I’m issuing a challenge to our AC community this week. In this week’s Premium podcast I’m discussing the first principle of the AC Manifesto and the dynamics of unnecessary creating. I’m also challenging members of the AC community to spend some time this week in “unnecessary creating” and to share their work with the community-at-large through the AC site. One of the ways we grow, uncover long-lost interests and curiosities and develop new skills is through unnecessary creating. It’s important that we not neglect our personal creating for the sake of our create-on-demand role. In fact, it’s been my experience that the more we neglect our personal creative exploration the more it affects our ability to create when we have to.
So…what are you going to make this week? It can be anything…song, poetry, prose, fibre, home movie, short film, whatever. The key is to do it because you want to, not because you have to.
If you have plans to make something, feel free to leave it in the comments. If you are an AC member, feel free to post your work on your blog for the community to see. (More instructions HERE.)
Happy making, all.
Todd,
I completely agree that allowing some of your creative expression to be just for fun, play, relaxation, and the sake of creativity is important. Some of my non work related creations are sewing, cooking, and some furniture “makeovers” for the house.
Sally
Fantastic, Sally. Thanks for sharing. It seems to be a common thing that the “hands-on” nature of around-the-house stuff seems to appeal to many artists who spend their day in conceptual world.
This comment is about 6 weeks to late to be of use for anyone (or perhaps it’s 46 weeks too early) but I got so much energy from the Thing-a-day Challenge in February (http://www.thing-a-day.com). You create 28 things in 28 days. It was absolutely exhausting and amazingly exhilarating.
Found you through a friend. Love your ideas and concepts. Your challenge was an interesting one and one that surprisingly supported my efforts yesterday afternoon. I write a poem yesterday just for the pure fun of it, no purpose other than to play with words. So here its is (oh yeah, did I mention this is the first poem I wrote in twenty-five years?):
Design and Art, What I like…
By Sandy Dempsey
Black and white,
And all shades of gray.
Sharp angles,
Clean lines,
And strong strokes that define.
Colors, bold and bright,
Like rainbows with wheels
That leap from the page.
Wide open spaces,
To move and to dream.
Natural wood,
Glass and steel,
Recovered, recycled, reclaimed.
A touch of life,
Green leaves and vines,
Roses, and petals of all kinds.
Depth and substance,
Beauty in abundance.
I never heard of Thing-a-Day; what a cool idea. I’m sorry I missed it but just added it to my calendar for next year. Thanks for sharing your poem Sandy – pretty good after such a long hiatus.
I’m focused on the simple things right now. I’m learning to make handmade butter and just bought a cow. I can hardly believe it myself, lol. I’m going back to the very basics like food, shelter & black & white film photography. Hopefully something profitable will emerge….
I missed the week o’ unnecessary creating, officially, but wanted to send along a project I started a while ago that goes along with it. I created a blog (yeah, who hasn’t?) wherein I post a doodle a day. Anything goes. Could have purpose, could be stream-o’-conscious pen-moving. While I don’t always get to it every day, it provides an open medium and a somewhat rigid deadline (before I go to bed, must post doodle…).