CI Day 6 Manual
“If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing. n - Marc Chagall
Day Six Assignment: Scrapping outside the box. Are you in a rut? Are you going through the motions in your creative comfort zone? Today we’ll think about kicking a few habits that hinder your imagination and anesthetize the artist in you! Here are some simple challenges that will inspire you to think and create - outside the box. Choose one or two (or six!) and see what kind of effect they will have on the way you create. 1. Open up the last digital scrapbooking layout you created. Then visit one of the online color palette generators from the list on the Day Six class page. Upload the same photo that you used on the layout to the color palette generator. Take a look at the palette that is created, and them compare that palette to the colors in the kit you used on the layout. Are they in the same color family or tonal range? Do you think using a color palette generator will be a helpful reference tool for you as you create layouts in the future? 2. Do you always scrap square? Create a new document in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements that is 8.5x11,” 4x6,” or if you want a real challenge, make a business card, or artist trading card (ATC) at 3.5x2.” You don’t have to create an entire layout, or finish the job all in one day, but at least begin working with an alternate size or configuration. It might feel a little strange or frustrating at first, but push through that and see what you come up with. It’s a nice little wake-up call for the snoozing artist in you, and you just might be surprised at what you can create that’s outside the traditional 12x12” ‘box.’ 3. Put some words down on paper. Find a favorite quote, verse, song lyric, scripture, a familiar phrase or, if you’re feeling especially artsy, a single word that holds special significance for you. Make a list if you have several, and keep it in your Favorites file for inspiration down the road. If any of the words you write down bring to mind photos that would go well with them, add your photos to the file as well. 4. Write a poem. Yes, I think everyone should do this one! Compose a short poem about one of the words on the list you just made. Or look through your photos to see if one inspires a poem. It doesn’t have to be epic, just a couple of lines. It doesn’t even have to rhyme. It might be a limerick, haiku or free verse. That’s up to you. Once you’ve written a poem, putting down a couple of lines of journaling on a layout will be a piece of cake! Remember that... 5. Focus on relationships. Use any camera to capture the relationship of one thing to another. You can photograph aynthing but people or animals. We’re talking concepts here. Inanimate objects. What you’re looking for is how one thing appears in relation to another. Ught and shadow, for instance. Foreground and background. Texture and smoothness. Height and depth. It might be more difficult than you think. But wait, it might be easier than you think, too ... 6. Back to the kitchen! One of yesterday’s challenges was to cook something familiar, but change up one element of the dish. Today, try cooking with a recipe you have never attempted before. Really go for something that’s completely outside your culinary comfort zone. Fling caution to the wind and just wing it if you have to! It will be an adventure. For you, and for whomever you share your meal with. While you’re dining, talk about what it was like to create something brand new, and think about trying out another new recipe soon. How does cooking relate to creativity? Talk about that too.
Creative Inspiration Class
© Jan Walker
digitalscrapper.com
June 2012
Day Six Assignment: Scrapping outside the box. Are you in a rut? Are you going through the motions in your creative comfort zone? Today we’ll think about kicking a few habits that hinder your imagination and anesthetize the artist in you! Here are some simple challenges that will inspire you to think and create - outside the box. Choose one or two (or six!) and see what kind of effect they will have on the way you create. 1. Open up the last digital scrapbooking layout you created. Then visit one of the online color palette generators from the list on the Day Six class page. Upload the same photo that you used on the layout to the color palette generator. Take a look at the palette that is created, and them compare that palette to the colors in the kit you used on the layout. Are they in the same color family or tonal range? Do you think using a color palette generator will be a helpful reference tool for you as you create layouts in the future? 2. Do you always scrap square? Create a new document in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements that is 8.5x11,” 4x6,” or if you want a real challenge, make a business card, or artist trading card (ATC) at 3.5x2.” You don’t have to create an entire layout, or finish the job all in one day, but at least begin working with an alternate size or configuration. It might feel a little strange or frustrating at first, but push through that and see what you come up with. It’s a nice little wake-up call for the snoozing artist in you, and you just might be surprised at what you can create that’s outside the traditional 12x12” ‘box.’ 3. Put some words down on paper. Find a favorite quote, verse, song lyric, scripture, a familiar phrase or, if you’re feeling especially artsy, a single word that holds special significance for you. Make a list if you have several, and keep it in your Favorites file for inspiration down the road. If any of the words you write down bring to mind photos that would go well with them, add your photos to the file as well. 4. Write a poem. Yes, I think everyone should do this one! Compose a short poem about one of the words on the list you just made. Or look through your photos to see if one inspires a poem. It doesn’t have to be epic, just a couple of lines. It doesn’t even have to rhyme. It might be a limerick, haiku or free verse. That’s up to you. Once you’ve written a poem, putting down a couple of lines of journaling on a layout will be a piece of cake! Remember that... 5. Focus on relationships. Use any camera to capture the relationship of one thing to another. You can photograph aynthing but people or animals. We’re talking concepts here. Inanimate objects. What you’re looking for is how one thing appears in relation to another. Ught and shadow, for instance. Foreground and background. Texture and smoothness. Height and depth. It might be more difficult than you think. But wait, it might be easier than you think, too ... 6. Back to the kitchen! One of yesterday’s challenges was to cook something familiar, but change up one element of the dish. Today, try cooking with a recipe you have never attempted before. Really go for something that’s completely outside your culinary comfort zone. Fling caution to the wind and just wing it if you have to! It will be an adventure. For you, and for whomever you share your meal with. While you’re dining, talk about what it was like to create something brand new, and think about trying out another new recipe soon. How does cooking relate to creativity? Talk about that too.
Creative Inspiration Class
© Jan Walker
digitalscrapper.com
June 2012
