This Crazy Time Experiment allows me to examine the very analytical take on creativity by researchers in the field.
The articles I found on creativity and the creative process all sounded alike to me. They tended to site the same 4 steps to the creative process. It was like each website and their writers just copy and pasted the below sequence…
- Preparation – Doing research, collect information and data. The Preparation phase is basically a research stage of collecting information or data. Reference here.
2. Incubation – This phase involves your conscious and subconscious minds working on the idea. Your brain is making new connections, asking what might work or not, it’s visualizing, separating out unnecessary thoughts, and searching for other ideas. Reference here.
3. Illumination – The Illumination phase, is in essence, the “lightbulb” moment. Which personally, I’m not sure what that means… my artwork never seems to have a “lightbulb” moment even when I think I’ve been illuminated. I’d like to have a nice neat “lightbulb” moment in my work. If you get these I’m happy for you. The rest of us just chip away at it until it’s done. Reference here.
4. Verification – Basically the verification stage is the testing of the idea to determine its validity. The art is then executed. I guess. It just doesn’t work that way for me. Reference here.
Exploring Spontaneous Creativity
I was at the home of a family member’s house for Christmas (2018).
My CRAZY family… Loud and fun and full of love…
So, whenever I visit I call it ‘Crazy Time.’
I looked around the walls of her living room. She had just a couple of pictures hanging, besides their wall mounted flat screen TV.
I asked her why her walls were bare.
She had begun to redecorate and then entered a long negotiation on their lease. They weren’t sure if they would be staying there or not.
I didn’t say anything to her, but I thought maybe I could create a large piece of mixed media wall art for her?
I didn’t tell her. Instead, I began thinking it through.
I know they love art deco style art with some “bling” or shiny, sparkly elements.
My art is nothing like that.
I work with a lot of paper and my style tends to end up very “shabby chic.”
So I figured I’m going to have to get spontaneously creative.
I call this “The Crazy Time Experiment.”
It Was A Shot of Spontaneous Creativity
Except it didn’t stay that way. It certainly changed A LOT from the inception to the execution. In ways I never would have expected… and that’s all part of the creative thought process.
It’s now the beginning of 2020 {January} and the Crazy Time Experiment is now a budding greeting card and meditation MP3 business.
My sister didn’t get the wall art because I didn’t end up doing it… 2019 saw a huge change of direction in my art and now I’m documenting it.
I call this “The Crazy Time Experiment.”
of spontaneous creativity.
OK… so here is my first ‘art report’ on my creative thought process behind The Crazy Time Experiment.
{What is the Crazy Time Experiment? Find Out Here..}
Right now… I am still in the thought phase or what ‘experts’ say is the beginning or ‘preparation phase’.
Personally I find it very beneficial to get a fairly clear picture of what I want to do with a piece of art in my head first before I start working on it.
Whenever I’ve tried to start an art project without a somewhat clear, fleshed out image in my head… it took forever! I would get stuck. I didn’t know what to do next. The process dragged on.
Are They Lying?
In fact, I’ll go as far to say any artist or writer who tells you they just sit down and write or go to their canvas and paint and it all just happens… either don’t know themselves very well… or they’re lying to you.
If they’re being honest and/or aware of their own thought process, they would say they have a pretty good idea of the end product or goal that they want to accomplish when they start the project.
For example, a painter will see the finished abstract painting on the canvas in their mind. They’ll see the final painting with a zebra in the center surrounding bright colors splashing off where the zebra stripes end.
Changing It Up
Next, as they create the painting of the zebra, many things may change. The colors they decide to use might change. The number of zebra they paint might change. The direction of the strips and splashes of color they use may change.
The point is, successful artists tend to start with a very clear image in their minds of what they want to create first before they begin it. Writers see their characters interacting and taking action before they write a word.
Of course, things change along the way. However, a strong piece of art starts with a clear internal image in an artists mind.
That’s the phase I’m in now. I’m forming a clear image in my mind of what the final piece of art for my sister will look like. This is what the creativity ‘experts call the ‘preparation’ phase.
Adapting My Art
For my Crazy Time Experiment, I want to adapt my style of art, which is very textured, layered mixed media to something more blingy and art deco-ish. That’s the style my sister likes.
So far, what I’ve come up with is this…
I’m about to buy/order a cradled hardwood art board at least 16×20 inches in size. Next, I’ll paint one half black and the other half white along the diagonal from the top right corner to the bottom left. That will be the background.
For the main design I see myself making small squares or rectangles out of cardboard and wrapping them in my mixed media art papers (hand painted on recycled paper).
I want these squares/rectangles to be very colorful and to contrast sharply with the black and white background. Then I’ll use these colorful squares to spell out the word ‘Crazy Time’ on top of the black and white background.
I also know I want to incorporate some shiny gold paint along the outside edges of the hardwood panel and possibly around the lettering of the words Crazy and Time… for a little bling.
What I have just described above feels right to me so far…
Next… which colors and which of my (many) mixed media design techniques do I use to wrap the squares for the lettering?
My worry here is that it might start looking too busy and ‘messy’ which is the last thing I want. My sister is really not a fan of rough country or mixed media designs.
So I’ll need to keep my design techniques focused and limited to just a few colors. Also.. what colors do I use in the mixed media art papers for this piece?
I’ve got to think of what design techniques I’ll use. I love to use layers of design and texture in my art. I think I’ll need to be careful though because it will start to look too country style for my sister.
If you’re curious as to what I mean by ‘messy’ or rough… you can see my Instagram feed or this page of the site which displays my Instagram pictures to get a look at the kind of art I do.
Chicken Little… is scary?
I will say I’m quite skeptical about the above 4 steps to the creative process… as they describe these steps differently than I think I experience them.
I’ll continue to write about this and document it as I go. I hope you gain insight into your own creative process through this experiment. Thank you.
Guided Meditations & Stories on the AURA App….
Like many of you landing on this site, I’m a creative person and solopreneur.
I know the fun and satisfaction of making and using bath, body and skincare products yourself.
It’s even more fun when the products turn out good enough to sell!
I’ve found a newsletter that offers the best information on making and selling handmade body products written by a maker and seller with many years of experience.
Find it here….
The HandCrafters Companion.
Some of the things I’ve learned from the HandCrafters Companion are:
- how to get the right consistency in skincare products… consistently
- how to recreate small recipes to bulk recipes
- how to package the products properly for sending and selling
- the best combination of ingredients for skin types
- list of where to buy the best wholesale materials
- and more…
Thanks for reading. I wish you much imagination.
Online Gallery and POD Shop: https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/seek-craft
ALL internet spaces here: https://linktr.ee/seekcraft1
Email: thewritersnexus@gmail.com
Some of the links on this site lead to products where I receive a commission if you choose to buy something from the vendor.