And it's not just the cover that attracts the eye with its bright fun images. Every single page of the book is carefully illustrated to the smallest detail. You know right away that this book is about creativity. Its pages are filled with fun images and useful advice. Jill Badonsky addresses various artist's roadblocks, such as fears, insecurities, confusions, frustrations, etc., that hinder one's creativity and offers "Troubleshooting Directions" or ways to overcome those feelings.
Here are some of my favourite points the author makes in her explorations of creativity:
The arts might not be a way to make a living but they make up life and, as I personally feel, make life worth living.
Being in a creative flow makes you physically healthy.
Creative people are more interesting and magnetic than the rest. (Although everybody gets to be creative).
Daydreaming is a valid part of a creative process.
Procrastination is a form of punishing yourself. (Not to be confused with daydreaming!)
Taking really small steps and lowering one's expectations of oneself (to 60% from the usual 200%) lowers the pressure and eliminates the internal resistance.
"Perfection is spelled PARALYSIS." - Winston Churchill
Thinking of your creative endeavour in the time between activities counts as being creative.
"Being absurd can transport one's mind out of the mundane and the trip can refresh a brain into seeing beyond the habitual."
It's better to be absurd in your actions than to be inactive! (My personal favourite!)
Many more gems of advice are hidden in between the colourful pages of this Manual. The beauty of this book is that you don't have to read it in sequence. If you are feeling stuck you can just open up a random page and find a tip which just might get you moving. Try it! Let me know what you think.
To being creatively absurd, inspired and enthused!
One of my favourite books of late is IMAGINE. How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer. In it he explores the mechanisms by which new ideas come about and speculates about how people can tap into their creative potential.
Since I think all of us can benefit from his ideas I will share some of them here:
The 15% rule: one should spend at least 15% of his or her work time doing things unrelated to work. For example, when one is desperately looking for an answer to some question and is feeling stuck, one should take a walk, take a nap, go out for a drink, etc. Daydreaming in general is found to be a great way to bring in new ideas and answers. In other words, relaxing your mind paves a way for insights and "AHA! moments".
Grit: However, as much as creativity feeds on inspiration, it also requires a great deal of perspiration to execute the new idea. Lehrer calls this quality grit - the ability to keep beating on your craft and to come back to the same problem failure after failure. Beethoven is known to have revised a single phrase of his sonatas dozens and dozens of times before he finalized his compositions.
Cities! My favourite chapter! Cities attract all kinds of people, hence, the level of diversity is extremely high. Cities is where the most improbable collisions and meetings happen and, as a result, the most creative and unexpected ideas are born and carried out. The bigger the population, the faster the average speed of walking of people, the more conversations they have and - DING! - more creativity! (No wonder I love Toronto and New York so much!!! You just never know who/what you will see/meet next!)
Travel! It is important to experience difference! People who travel live in an acute state of ambiguity. They realize that ways of life can be and are different in various parts of the world. Clashes of culture raise questions and lead to an open state of mind.
Outsiders: Bringing in an outsider's perspective to the problem at hand may be very beneficial since an expert may be jaded about the question and stuck in the ways he or she thinks about it. Surprisingly, the lack of indepth knowledge of the problem can be a positive thing, since such naivete may lead to a more open-minded approach to the problem.
These are just a few of the points that Lehrer makes in his book. He also speculates about the flaws of the current education system and discusses the ways to raise geniuses in our society. Overall, I found this book very compelling. If you have no interest in reading the whole book you can listen to Lehrer's speech below.
Have you ever wondered where creativity comes from? Or what makes a certain act "creative"? I often ask myself these and many other questions about creativity. In one of my earlier posts I speculated about creativity being a form of "undetected plagiarism" (in William Ralph Inge's words). In this post, I would like to talk about some points made by Bert Dodson in his book Keys to Drawing with Imagination: Strategies and Exercises for Gaining Confidence and Enhancing Your Creativity
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While the book aims to develop an artist's imagination and apply it to visual art, many principles of creativity that Mr. Dodson points out can definitely be applied to a variety of life's activities:
Creativity occurs in action: Theorizing about creativity does not help much if one does not do much. Creativity occurs in the process of creating.
