Step No. 2> Perspiration.
You gotta put the work into it.
"Perspiration is the best form of differentiation, especially in the creative world." - Scott Belsky
As 'creatives' we want & need to be differentiated from other 'creatives'. It's easy to copy someone's creative work. Anyone can do that. But, come on...how creative is that? It's not as easy to create your own work, though...& really do something different, is it? This is something I'm always striving for when create for Rhonna Designs...I want my designs to shine through...somehow differentiate myself from other designers.
So, building on Step No. 1- Inspiration, today we are focusing on PERSPIRATION during the creative process. I've found that there are 2 things you need to do to really, really work at this...& that is firstly:
Gather the things that inspire you. This is one of the best steps in the process. If you are a writer, gather works of literature that you are drawn to. If you are a singer, gather pieces that move you. If you are a photographer, gather photographs that inspire you. If you are a blogger, gather ideas for great content.
You get the picture...the *gathering* process takes time. It may not be done in one minute, hour, day or even week. But, it must be done. Inspiration boards are how I gather my inspiration. Sometimes, I'll have a color scheme I'm working on...& I'll need to gather pieces that inspire me to create with that color scheme.
Source: Uploaded by user via Rhonna on Pinterest
Source: Uploaded by user via Rhonna on Pinterest
Source: creamylife.com via Rhonna on Pinterest
This is one reason I LOVE my Pinterest boards...they are online 'inspiration boards' I can 'PIN' or gather things to that inspire me.
Case in point...lately I've really been 'craving' getting back to calligraphy. I took classes, taught classes & have spent hours & hours practicing...but, it was over 20 years ago! So, I've been working at getting inspiration- being still as I get that inspiration & then gathering ideas, tools, quotes & such to work on my calligraphy again. I'm rusty. *ahem* So....the perspiration has begun.
I spent hours & page after page of parchment as I perspired over this reunion of my love affair with the calligraphy pens, nibs, inks, parchment.....& guess what? It wasn't until AFTER about 10 pages of practicing, that I *remembered* the tricks & keys I used to teach...it's all about wrist/hand flourishing AND pen pressure/sensitivity. WOW! It took me that long to gather & perspire! I had a ton of pages I'd gathered...but, was any of it worth saving?...worth building on?
I needed to....
Once you've gathered your ideas, it's time to sort out the very best. I sorted & sifted through all those pages. And, of course, the last few were my best. It was obvious when the *spark* lit!
So, I had all of these good ideas, but I needed to sort through them & throw the bad ones out. THAT is how to get the REALLY good ideas! *wink*
now...it's time for Innovation.
...to be continued...
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