each wednesday i will be inviting you to take a chance; try something new and stretch yourself creatively, personally or simply experiment.

the most important thing that i have learned about myself as a person, an artist, a mom, a wife, etc.. is that we cannot grow if we do not take chances. the tiny leaps of faith that we take everytime we stretch ourselves past our comfort zones helps to shape the person we evolve into. sometimes we make mistakes, but often times those mistakes lead us to great personal successes. what we can learn from just making the time to try is unquestionably invaluable.

i feel this way about creativity.
creativity is often times a leap of faith.
we try new color palettes, combinations of embellishments, photo placements. we buy idea books on sewing, knitting, metal clay (i have 2 metal clay books with the hopes that one day i will learn how to create with it, yet i have no kiln?), scrapbooking, home decor, altered art and hundreds more.

many of you, like me just yearn for as many creative ideas as you can ingest, however, the passion to execute them sometimes gets lost in the daily grind of life.

each wednesday i would like to take that creative leap of faith with you;
the successes and the failures.
each week i am going to make the time to work in my inspiration journals, whether it is playing with color palettes, trying something new or creating a finished piece. i will post my work and want to encourage you to meet me here on wednesdays to do the same.

this is not about being a picasso, it is about taking that leap.
our creative voices are motivated by a passion for self expression and an appreciation for art in all forms, so anything goes.
 
the idea of fostering this Campaign for Creativity is a consciousness of empowering oneself to achieve individual goals. It's a lifestyle of unlocking your creative and personal potential. It's about opening up to possibilities and choosing to see life as a vehicle for opportunity and change.

Each time you choose to see the positive changes in others, society and the world it shapes and personally effects and inspires who you are as a person as well as an artist.

Collectively we can learn, grow and challenge each other to dream with possibility.

{click on photo for larger image}

if you have something you recently made or have decided to make a little time for yourself today to play i encourage you to post a link in the comments to your project or blog so we can all share in the creative momentum.

each wednesday we will meet back here to share what we were inspired to try and play with; the absurd, the simple, the mistakes, the successes, the casual, the technical, the surprises and the planned are all welcome!

Comments

[Bianca Gaspard]

I don't have a creative link of my own right now, but you do not need a kiln to work with metal clay. Check out this book
http://www.amazon.com/Metal-Clay-Day-Tammy-Garner/dp/160061079X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245241584&sr=8-1

It teaches you how to use metal clay with a torch.

[Deitra Hart]

Beautiful work! I am definately making a little time today to play with some stamps that I haven't used in forever!!! And also plan on making more "mist" with my Ranger stuff - endless possibilities - I like that! :)

Hope y'all are having a great summer!
Deitra:)

[Deborah Helms]

You have a way of expressing what is in our creative hearts so perfectly Donna. It just makes me so happy. I don't have time to play and be creative this Wednesday but I will make a point to do so next Wednesday. I look forward to seeing what everyone creates.

[Debbie McIntyre]

Wednesdays just got better!

[morning Dove]

i posted this finished piece on inspired group but had to show you too. thanks again for a great stretching at Inspired 2009. i've never worked with metal, just fabric. love your idea here, will see if i can work in scrapbooking style. love your page.
http://morningdew15-morningdove.blogspot.com/2009/06/down-rabbit-hole.html

[Melanie K.]

This wonderful! I have been wanting to start an artist exploration group, but i have not a clue how! I would love to meet with others who want to experiment with different mediums and techniques, share their own methods, etc. So this will be great!
I have finally started carving my own rubber stamps ... I will have to post pictures of what I have made so far.

[Arlene McComas]

Your blog is inspiring.
The yum things you share.
Thank you.
Love the wire with paper.
Delicious.
http://www.heartrockshome.com/heartrockshome/2009/06/being-inspired.html

[Jen]

Thank you so much for sharing! I have been working on more layouts from your fabric scrapbook class (one of which I LOVE and will be framing in a shadow box for my dad for Father's Day so I can't post a picture yet). You can see the latest on my blog or check out all of them at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/createdbyjen/sets/72157618993641231/

[Jen]

I also just made a Christmas word art sign that I'm pretty excited about that I thought I would share.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/createdbyjen/3620491898/

[Leni]

such a lovely idea!

