Archive for April, 2007
Things may look a little strange :-)
Posted on April 29, 2007, by dazzer67, under site info.
Yep, I’m finally sorting out the site design. The first major change is the addition of the new logo. I do hope you like it, a nice Web 2.0 feel, a cool colour and the T-shirts will follow.
Seriously though, if the site starts looking a little weird, it means that I have got something a little wrong. But no one ever said creativity is pain free.
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True creativity is the middle road?
Posted on April 29, 2007, by dazzer67, under quotes.
“To do just the opposite is also a form of imitation.”
Go on break the rules… don’t copy; create.
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Free PC productivity software Launchy, gets a makeover
Posted on April 27, 2007, by dazzer67, under software.
Well, not quite but that does sound very good and I’d like to promote this piece of software as much as possible. If you take a look at this previous post, you’ll see that I think Launchy is a great little application. The peeps who put this together have now upgraded the software and a new version is out and ready to aid you in your journey to ‘creative zendom’.
Take a look yourself and I’m sure you’ll find this application a tremendous boost to making PC work much easier.
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Introversion, the blues and James Bond?
Posted on April 25, 2007, by dazzer67, under inspiration, links, perspiration.
There is a great post over at David Seah’s blog in which he relates some personal thoughts on how his productivity has recently been affected. The link is at the bottom of this post, it’s a great read. However, it also got me thinking on a couple of issues that he raises.
He mentions the ‘blues’ being an issue when trying to be productive. That is certainly the case. Feeling down doesn’t lend itself to getting things done. But it is quite good when it comes to inspiration. Think of all the great songs that have been written about that negative range of emotions, and all the other art created at those times. The key here, is being able to capture those feelings in order to ‘create’ something when the right time comes. I’ll be looking at the right capture tools in a future post (that’s the near future).
David also talks about scheming with others. This struck a deep note with me. My personality type is ‘introvert’ and so sharing and scheming with others is a big energy sapping time for me. However, the importance of it for being creative can’t be measured. Bouncing ideas off others and developing them in a brainstorm can be wonderful. It is what Steven Covey calls the sixth habit, ’synergy’. When you work on an idea with another person, you get more than the sum of the two parts.
There is a lot more in David’s article and a wonderful metaphor regarding James Bond villains too, so take a look from the link below.
David Seah : Motivation, Villainy, and Double Takes
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Exteme creativity dude
Posted on April 18, 2007, by dazzer67, under inspiration, quotes.
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club”
Jack London
Although, to be honest, a more sedate approach will yield results too.
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Is your art really that bad?
Posted on April 11, 2007, by dazzer67, under perspiration, quick tips, quotes.
Picture it, you’re in the ‘creative’ zone, pulling together your masterpiece; pouring out soul into your art… and then you take a step back, look/listen to it and think, ‘that’s rubbish.’
It is all to easy to throw away what you’ve done, becasue you don’t think it is good enough. Perhaps it isn’t the best that could be done, perhaps it does need some more work, perhaps it isn’t great. But it is something that you have created.
At these times, why not use the following quote from John Cage to question whether it really is rubbish.
‘The first question I ask myself when something doesn’t seem to be beautiful is why do I think it’s not beautiful. And very shortly you discover that there is no reason.’
John Cage
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Four lessons on creativity from God
Posted on April 4, 2007, by dazzer67, under creativity basics.
If you want to learn how to do something, the best place to start is with someone who has shown their ability. You can’t learn how to copy-edit from someone who has never done it before, although they may have latent ability.
Not wishing to open a debate about belief, atheism or creationism I wanted to take a look at the creative act performed by God as recorded in the opening book and chapter of the Bible, Genesis 1. Whether you believe these events to be literal, mythical or apocryphal, it doesn’t matter; there are a few good lessons to be found.
- God created out of nothing, ex nihilo for all you Latin buffs out there. [Please note, I am not one of them, I simply looked this up in the dictionary, so don’t expect any fancy noun declension.]. Imagination requires nothing tangible too. We can look for sources of inspiration and other prompts but the actual creative spark is from nothing. This is the very essence of being creative; something new.
- It took God seven days. Ok, six and then one to rest. We need to realise that creativity takes time. We shouldn’t expect the final results straight away. The creative process requires work on our behalf; we need to put in some effort, or perspiration. (This isn’t to say that sometimes creativity leaps upon us and before we know it we have created that complete masterpiece, it does sometimes happen.)
- God created different things on different days. God laid the foundation first and then the detail work. There is a wonderful symmetry in the Genesis account where day one is linked with day four and so on. Creating a framework for your work can be a great way to set things up. Story outlines, broad brushstrokes and song arrangements, to name three, give a framework to hang your detail.
- God did take a break. God did the work and then had a rest. Perhaps this is the most important lesson. Tiredness and exhaustion are the natural enemies of creativity, and they are always on the prowl
We can all expect to produce some heavenly creations now 
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One apology, several projects and new horizons
Posted on April 3, 2007, by dazzer67, under news, site info.
I thought it best to write a little apology about the lack of posts recently. I have been particularly busy with one or two other projects and have not been putting in the required amount of perspiration either. This has meant that several posts remain unfinished at this current time. I could have remained quiet and posted another glorious creative quote but thought it best to share my personal creative journey. All well and good me telling you how to be more creative but why not share my hiccups with you aswell.
I currently have several writing commissions and a couple of design commissions too. These are all due to be completed this month and so, more than ever, I need to make sure my preparation time is constructive. The more I can prepare, the more time I can spend being creative with those projects.
One of the design projects is self-commissioned. Namely, the re-design of the Imaginality site itself. The current layout is fine, but I want to create a little more space. This has meant getting to grips with Wordpress and how the templates work within it, and also understanding CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
So, I haven’t been unbusy, but I have neglected sorting out the posts for here. Normal service will be resumed shortly.
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