Creativity begins with simple ideas: There is no need to wait for great creative ideas to hit you. Starting with small ideas and actually working with them will eventually lead you to better and bigger ideas.
Creativity lives in the present: The point is to do it now. One has to be engaged with one's work, be focused in the present instead of thinking about a future goal to be more creative.
Creativity increases with practice: Disappointment in the execution of one's ideas is normal and happens for almost everyone. Ideas almost always look better in our imagination then on paper/in reality. That is why it is important to practice your craft and do it a lot!
Creativity increases as judgment and criticism decrease: It is easy to discourage yourself with general self-criticism like "I don't have any ideas" or " I have lots of ideas, but I don't [insert what you do] well enough". Silence that self-critic.
Creativity likes constants and specifics: While exercising freedom in your craft is good, complete freedom can overwhelm us by possibilities. Our imagination needs something to push against, a problem to solve. That is why "it is ironic that constraints can actually give you more freedom." This principle makes me think of Project Runway. When given certain parameters to work with participating designers have no time to entertain endless options about what they can make. They have to come up with the decision fast! That pressure can fuel one's creativity.
Creativity emerges in experimentation, manipulation and exploration: This principle is self-explanatory.
Creativity is about having a plan and a willingness to depart from it: Spin off, add-ons and variations are a natural occurrence in the creative process and should be embraced and exercised as they can often lead to new creative projects.
Although many of these principles are not new I find a reminder is always good. Suggestions like suspending judgment, working with rougher materials (as opposed to your best ones), not planning out your work are all great ways to boost your creativity. And if you are into visual art definitely take a look at Dodson's book for more advice on expanding your imagination.
What about you? Do you ever find yourself stuck or disappointed? What do you do to let your creativity thrive?
Today is my Dear Mom's Birthday! That is why I thought it would be very fitting to write about her creative legacy. After all, my propensity to make things did not come out of the blue. It is all thanks to her time and patience that I am into so many handy crafts. For as long as I can remember myself my dear mommy was always knitting. She made me and my sister everything! And I mean everything. What my grandmother would not sew my mother would knit. Unfortunately, me and my sister grew out of most of what she made us. But a few of her items remain in my closet today. Here is a sweater that mom made me when I was in grade 9. I love it dearly. I think it is such a delicate work! So I wanted to share with you a few different ways that I wear it.
With the dress pants
Beige dress pants and a white blouse underneath this cardigan make it a perfect look for work. To create more interest in this simple outfit I added a cat-print scarf and leopard-print pair of shoes. Rolled up cuffs of the dress shirt create the feeling of ease and casualness in this otherwise official ensemble.
With an olive pencil skirt
I combined the cardigan with the retro print shirt, cinched it with the belt and wore my favourite cognac Spring boots which you have seen before. I was channeling "that 70's chick" here. I think that the layered styling and the brown-and-olive colour palette helped me achieve that look.
In my opinion, this cardigan is such a timeless classic that it remains relevant even 10 years after its creation. Here is a closeup of its intricate knit pattern:
The right choice of accessories breathed a new life into this beautiful cardigan.
Unfortunately, my mother no longer knits. However, she has a new passion. She channels all her creativity in the direction of writing. And quite successfully at that! If you can read Russian then you can find out more about her books here at PhoenixBooksPublishing.
What about you? Do you have a special old garment in our closet that has a sentimental value? Do you wear it? If so how?
Do you find yourself complaining about your boring day job? Do you feel that there is never enough time to realize all your creative ideas? Do you catch yourself thinking that since you are not doing what you really want to do full-time, you might as well not do it at all? Then this post is for you! I would like to recommend you a book that just might resolve your inner struggles.
I would describe Summer Pierre as a realist and an optimist (No wonder: it's in her name!). In order to ease the tension between the job that pays the bills and you real life's work she suggests turning the negatives into the positives. She recommends:
instead of complaining about your day job, finding positive aspects about it: interesting people, free or discounted product, proximity to a beautiful place or store;
instead of being bored at work, bringing creativity to your workplace: if you are an illustrator she suggests drawing cards for coworkers instead of buying them;
instead of stressing the lack of time, changing your priorities and making time for making art, even if it is only 15 minutes a day. She mentions that the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Carol Shields was a mother of five when she began to write. She wrote two pages a day no matter what which in the end of nine months added up to a manuscript of her first novel.
