Got a Creative Block?: 5 Exercises to Get Unstuck

re: Got a Creative Block?: 5 Exercises to Get Unstuck

JulieH — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 01:28:51 GMT

I have a coloring book which is all geological shapes. When I get blocked up, I start coloring, it helps me put colors together and the shapes help me as well. Somehow going back to childhood color helps me.

re: Got a Creative Block?: 5 Exercises to Get Unstuck

Nemeton — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 19:03:56 GMT

I do that all the time Anna - as a result I now have a couple of kilos of bead soup in tubs on my shelf! It comes in handy when I can't think what to bead, I just grab the nearest tub and pull something out and start stitching. In fact my preferred way of working is to mix everything up until I'm happy with the colours, and pick out beads at random!

re: Got a Creative Block?: 5 Exercises to Get Unstuck

anna — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 01:02:46 GMT

i was in a bead shop in ocean city md and i recently heard about bead soup. as you work on diffrent projects you take a few of the left over beads and instead of putting them away you put same color and similiar color beads into jars after a while you have bead soup!!!

re: Got a Creative Block?: 5 Exercises to Get Unstuck

PearlB — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:36:27 GMT

I think we all lose our mojo to bead now and then. Some months ago I wrote this blog post with sixteen quick tips on how to regain your creativity. Hope it helps those in a bind!

www.beadinggem.com/.../what-to-do-when-you-lose-your-mojo-to.html

re: Got a Creative Block?: 5 Exercises to Get Unstuck

Jayel F — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:46:51 GMT

I took a wonderful class with Fiona Ellis, a knitwear designer, where we took inspiration for our own designs by taking an inspiring piece of art and turning it all around, blocking out portions with pieces of cardboard, then sketching what visual patterns the artwork inspired. That lends itself well to my beading. She recommended the book "The Vein of Gold: A Journey to Your Creative Soul" by Julia Cameron for more ideas to inspire creativity.

re: Got a Creative Block?: 5 Exercises to Get Unstuck

PeggyM — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:43:19 GMT

In addition to books and magazines, I save pictures from the web in folders in "MY Documents". One is tittled "Colors" and is filled with images that I found by searching under each of the four seasons, gardens, modern art, Africa, Rocky mountians, etc. Another folder is tittled "Jewelry" and I save pictures of contempory hand crafted pieces and vintage pieces, particulary from the Art Deco era. Then when I get a block or am just looking for inspiration for a new piece, I open one of the folders, start a slide show and just let the images wash over me. If a particular image strikes me, I can STOP THE SHOW and determine what it was about the image that struck me and how I can transfer it the media of beads.

Marilyn, I love the idea of using a canning ring to isolate a block of colors. BTW, people do still can vegies and fruit and you can get new rings in you supermarket.

Bead away. PegM

re: Got a Creative Block?: 5 Exercises to Get Unstuck

HannahB — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:09:41 GMT

I love to go to the hardware stores and borrow the paint swatch cards to get color inspirations for my beading ideas, seeing the different colors gives me great ideas for when I get home,this is a great way to get fresh ideas especially when you make lampwork beads. ( this is what I do.) I'ts also fun because my 9 and 10 year old daughters can help me find the colors they know I like.The girls also collect the little cards to cut up and do craft projects with for when we get home. The paint swatch card are perfect to hang your new inspirational earrings on for sale when your finished. This way you can recycle them. I also love to look at my old beading books and beading magazines to get ideas from years ago. Happy Beading.

Sincerely,

Hannah Braun-Allen ( Bead Trade Game Inventor)

www.beadtradebyhannahllc.com

re: Got a Creative Block?: 5 Exercises to Get Unstuck

Nemeton — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:17:21 GMT

Wow, lots of great tips here, I love the one about playing with kids Lori, they have no problem thinking out of the box as they do it all the time. My son can often see exactly what the problem is with one of my not-quite-going-right pieces!

DD, sounds to me like you need a beading mat! This is a piece of non-slip fabric that stops beads rolling everywhere. Inexpensive and widely available... and even something simple like the lid of an ice-cream tub is an improvement on nothing at all, it has a little rim that will stop your beads going all over the desk. Hope that helps!

re: Got a Creative Block?: 5 Exercises to Get Unstuck

RebeccaS — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 06:58:59 GMT

I do get stuck, and worse, I get in ruts of doing the exact same thing in different colors or with slightly different beads... But it's all EXACTLY the same, and I end up feeling like a worker on a factory line...

