As I focused on all the things we do in my classroom, I tried to think of what is the most prominent struggle among all artist from time to time. I feel as creatives we all have moments where we just might not be feeling all that creative. Like at 7:30 a.m. when my first class starts. For those of us who are high school teachers we know asking a seiner to become a master visual problem solver before they have mentally gotten out of bed can be a challenge. Aside from lacking, early morning motivation we can all use a little inspiration from time to time.
Any good creative knows you are always looking, dissecting, evaluating, seeking and embracing all forms of art around you. What great piece of art or writing wasn't inspired by something? Although, perhaps we don't always know where to look to get started? One of the great things about the internet is the endless sea of resources to get the juices flowing. One link could lead to another, then another and even another! Not getting lost in the ocean when your paddling around the sea might be a focal point for self control and a big consideration within limited time in class.
The Web 2.0 tool I chose to share and discuss is Inspire Mix. The sites primary focus is to engage and inspire the viewer with daily creativity. It provides links to many creative sources such as web design, logo design and typography to name a few. However, the page that I found most inspiring was portfolios. I found myself clicking away at all these different designers collections and feeling the creative energy starting to flow. One of the portfolios I spent a great deal of time looking at was that of Si Scott. If you love pen and ink and swirls you would love his work! I had seen his work before in various publications but didn't know much about the designer himself. Looking at his site lead me to several youtube.com videos of his creations. Just watching him sketch out a design I wanted to grab my Rapidographs and some hot press illustration board and DRAW! I got my start in freelance as an ink illustrator and seeing it being done is always something that inspires me.
Here is a youtube.com video of Si Scott in action!
I believe that having specific reference sites like Inspire Mix, that are updated often or daily would be a wonderful place to start on those days we're not feeling oh so creative. As well as keep my students from wondering endlessly amongst the waves of information. I have always believed that creativity is inspired by creativity.
Here is one of my ink illustration. The technique used is called stipple, meaning all dots... Many, many, many dots!
Inspire Mix. (2010). Inspire Mix, Your daily design inspiration, ideas and trends. Retrieved July 11, 2010, from http://inspiremix.com/