Instead of focusing on what you haven't done in your life list your accomplishments and you will see how much you have already achieved and how much there is to be proud of!
Pierre offers many more tips and suggestions on how to break the everyday routine and allow your artistic self thrive. It is a fast, easy and very encouraging read! I recommend this to anyone who has doubts about their path or their creativity. The key, Pierre says, is to not focus on the mundane but to bring in an interest everywhere you go!
I am not attempting to disrupt your style radar or offend your aesthetic sense with this image. Rather, it is simply me trying to cope with the inevitable - with the fact that sooner or later I do have to part with these boots.
I am sure every girl has had this problem. You buy a shoe - not because you particularly like its design and not because it was on your wish list for the whole season prior to the purchase - but simply because it was an alright enough shoe. The fit was good; the price was fair. But soon after you start wearing it you discover that it is the most comfortable footwear your precious feet could possibly fancy wearing this season. No matter the other five perfectly new, pretty, high-heeled pairs of boots you have lined up in your closet, waiting for their turn to see and mesmerize the world. Who cares about those? Yes, they are glitzy and fancy! But, let's face it, what can compare to a snug comfort, dry warmth and just enough lift during a busy 12-hour-long day of a school-work-chores cycle of the winter months? I think you sense where I am going with this... For the past two seasons there simply was no other boot that could perform these duties for me quite as well as this miserable pair you see in the picture. I promise they didn't always look this miserable... For a long while, their value of style versus the amount of comfort earned them the perfect spot on the X-Y axes of my fashion radar. This picture is my ode to the faithful old boots, with which, alas, I now have to part. Fare well! You've served me well!
P.S. Coincidentally, this post reminded me of the book Love, Loss, and What I Wore by Ilene Beckerman, where the narrator tell the story of her life through the key items in her wardrobe. I watched the theatrical version of it at Panasonic Theatre a couple of years ago (a date idea of my now fiance!) and could totally relate. I too remember life events in terms of the clothes I wear when they happen.
I am curious whether you can relate to this too? Share your experiences in the comment section!
I picked this book off the shelf in the library because it had the word seamstress in the title and because it had shoes on its cover. (Yes, I choose my books by their titles and covers, don't you???) I did not know what to expect but boy! was I in for a treat. The story takes place during the Cultural Revolution in China, when the children of professionals declared "the enemies of state" were sent to remote villages for "re-education." That topic alone would have been enough to enthrall me even if the book contained no characters in it who were seamstresses. In the village, the main characters get hold of the forbidden books, befriend the Little Chinese Seamstress, the most beautiful girl on the mountain, and share their lust for books with her. Written in a beautiful poetic language, this novel is full of symbolism. The most prominent symbol here is Balzac or the book - it stands for education, broadened outlook on the world and the self, it signifies the idea of many possibilities of life. Life beyond what is. Unfortunate to protagonists, their arduous reading habit educates the Seamstress out of the village where they, on the other hand, are doomed to stay to continue their "re-education" for an indefinite period of time. Given their parents' status they might never leave. I found this irony heartbreaking. Dai Sijie perfectly conveys the injustice of the regime through personal relationships and destinies of the characters. The second important symbol is, of course, the clothes. The political uniform which enslaves the boys doomed for "re-education" in the country becomes liberating attire for the Seamstress who makes the Mao jacket fit her perfectly and wears it on her journey to the city.
Yet another historic novel came my way and I could not resist the urge to read it due to the reasons stated above: the title and the cover! Written in a very Victorian style, this novel is about Veda, a tailor's daughter, who loses her hearing at age sixteen and, for the lack of any other prospects in life, takes over her fathers tailoring business. Contrary to the Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, this book is rich with descriptions of Victorian clothing and clothes-making. Since that was my main interest in reading the book let me indulge and share some of my favourite quotes:
"Ever since I can remember, I have been in thrall to elegance and style. I observed things that slipped by unnoticed to everyone except my father, like a thread hanging from a buttonhole or clumsy shoulder padding. He had an eye for perfection and we could easily be swept to rapture by the suppleness of a doe-skin glove."