So, my biggest helps are:

- Yes, magazines, and books. I don't necessarily buy, but just looking helps me. If I find something I can't leave in the store, I write down the title so I can buy it later. (I'm on a seriously tight budget.) I'm NOT looking to make exactly what I see, but to springboard off into something more my style.

- I love looking at jewelry. Walmart, Zales- it doesn't matter. I love looking at something and thinking about how I could make it better, or different...

- I work with my sister! :) We have completely differently styles. I tend to create pieces with a light and airy feel and I love sparklies and prefer wirework. My sister loves stones and fiber work. She prefers a thicker, more weighty feel and also goes a little more funky than I would.

Working together inspires each of us. I use beads I never would have even looked at because I see her do something incredible with them... And the same is frue for her. I have a huge cache of crystals, which she probably wouldn't have touched. But after seeing some of my stuff, she got inspired to use them. And of course, she uses them totally differently than I would have.

- I know my style. I think that is probably the best way for me to KEEP out of a rut... I'm able to describe in a couple sentences the essence of 'my style', which means I can take an idea and change it into something else. My sister found this great article in an art mag talking about styles as the 4 elements- air, fire, earth, and water. We were able to read through them and kind of define how we fit in... It opened up some new ideas for us on how to think of our beadwork. Of course, we cross over styles. (Use the idea to EXPAND what you do, not limit it!) But it let us get cosier with what we do, and what makes what we each do special and unique.

Since the two of us have a tight budget, we focus on our work being unique. We can't spend enormous amounts on special beads or findings, so we try to work on keeping our pieces as one-of-a-kind as possible.

Becca

re: Got a Creative Block?: 5 Exercises to Get Unstuck

JudyS — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:26:26 GMT

Jean,I love the web site it has really helped but I was wondering if the results had been posted on the Fall Challenge : Cinderella? I did not know if I may have missed the results.

Judy

Air Force Mom

re: Got a Creative Block?: 5 Exercises to Get Unstuck

CindyC — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:20:26 GMT

Great ideas from everyone. I have 2 suggestions:

1. surf the web - lots of inspiration there

2. A few times a month I get together with a fellow beader and we just play with the beads or wire. Sometimes bouncing ideas off someone else or seeing their stash of beads will inspire you. She once had 1 big oval bead left over from a necklace and I turned it into a bracelet. We both liked it so much we've bought beads to make it again. We also teach each other techniques we've learned or challenge each other to do something with a particular bead or style.

Cindy

re: Got a Creative Block?: 5 Exercises to Get Unstuck

PatK — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:10:07 GMT

At this point, I don't have beader's block, I have soooo many projects that need to be worked on. I am finding it hard to get myself in the mind of getting each one done. I am working on beaded purses for my 4 grandchildren and hopefully I have years to complete them, but I would like to get them done and then go on with my beading life. I travel fairly often and use the places I travel to as inspiration for pieces. I have now set a goal since reading your article and will complete these purses in the next few months and be free to be my beading self. Pat

re: Got a Creative Block?: 5 Exercises to Get Unstuck

DD — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:12:30 GMT

I am new to beading of any kind. I am a mixed-media artist, trying out work similiar to that of Beryl Taylor. My question for seasoned beaders is: how do you bead? Simple question, but if I work at my desk they roll all over the place. Sitting on couch with beads tucked into the folds of my shirt...not much better. Is there a "trick" or tool that helps hold beads and makes it easier to pick them up? It has got to be easier than what I have tried or you all would be going NUTS. Thanks for any advise. DD

re: Got a Creative Block?: 5 Exercises to Get Unstuck

KarenD — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:41:41 GMT

I keep a number of mini-projects on the side that don't take long, such as beaded beads. They help me during the "dry periods" and also add to my stockpile. These days I've discovered artist trading cards and am beading a few for quickies.

-Karen

re: Got a Creative Block?: 5 Exercises to Get Unstuck

Cllapham — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:11:56 GMT

I like looking for creativity in other crafts. I get a lot of great ideas for beading in quilt and scrapbooking books and magazines. And I find great polymer clay inspiration in quilting, woodworking, metalwork and traditional clay magazines.

By doing more than one complimentary craft, I can move between modalities when I'm stuck. Can't bead? Play with polymer. Can't come up with something new in polymer? Go play with beads. Maybe it's just that a change in body movement memory that allows my creativity to free up.