creative process – Journey to Imagination

Tag: creative process

People Watching #8

Posted on May 13, 2019May 20, 2019 by Laura

Have you done any people watching lately? The first time we looked at Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks. Then we examined a 1930s Charles Walton photograph. After that, we speculated about the dynamics of two girls and a guy at the dinner table. Then we viewed the bicyclist in a race and...Read More

We are surrounded daily by comparisons stated as similes and metaphors. Here's one from TV's Cheers: Woody: "How's it going, Mr. Peterson?" Norm: "It's a dog eat dog world, Woody, and I'm wearing Milk Bone underwear." Manny on Modern Family says, "I've always felt out of place in public school,...Read More

People Watching #5

Posted on January 21, 2019November 20, 2018 by Laura

Welcome back to my blog! Time to resume our Journey To Imagination after taking a break. I hope the past few weeks offered plenty of highlights, holiday fun, and creative outlets. Have you done any people watching lately? The first time we looked at Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks. Then we examined...Read More

Monday Metaphor Musings #4: Life

Posted on September 24, 2018January 28, 2019 by Laura

"Life is like a doughnut. It can be sweet and tasty, but there’s always a hole in the middle.” That’s just one of many ways people have tried to capture the essence of human life on planet Earth, with all its many facets. The challenges of life have been compared...Read More

Artist Rita Trickel: Beyond Here There Be Dragons

Posted on September 10, 2018August 27, 2018 by Laura

Ahoy mateys! Ever see an old sea map where dragons marked dangerous or uncharted waters? Pictures of dragons, sea monsters, or mythological creatures warned sailors to stay away. No telling what’s beyond. Shiver me timbers! If sailors got too close to these areas, trouble abounded. Danger was at hand. All...Read More

Elmer Sparks, Part 1: Spreading Happiness through Photography

Posted on August 27, 2018August 23, 2018 by Laura

Only one photographer ever got my husband to smile for a portrait. Just one. And a genuine smile, not a fake smile-through-your-teeth “can we get this over with?” kind of smile. That man is Elmer Sparks. That was the year he took portraits of every family in our church for...Read More

Monday Metaphor Musings #3

Posted on August 20, 2018August 20, 2018 by Laura

What do you think of when you hear the word door? Or when you see a picture of a door? Does it make a difference which kind of door? Time for another word-association exercise. You did this before by brainstorming the word web and by finding the right metaphor to describe...Read More

Master Gardeners: Beautifying the World, One Yard at a Time, Part 2

Posted on August 16, 2018August 19, 2018 by Laura

For years, every time I called my dad, he’d say, “Dave and I weeded this . . .” and “Dave and I built that . . .” and “Dave and I transplanted this . . .” Who is this Dave? I wondered. My siblings and I only knew him by...Read More

Monday Metaphor Musings, #2: Are you a Tiger or a Turtle? A Hammer or a Nail? A Piano or a Piccolo?

Posted on July 23, 2018June 21, 2018 by Laura

Have you ever found yourself describing people with these cliches? Do you know individuals like this? “That kid’s a tornado. He leaves a mess in every room he passes through.” “She’s as busy as a beaver.” “She’s the queen bee.” “He’s as relentless as a jackhammer.” “He works like a...Read More

Artist Marie Scott: Painting Glimmers of Hope for this Broken World

Posted on July 9, 2018June 26, 2018 by Laura

******************** “Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.” --Henry Ward Beecher, Proverbs from Plymouth Pulpit, 1887 ******************** Two weeks ago, I discussed how the starving artist is not so hungry. I referenced impassioned honeysuckles and tulips. Here’s Mirriam-Webster’s definition of...Read More

The starving artist is not so hungry

Posted on June 28, 2018June 26, 2018 by Laura

[caption id="attachment_752" align="alignleft" width="231"] Via picksnoz on Visual Hunt[/caption] How long could you live in a sterile environment devoid of color, surrounded by stark whites or drab grays? What if your only food was rice, cream of wheat, fish, oatmeal, or bananas (without the peel)? Could any of us survive...Read More

People Watching, #2

Posted on June 25, 2018June 18, 2018 by Laura

Have you done any people watching lately? Last time we looked at Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks. [caption id="attachment_745" align="aligncenter" width="456"] Via State Library of New South Wales[/caption] Aside from knowing that a picture is worth 1000 words, a picture evokes 1000 stories. If I showed a picture to a dozen students...Read More

Revision: When is it good enough? Finished or abandoned?

Posted on June 14, 2018May 22, 2019 by Laura

How do you know when you’re done revising a poem, essay, or novel? Leonardo Da Vinci said, “Art is never finished, only abandoned.” He obviously wasn’t completely satisfied with the final product. French poet Paul Valery concurred by saying, “A poem is never finished, only abandoned.” Such is the case...Read More

Barbara Britton: Perfume Pics, Coloring Pencils, and Records: An Author’s Unconventional Tool Box

Posted on June 11, 2018April 23, 2018 by Laura

Have you wondered what it would be like living in Biblical Old Testament times? So has author Barbara Britton. In fact, she digs into O.T. history to create story worlds from 1000s of years ago. Her wanderings start with map-making and music. Last year I read the first book from...Read More

The Compulsion to Tell A Story: The Dog Ate My Glasses

Posted on June 7, 2018April 23, 2018 by Laura

My husband Tim tells the story of when he was in 4th grade playing baseball with the neighbors. He had brand new glasses and was afraid of breaking them. He set them in a “safe place” in the grass nearby. A dog was snooping around. After he got up to...Read More

Risk-taking & Art, Part 2: Birds in the Woods

Posted on May 31, 2018April 23, 2018 by Laura

When my husband Tim coached middle school girls basketball, one of his players ran the wrong way down the court and made a basket for the other team. Sure, this kind of mishap happens regularly with inexperienced players, but Tim can recite foibles from teams of various calibers. His coaching...Read More

Interior Designer Kaysie Strickland: Home as a Haven of Healing, Part 2

Posted on May 24, 2018May 24, 2018 by Laura

How has your home or your art been a healing place for you? Kaysie Strickland, founder and president of Homes & Havens, is an interior designer who has mastered the art of creating healing home environments for wounded women. Last time, she shared her philosophy of home as a healing...Read More