"Of course my primary interest was how clothing might enhance the human form, how it might hide or correct the faults of an imperfect body that is generally quite lumpy and lopsided... It was always the way fabric could be molded to the human form that intrigued me, the way a tailor could gently stretch and shape a superfine worsted under the weight of a hissing steam iron to restore a bit of youthful dignity to a slope-shouldered old man."
"After all, any dodger could cut cloth from a pattern, but a good tailor had to develop a quick eye to seize at a glance the shape of a lapel or a particularly interesting trimming on a cuff. A tailor is a judicious thief, stealing a line here and a cut there in the time it takes a man to alight from his coach.. and then he takes this memory to the cutting bench and interprets what he has seen with his own particular mark."
This is an autobiography by a founder of a fashion public relations, branding and marketing firm People's Revolution. Kelly shares her own experiences of making it in the NYC fashion scene. The book contains raw details of her life: ups, downs, success stories and a lot of advice! It is definitely an inspirational and motivational read for any woman who wishes to learn how to become successful in fashion PR (or in any other field she loves!). Figuring out who and what you are and what you love to do is step number one! Oh, and by the way there is not straight road to where you want to get to!
Kelly also has her own reality show with a witty title Kell on Earth. It gives a glimse of what it is like to run and work in a fashion PR company. Recommended for anyone thinking of a career in this field.
I will end with my personal favourite rule by Kelly Cutrone:
Those of my friends who love books as much as I do will find this post interesting. I found this book in the library. Guess what it is about? Duh! Books!
In it, Dominic Dupuich offers a tour of personal libraries and book-infused home decors of famous people. If you find yourself struggling for space or for some kind of organization at home due to an ever-increasing number of books, then this book will give you some ideas on how to make your cohabitation with books not just comfortable but aesthetically pleasing as well.
Incidentally, I stumbled across an interesting photoblog dedicated to the same subject with a funny title BookshelfPorn.com. They have an endless stream of photographs depicting beautiful, original, funky and simply clever book arrangements. In some of them I recognized my own bedroom. A couple of my favourites:
Another curious website is UndergroundNewYorkPublicLibrary.com. Here, the author takes pictures of people reading on the New York subway and posts them on his site. Both amusing and pleasing, it's interesting to see how the New York subway figures as a huge reading room. (Do they have those any more?!!) Somebody please do the same for Toronto!
Ahhh, what a pleasant site to see!!! Call me old-fashioned but I cannot help smiling when I see someone in transit reading an actual physical book instead of playing games or watching videos on their electronic hand-held devices. I love the absorbed look on people's faces when they read! Read on!!!
P.S. If you view your book collecting habit as a vice to be ashamed of since you have no time to read all those books anyway, I have some words of concolation for you:
"Nothing is more important than an unread library!" - John Wateres
I feel quite book-ish today and thought it would be time to share with you some of the books which satisfied my craving for literary fashion and nourished my creative soul. These books were carefully selected according to their subject matter. I specifically look for novels which feature designers, dressmakers, seamstresses or the like as main characters and which would revolve around making clothes in one way or another. So here they are:
Even if you could not care less about dressmaking but do enjoy historical novels this read may intereste you. It tells a story of a young seamstress who gets a rare opportunity to come to Paris and work for Gabrielle Coco Chanel. Shy and inexperienced she is drawn into the world of competitive fashion designers, arrogant higher-class clients and dazzling glamour of Paris. However, the dizzying fashion capitol of the world is not as attractive to me in this book as Diliberto's depictions of Isabelle's hard work on couture garments in designer's fashion houses. I love to listen to the sound of fabric rustling in between the pages of my books. The juicy descriptions of garments and minute details of clothes making are my favourite features of this novel. A close look at Chanel's personality is another good reason to pick up this book.