[fromthepines]

What a good idea. I have recently done an inspiration WALL covered in old book pages and a collection of all my favorite things and today, I posted about getting inspired from it to draw.

http://fromthepines.blogspot.com/

Thanks!

Cheryl

[Jonelle]

I LOOOOOVE this idea! Thanks for the sweet kick in the booty!

Here's my link for today's project: The Krylon Bandwagon http://jonnasterjonna.blogspot.com/2009/06/krylon-bandwagon.html

j
btw-I'm awaiting my Art Clay as well! I can NOT wait to get started! I've having MANY requests for rings, etc. at my store:
(http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Sandy-UT/Starchild-Music-Productions/90395853444)

[Anat Dvir]

I'm in! I played with cork and paper this week, made greeting cards to look as a bulletin board, it's in Hebrew so I'll translate :-) The post it note says: "Just a reminder that..."
http://www.tapuz.co.il/blog/ViewEntry.asp?EntryId=1495719
The Campaign for Creativity is a great idea!

[bettyann]

Thank you I need this burst of encouragement and here you are..will try to make more creative mistakes with a small leap of faith!!

[Jana]

Great idea Donna! I've been on a poppy painting kick lately, working with pastel & diluted pva size on smoothly primed 1 1/2" canvas (so I can eliminate the pain of framing & glass---YAY!)---here's a link to my latest poppy http://phinearts.blogspot.com/

If you scroll down you can see the first one, and below that a portrait project I worked on---a challenge since it's been ages since I've painted a portrait + the photo I had to work from wasn't the best...

Today our plein air painting group went out & worked in an historic town nearby & I broke out of my usual box & painted some of the buildings---sadly unsuccessfully I thought, though my peers thought otherwise. We'll see if this one survives or is washed away & becomes something else.

It's great to push ourselves to try new things---whether it's new subject matter or new materials! Thanks for this opportunity to see what others are doing & to share what I've been working on too!

[Janet Hu]

I made a paper orchid today! - http://theinspiredme.wordpress.com/2009/06/18/fancy-ideas-prototype-1/

Still a prototype though...

[Jhoni]

Love the apron! how are you making and attaching the words?

[Carol]

I created a different style of window treatment. My pictures don't do the colors justice, but I used them anyway on my blog. They are honeydew green, periwinkle and lilac - my FAVORITES! Enjoy!

[Carol]

Oops - Sorry I missed my blog's address.
http://heartintoart.blogspot.com

[eunice]

Thanks for the constant inspiration. I love the idea of Inspiration Wednesdays ... it just takes me a little longer to get there !! I've just made this collage ... my first ... totally inspired by some torn newspaper.
http://artimess.wordpress.com/
Thanks again!

[Rebecca Everett]

Thanks so much Donna! This is exactly what I need to get out of my rut. Caring for my Grandma that has dementia and a crazy 8 year old has left me feeling so un-inspired and exhausted. I will definately be checking in on wednesdays. I have been dying to try that metal clay too, I noticed someone commented that you can use a torch so I'm off to check out that book link.

[Nessa]

your blog is really inspiring!
will follow you every wednesday
nessa from belgium

[Nessa]

here is the cover of my journal

http://paper-art.typepad.com/paper_art/2009/07/art-journal-chiara-tag.html

[sharon yong abdullah]

hi donna, i dunno if i've missed anywhere where you mention what journal are you using here. it looks like you made one from scratch. i have always wanted to have an art journal just like yours, with all your beautiful inspirations, i'm encouraged and ready to start one right away. what journal have you used?

[basement gal]

Hi Donna, I'm not sure if you're even still reading these messages but I've found I've been a bit stuck in a rut recently with my journal. I discovered your inspiration wednesday prompts and have decided to start from the very beginning as your work is truly a great source of inspiration to me. Thank you.