nephew. This is a photo of Andy enjoying a swing with the kids.

Day 1 - Ivory


Racked my brains for ivory as per instructions for day one of the creativity boot camp online course that I am doing. The first thing that came to mind was ivory skin, then ivory satin shoes for a wedding. I looked through all the blogs and the images that others doing the course had created. There really are some great unsung artists out there.


Finally I went for a walk in the woods today and took some photos in the woods and in my back garden too. Here is a rose which is from my back garden. We have a large climbing rose over the fence and it really looks amazing this time of year, so I usually take loads of photos when the roses are in bloom. This is as close to ivory as I can get.


Monday 7 June 2010

Creativity Boot Camp

boot camp

Creativity Boot Camp - Day 1

Right, enough of the procrastinating. I have looked at other people's work on the links from the creativity boot camp blog, and they are fabulous. So, of course, I think I am no where near good enough! When I look at some of the creativeness that people are producing I know they are artists and I am not. Why do I not think of myself as an artist. I like to create, I feel that I do have a creative soul. I just am never happy with the end product, I guess. But then who is? I guess that is why there are so many tortured artists. My God, I am an artist after all! LOL.

I can't paint, I can't draw, my photography is a bit of hit and miss and my digital scrapbooking is pretty basic. Occasionally I am happy with something. I guess that is what it is about. You need to take hundreds of photos sometimes, and somewhere in there is the masterpiece. The one that works. I just need to strive to find that more, to practice more. Not just take photos and hope one is okay. So practice, practice and practice some more, I guess is the way forward.

I have been procrastinating as well in deciding what is going to be my medium. Photography, when it can take some time to set things up, and the lighting has to be just so. Or digital scrapbook pages, which are easier to do at any time, day or night, but probably wont push my creativity as much as I would like. And......I really do want to improve my photography.

I am happy to share my work with anyone online and probably my husband too. If there is something really good, I might even share it with close family via facebook.

Sunday 6 June 2010

Creativity Boot Camp

Have gone on to DSP chat for the first time in months. As usual after the one hour chat I am full of creative ideas and have loads of websites on. Usually takes me several hours to go through it all. I often end up on the most wonderful websites and blogs as well.

Just came across this blog - http://creativebootcamp.blogspot.com/2010/06/day-1.html

It's a bit late now to start getting into it, but will start tomorrow and journal my journey on here.
Quite excited as I haven't done anything creative for ages.