Isabel Designs

Nancy & the High Flyer

If ever there was a guaranteed recipe for feeling like a kid again, it’s this: sunshine, wind, and a colourful piece of nylon with strings attached. If you can find a sandy beach even better, but a big green meadow will work just as well. Stir up these ingredients and you’ll find yourself flying a kite and feeling like an eight year old. That’s probably just how old I was the last time I held the reigns of a kite, and it is as amazing to me now as it was then.

It wasn’t my idea to fly the kite. I would have been content to sit on my beach chair and catch rays all afternoon. My friend Chris, on the other hand, had the kite out of the package and in the air before setting up her chair! I was simply flabbergasted at how easily the kite propelled into the sky and danced effortlessly on the wind. I certainly don’t remember it being that simple to launch a kite when I was a kid. When it was my turn to take the reigns, all of my ‘adult’ inhibitions fell to the ground and I felt like it was me up there, soaring and swaying above the clouds. Quite simply, it was fun.

Riding High

So next time you’re feeling tired after a long day, or you need to release a little stress, consider taking the kite-flying challenge. You’ll be glad you did.

If you need more details on how to fly a kite, check out this step by step on eHow.

Strings Attached!

I stumbled upon Hugh MacLeod’s business card art on the internet a few years back. His loose, sketchy drawings reminded me of my own love for doodling. His unorthodox quotes, mostly risqué and/or satirical, made me laugh or ponder the whacky truth of his observations. Hugh is a cartoonist, copywriter, and advertising guy who’s been able to turn his art into a brand, and then share his passion and insight for marketing it with the rest of the world. If you haven’t heard of gapingvoid.com, I’d invite you to take a look now and dive into the ‘crazy, deranged’ world of Hugh MacLeod.

Hugh’s new marketing book, “Ignore Everybody” is due to be released in June 2009. You can also download a couple of Hugh’s manefestos at ChangeThis.com.  (The HughTrain) (How to Be Creative)

Share your impressions of Hugh MacLeod with us in the comment area. If you know other people who’ve been able to take a crazy idea like business card art doodling and turn it into a worldwide brand, please let us know that too. Enjoy.

Cup of Inspiration - photo by Noella Cotnam

 I think most artistic types struggle to find the incentive to create when feeling overwhelmed or just plain tired. It’s too easy to get side tracked in front of a TV, or aimlessly surf the internet, when really, you know you should be doing ‘something’ more productive. ‘Something’ that would make you feel good inside and remind you that you are a creative force to be reckoned with, if only you could get started. The Irony is that the act of being creative – of engaging your mind, soul and hands to make something that wasn’t there before – is exactly the catalyst needed to get out of a slump. 

It’s not like I’ve got limited choices when it comes to exercising my creativity. I’m a songwriter, visual artist, jewelry maker, writer, outdoor enthusiast and love to cook, and any one of these things could bolster my imagination. Perhaps it’s just that I want to do everything at once, and so my wheels just spin like bald tires in the mud, and I don’t get anywhere. When I’m stuck I turn to previously proven methods to augment the process.

Here are five things you can do to jump start your creativity when you’re in a slump:

1) Give yourself permission to relax. Creative answers often come to us when we least expect them and they need time to brew. Quiet, reflective time allows your subconscious to reorganize and connect the dots in fresh new ways. 

2) Do an environmental assessment – just a fancy way to say ‘clean up your space’! An uncluttered, organized work space with everything in its proper place gives you a ‘clean pallet’, ‘a blank canvas’, and room to breathe as you prepare to start a new project. 

3) Change your space. If you’ve been glued to that same spot for days, it’s time to find a new stall. Little indie type cafes are a great place to go and hang out for an afternoon. A lot of ‘creative types’ frequent these places and their energy can be intoxicating. 

4) Share your energy. Brainstorming with another person or group will almost always ‘spur the flow’ of ideas and inspiration. Bouncing ideas around can lead to that next big thing and ‘recession-proof’ your creative gene pool.

5) Find a new muse. If your creative fairies have left the building, maybe it’s time to play with gnome’s instead. “Guiding spirits” are all around us, so the next time something or someone tickles your fancy, pay attention and prepare to engage!

There are many ways to get the ol’ creative juices brewing again. Do you have something that works for you? Share it here.