My Favorite Creativity Blogs

People always ask what creativity blogs I read on a regular basis. So I've put together a brief list to answer that question.

Creative Perch
Dee Wilcox is the author of this blog that has the simple goal to inspire creativity and encourage innovation. I love Dee's ability to balance practical creativity tips with real life examples of public art, especially guerrilla art.

The Fertile Unknown
This blog written by creativity consultant extraordinaire Michelle James explores the process of creative emergence and what that looks like in life and work, especially business.

Applied Imagination
This is the blog I go to when I want to know what's new in creativity. Steve Dahlberg does a wonderful job of sorting through the latest news on creativity and posting some of the most interesting ideas out there.

Creativity at Work
Looking at the intersection, or interplay, as author Linda Naiman refers to it, between art, science and business is the focus of this informative blog.

Life Unfolds
Jennifer Lee is a self-described Certified Coach, Writer, Leader, Artist, Yogini and Musepreneur. Her colorful and always creative blog chronicles her personal journey of creative expression.

• Check out my bookshop for more of my favorite creative reads.

Cleveland is Creative

(Image Courtesy of Fast Company)

Although, I have known this for awhile, the rest of the world is just catching up and realizing that Cleveland is creative. Featured as one of Fast Company's most creative cities, Cleveland joins other national cities like San Francisco and New York and international cities Taipei and Vancouver.

While the article focuses on the creative reuse of land in the city, there are so many other things here that make Cleveland creative and just a cool place to live.

• Check out Cleveland.
  

Art Bar: Part II

(Image courtesy of Ithaca Fine Chocolates)

In a previous post I gushed about Art Bars never even having tasted one. Their concept of combining fair-trade chocolate bars and fine art seemed to be the perfect pairing.

Well, while I was in Los Angeles and visiting the gift shop at the Huntington Library I bought one: dark chocolate with coconut. Not only was the chocolate yummy, but the artwork inside was captivating: a miniature reproduction of an original sepia-toned silver gelatin print by Meg Birnbaum. The tiny little artwork also included a brief and well-appreciated interpretation.

Finally, a portion of the proceeds from Art Bars goes toward art education, including the International Child Art Foundation.

• Interested in submitting your art work?

Creative LA

I'm no Richard Florida, but I think LA is one of the most creative cities. After my latest trip there, I am now further convinced by this. Why?

1. Location: Not only does LA have inspiring warm weather and beautiful light, but the ever-changing landscape of this metropolis is simply breathtaking. Whether you travel to the beach and become mesmerized by the ocean, drive through the awe-inspiring mountains or simply admire all of the colorful flora, LA is a feast for the eyes and imagination.

2. Attitude: The vibe in LA changes from community to community, but for the most part there is an underlying casual attitude that encompasses the entire area. Such a vibe can only foster the creative spirit and encourage you to take creative risks.

3. Diversity: Not only is the landscape diverse, but so are the 10 million+ residents that inhabit Southern California. Everywhere you travel, you see evidence of cultural diversity and often hear another language or two spoken nearby. There is such an assortment of inspiration around every corner.

• What's your favorite creative city?

The Creative Power of Kids

Last week I taught about seven art classes in a row for kids in kindergarten through third grade. It was part of a Cultural Arts Day at an elementary school. I've participated in this program for the last three years as an artist.

This year, I noticed something interesting about the students. Normally, I have a mix of grades, but this year I started with the kindergartners and finished with the third graders. This progression gave me the opportunity to observe creative expression from the youngest kids in the school to the oldest.

And what did I notice? The youngest students were done with the project the quickest, while the older students finished just in time or not at all. I wondered why this was. Then I realized it was because the kindergartners had less inhibitions than the second and third graders. The older kids spent so much time analyzing the colors they chose and filling in all the details. Yet the younger kids went with their intuition and just had fun coloring.

• Try thinking like a kindergartner and see what happens!

World Creativity and Innovation Week

Have you heard about World Creativity and Innovation Week? It runs from April 15 - 21 and is a worldwide celebration of you guessed it, creativity.

The ability to imagine and create is something we are all born with but sometimes forget to use. This week is dedicated to fostering that spirit of ingenuity.

• Find related events
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Creative Patterns

In my last post, I encouraged readers to increase their observation skills by looking closely as a tool to enhance creative thinking. I even described my own experience with this new way of looking at the world. I continued that exercise on my recent trip to Washington, DC - a city in which I lived for many years.

So you might assume that I had already seen everything there. But with my camera in hand, I learned there was a lot that I had missed. Mainly they were small details that I had overlooked in the past.

For example, above, I captured textiles at the National Museum of African Art. The textiles have similar colors and patterns and blend together to create a new pattern in my cropped image of them.

It made me stop and think how patterns can inspire creativity. Creativity is really about connecting existing patterns or objects and creating something new much like the textiles above.

• What can you combine to create something new?