This is another historical novel that feature Coco Chanel as its main heroine. This novel focuses on the tumultuous relationship she has with Igor Stravinsky after his family was exiled from Russia and she hosts them at her summer cottage. I cannot but accentuate the beauty and the poetic quality of Greenhalgh's language which kept me glued to this novel until the end. The novel presents an even more intimate portrait of the revolutionary designer than The Collection. While her biographical episodes are of interested to me, it is the descriptions of the process of creation - both of Chanel's designs and Stravinsky's music - that grabbed me the most. My Russian roots augmented my interest in this novel. I also happen to have visited Stravinsky's grave in Venice, where he is buried next to Sergei Diaghilev (who also figures in the novel).
Yet another historical novel. (Mind you, I did not realize until now that I was into historical novels!) This time, however, the main character is an Austrian painter - Gustav Klimt. The narrator of the novel is Emilie Floge - his student and occasional model with whom he develops a friendship of unclear boundaries. I like the portrayal of the-turn-of-the-century Vienna and its culture scene. There is no shortage of art salons and bohemian artists, Klimt including. But I do find Emilie's character quite unsatisfactory! Either she purposely does not reveal enough of her inner workings or she just lacks personality. Yet, I have to forgive her. After all, it is because of her that I started reading this novel. She becomes a fashion designer and opens her fashion house. (You knew that was coming!) The depiction of her creative endeavours are not as rich as in The Collection but they are there and, combined with Gustav's artistry, make up for quite a delicious, albeit a tragic, read.
Thought of the day: Reading is always in fashion!
P.S. If you happen to have read other books similar to these, you will make me happy if you suggest them in the comments below.
One question that most creative people ponder at one time or another is: From where do fashion designers source their ideas? The question we hear asked of designers most often is "what served as an inspiration for this collection?" To me, this question often sounds redundant for I believe that creative people take inspiration from everywhere and everything. Like sponges, they absorb the environment around them and translate it into their designs. At least, that's how I personally see it.
Apparently, according to Tom Ford, I am not that far off. In his conversation with Guy Trebay, he explains that designer's tendency to draw inspiration from everywhere, including other designers, can result in similar if not identical designs. That is why we often see designs which seem "ripped off" or "plagiarized."
In fact, referencing other couturiers and fashions of eras past is more than acceptable. Moreover, replicating other designers' work is not all that rare in fashion and, what is interesting, it does not worry the famous American designer in the least. In Ready to Share: The Ecology of Creativity in Fashion talk Tom Ford comments on borrowing design elements from other eras and designers, "I don't think that the 70's look of the 90's will really look like the 70's which by the way was inspired by the 30's..." Currency is what's most important in fashion design. If you have a spare 40 minutes I highly suggest listening to this talk as it offers some thought-provoking points of view.
Another reason why such unrestricted copying proliferates in fashion is that fashion industry is restricted by the trade mark protection law but there is no copyright protection which could regulate the use of any given design detail (cuff, collar, etc). To put it simply, any one can copy any garment and sell it as their own, as long as they do not knock off the original logo. As a result, we see logos of the following kind:
Johanna Blakley's TED talk - Johanna Blakley: Lessons from fashion's free culture - explains that apparel is viewed as too utilitarian to qualify for copyright protection. It is considered to be a necessity rather than art. Johanna, however, argues the opposite. She sees the lack of copyright protection as a blessing for fashion design. Thanks to the lack of ownership, she argues, designers were able to elevate fashion design to the level of art. I couldn't agree more! Incidentally, last time I was at the library I bumped into Austen Kleon's book whose title I just love! Kleon promotes the development of one's creativity along the same lines as the previously mentioned speakers. My favourite quotes from the book:
"What is originality? Undetected plagiarism" - William Ralph Inge
"Start copying what you love. Copy copy copy. At the end of the copy you will find your self." - Yohji Yamamoto
Contrary to common "be yourself" kind of advice on creativity - which sometines promotes channelling creativity from outer space - Kleon's somewhat controversial advice will be a relief to those of us who have been struggling to find a stream of originality within and, perhaps, may have given up altogether. Well friends, never fear! It's just that you have looking in all the wrong places. Next time you want to produce a masterpiece you might have to du-plicate, tri-plicate and multi-plicate a few hundred of other masters' chef d'oeuvres first. And that, I assure you, is a short cut!
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by Janice Graham
by Kelly Cutrone
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