the creative process ...in process

i walked the walk of which i talked.  now wipe that surprised look off your ye-of-little-faith-in-me face.

this is how my head sparkles when i think creatively.  'cept with crazy hair.

as you may recall, i picked up two of these solid wood school chairs with the intention of doing something mod-podgy like this anthropologie chair:

this is a fabric application  of sorts.  see the fringe on the right side of the arm?  

told ya.

back to today's topic and the steps of that process that is creative:

1. PREPARATION

2. INCUBATION

3. ILLUMINATION

4. IMPLEMENTATION

1.  preparation may include shopping, cleaning, sanding and other not exciting stuff.

when i broke down, sanded and repaired the crack in the seat of the first chair i realized the wood had stood up to the test of time.... and tooshies.  seemed wrong to cover it just...because.

2.  incubation... asking and answering my own questions.

should the chairs have identical designs?  should i just cover part of the wood with fabric? why can't kids shut off lights? what type of fabric should i use?  how many thin mints are too many? how will the chairs be used? can a dog be bulimic? maybe something new...like stenciled numbers? is it time to find a real job?


plan a:  scratched due to nice wood that should not be covered.


plan b:  look around my world for inspiration.

plan c:  look around pinterest for inspiration.

pinned months ago, zoe murphy's cheery side table has been hovering 'round my head like a low-flying crop duster.  i decided to go for it in my own copy-cat, diy, rainbowish way, of course.


3.  illumination occurred in the midst of incubation AFTER i pulled out my black and white composition book... and some sweet-smelling crayons.

see?  proof.  fancy, crayola covered proof of my adherence to the process.

design decision made.

 rainbow colors selected.


4. hello, implementation!  nice to be in your company again!  oh, you've missed me?  yeah, well...

i taped tape and painted paint.

as skilled multi-tasker, i focused on chair 2's swirl while chair 1's stripes dried.

partially folding the tape into itself so as little sticky was applied as possible seemed to prevent peeling up of paint.

yes, i did use that sparkly chewed up (eww, not by me) pencil to draw my swirl.

like any fine artisan, i blended my palette with great precision....on my yogurt lid... and then tried to stay in the lines.

can you find a ruler in this picture?  neither could i. 

so i eyed it... punctiliously, of course.


the results of following that slightly cumbersome creative process?

in the end, this worked for me.  as a frequent flyer on the "act now, think later" jet, it did help me to hop the creative train and use my sketchbook and crayons to record the views inside my own head.  do you see how the sketchbook is the ticket?  it is a place to explore and organize MY ideas after exploring and organizing the ideas of so many others on my pinterest boards!

on many a day, originality seems out of reach for me and simply pausing atop a composition book cleared some space in my head so i could see my own vision for this project.

thank you, creative process.  i'll be seeing you soon.