The Creative Process

The creative process:

I love being in the moment of creation, time slips by, mindfulness kicks in and I can just be.

Creative Process, what is it?

According to dictionary.cambridge.org:

• Creative is "a person whose job involves producing original ideas or doing artistic work. "

• Process is "a series of actions that you take in order to achieve a result. "

Thereby creative process in relation to "creative enterprise" can be defined as the procedure of coming up with original ideas of an artistic nature into a cohesive concept. The creative process is the steps we take to come up with new ideas, it is a key component in the production of unique ideas, products and services you can then action to bring to your customer base.

The road to success in the creative process involves research and brainstorming, experiment and sampling, development and porotype, produce and review.

There are many ways in which to stimulate our creativity and further develop our skill set. We can draw inspiration and generate new ideas through research and brainstorming.

We can collaborate with colleagues, family and friends. We can draw inspiration from history, hobbies, our loves and hates. Creativity is endless, there are so many avenues to explore, so many potentials we could branch into. As such, knowing where to start, and where to focus can be difficult. Hence the use of brainstorming to help narrow your ideas into cohesive construct in relation to your creative enterprise.

When the creative block is upon you, SCAMPER. The SCAMPER method is a way of generating new innovative ideas that can improve upon existing products and services. Through asking ourselves: What could we?

Substitute: what could I replace and with what to make improvements, such as a colour, material, name, or rule.

Combine: what multiple elements could be combined together to enhance or create something new, to solve an issue or enhance its functionality; such as art components, strategies, techniques, or collaborating with another company or artist.

Adapt: what can I adapt to solve problems, serve as another function, or give it new purpose. Such as characteristics, my target group, or wording to adapt it to the seasons.

Modify: what can I modify to bring about change, or tweak to improve it. Should I change the design, make it bigger or smaller, or modify its colours, drawing style or service. Maybe revamp my brand or creative products to engage a new audience, to keep up with what's currently trending.

Put: what could we 'put to another use', what other context can I use it in? Could I use scraps of wood as a canvas or a stand for a miniature I've painted. Can I change a negative to a positive by repurposing. Such as the waste cards from the Christmas card test prints. Instead of throwing them away, I utilised the images to create 3d effects on some of my cards. I also keep the excess powder left from working in pastels to use on other drawings and paintings.

Eliminate: What could I simplify to make products, or services more proficient or user friendly. Are there elements that are ineffective or unnecessary that could be removed without compromising the value or quality of my work/services. Such as eliminate steps in a process. I had to do this recently when doing Auragraph readings for a charity, I only had 30 minutes, instead of my normal hour. I therefore had to speed up my drawing and reading process, which I achieved by bypassing certain steps in the process.

Reverse: What could I reverse or rearrange to revamp a product or service. Could I flip an image or rearrange the components to create new ideas or products. Such as with the dragons I drew for valentines cards, same dragon in different positions and mirror imaged allowed me to place them in a position that made the tales form a heart between them.

The Creative Idea and inspiration:

Being in and around Mediums and Spiritualism all of my life, I have noted that there is a distinct lack of merchandise marketed towards our community. There is plenty of serious and novelty items in relation to myths and legends, witchcraft, the occult, and numerous religions around the world. But, not much aimed specifically towards Spiritualism, psychism and mediumship except for books. There appears to be a hole in the market, for example presently you cannot simply walk into a shop and buy a card, gifts or wrapping paper designed to celebrate our religious holiday of Hydesville day (31/03/1848).

Where are the funny t-shirts and mugs with the jokes we tell each other? Where are the cards, and wrapping paper to celebrate and honour our pioneers and history? Then there is the wording we utilise within mediumistic circles, that unless explained, can confuse the lay person. With that in mind, I toyed with the idea of education through visual merchandise. I envisioned a "Mediumship in a Nutshell" range of products. Such as "Clairvoyance: Clear Seeing, There's more to see than meets the eye". Basically conversation starters and "Gifts for Spiritualists" designed by a Spiritualist. Products that celebrate our religious holiday and honour our pioneers and history.

If we are truly to be rid of the stigma of the past, then we need to take an active part in promoting us in a better light. Be proud of who we are, the role we play, and service we provide within the community. My designs are therefore aimed at showcasing who we really are not how history and ignorance has painted us. I believe it is time to normalise instead of stigmatise our natural innate abilities. And, I believe we can achieve this through conversation and education. Hence my visual merchandise range.

My thoughts then led to the Seven Principles we live our lives by, and putting them on mugs and other merchandise:

I personally find it difficult to copy anything I've drawn, so as I was drawing I scanned each picture at varying stages. That way I could reuse the image as a template to be able to experiment with different colours or characters using the original as a template. Using Canva to remove background and sketch lines has proven to be useful. I was able to create a dog and teddy from the same template.

I also joined Creative Fabrica to download some Christmas fonts to use on cards and wrapping paper. This has led to looking at creating my own artwork to go on my cards and t-shirts etc. With the world in turmoil, there is much need for peace. I was inspired to use the peace sign with a Christmas theme with the words "All I want for Xmas is World Peace". This then lead thoughts of my favourite hymn "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me", which I also combined into my Xmas peace cards and wrapping paper designs.

Merchandise ideas: that could be printed on t-shirts, hats, mugs, coasters, tea towels etc. etc.

Things that are aesthetically pleasing, that draws the eye and curiosity, words we use within the movement with their meaning. This got me to thinking about our pioneers and sites of historic interest.

I could utilise quotes from our pioneers like Emma Hardinge Britten, Andrew Jackson Davies, Cora L Scott, The Fox sisters, Gordon Higginson, Coral Polge, Frank Leah, The Campbell Brothers, Wella Anderson etc etc.

I could create lino prints of the Hydesville Cottage or Arthur Findlay Cottage and make embossed Cards. I could either create images in lino, put through a press, on card with no ink, to just leave the imprint behind. This could then be lightly dry brushed or left blank, with a light behind it would make the outline stand out. These could also be done with a Cricut, they could be turned into 3d images. (like with magnets)

• Tree of life: roots branches interconnect with neurographica style art

• colour your own t-shirts (auragraph blanks, people can colour in with fabric markers).

• colour in Auragraph cards

• colour in pioneers and places of historic interest.
  

Quotes and funnies for t-shirts, hoodies, mugs etc.:

• "The world needs Spiritual fruits, not Religious nuts" anon

• "Spiritualism , a ceaseless incentive to practice good". Emma Hardinge Britten.

• "There is no death, there are no dead". The Fox sisters.

• "Working for spirit/God, the work maybe/is hard, but the retirement benefits are out of this World". anon

• Picture of a cabinet with "Lets get physical"
  

• "What do you call a short, runaway clairvoyant? " "A small, medium at large."
  

• "are you a psychic?" with a tick box

• "Proud to be a Spiritualist"

• Clairvoyant: Clear seeing, "There's more to see than meets the eye"

• Clairaudient: Clear Hearing, "There's more to hear for those that listen"

• Clairsentient: Clear sensing, "There's more to sense that

• Spirit Artists: "We draw dead people"

• Mediums: "We talk to the dead" and they talk back."

• "There is more to be discovered, than has been discovered already"

Scrapbook:

Christmas cards, and wrapping paper designs in progress

Auragraphs aka "Soul to Soul Art"

Each drawing is specifically drawn for an individual based upon the colours within their auric field, then the colours and symbology are interpreted in relation to the sitters life, their past, present and potential.

Exploring different media and styles.

Ref:

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/creative