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… it’s just nice to pull out my colored pencils and outlining markers. Go through all the images on my computer and just sketch.

Creativity is a funny creature. Sometimes it likes to play nice and give you oh-so-many lovely ideas and motivations. Other times it goes to hibernate and hangs a big ol’ “do not disturb” sign on it’s door. This year has been a huge growing period for me in understanding how my creativity works, that it sometimes goes into remission and that it’s okay to give it a rest to recharge. For long periods of time I’ve been uninspired by my ideas. I’m grateful to my sister especially (who is another creative soul) for encouraging me to keep doing things, even though I felt the ideas were sub-par. Not to let it go completely, but to gently cultivate it even though there wasn’t much to cultivate.

It actually wasn’t until quite recently that things started to feel less forced and more like the way I remember them. I finally finished the sketchbook I started in January (I usually go through 2-3 big sketchbooks a year). I had been picking out sewing projects that inspired me and also were useful to fill gaps in my wardrobe. I gave myself “permission” to just create something if it caught my eye (and I had the time to do so). Even seemingly mundane, daily tasks like doing my hair or makeup I tried to view through the lens of being creative in a small way. Infusing that sense of wonder and excitement back into the littlest things was important.

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I know many others go through dry periods too (whether or not you are “creative” in the art sense, or your talents lie in another area!). We all hit bumps in life that throw us a bit harder than we expected and sometimes it isn’t as easy as getting back up right away and dusting ourselves off. Sometimes you just need to lie still and heal a bit. I’ve come to realize that that’s okay and not to censure myself for feeling any less than 100% creative. But to enjoy and be thankful for it when it’s there.

Have you ever been through a “creative dry spell”?

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This past weekend I finished up yet another of my sketchbooks; this one I had been slowly filling since early Autumn. The beginning is peppered with scribbles about the wedding, lists and other things that were heavily on my mind six months ago. But as of late, I once again started to record garment details and create a visual wishlist of clothes I’d like to make one day. Recently, I had someone ask to take a peek into my sketchbooks, so I’ve pulled a few of my favorite pages from past books:

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Interestingly although I’ve taken numerous art classes in the past, I still tend to be very sketchy with my garment drawings. It’s a way for me to work an idea out on paper before it escapes my imagination forever, and things tend to get messy! I have literally a box full of these sketchbooks that I brought with me. Every few months I’ll go back and look through them, culling new ideas or rediscovering old ones. It’s fun to find some themes and motifs continue throughout several books as well; some of which eventually worked their way into a final project or garment design.

Do you like to sketch your ideas out? Or do you record your ideas and inspiration or prepare for a project another way? I’d love to hear how you keep your inspirations!

I still haven’t quite finished that dress I posted a sneak peek of on Monday (the polka-dot material was snipped from the most major alteration I did). It is just missing the voile ruffle, but I dare not show the entire piece until it is complete! hehe. Hopefully by Friday I shall have eked out an hour of sewing time to finish it…

Anyhow, I spent a little bit of time the other night, winding down with a cup of chamomile tea, my pretty little cahier (I found the website of the manufacturer–they are some other, absolutely delicious notebooks!), and a pile of inspiring images that had been sitting on my computer.

As you can see by this page, Art Nouveau has been absorbing me quite a bit lately! Design History class this week we spent most of the three-hour class discussing the movement and viewing utterly gorgeous slides!! I was in heaven! I think I took nearly four pages of notes… hehe! I just love the color and vibrancy of line; I think it fits quite well with the mood springtime brings. Do you ever feel a stylistic look fits well with a particular season?

I think perhaps next week I shall declare it A Week of Thrifty Finds! I’ll post a photo (or two…) of some lovely goodies I have happened upon in the past months, since I have been so bad about sharing them (and its quite a pile now! hehe!). Is anyone else game for five days of blog and thrift-fun? Do let me know… perhaps we can organize an informal little something.

Oh, and before I dash off, I wanted to remind you that the deadline for signing up for the Creative Cacophony Swap is nearing! Be sure to drop me an email by Friday evening if you’d like to be included… I think it is going to be so much fun!!!

Have a lovely Wednesday, all!!

Cheers!

[ Ali, is having a week of Amelie themed posts!!! What a perfectly lovely idea… a whole week of basking in Amelie goodness! Read all the posts (thus far) here. Discovered via Frolic!.

I haven’t talked much lately about what I’ve been doing in school (besides the emotional turmoil of midterms), which is a pity because in Design History it’s starting to move into the territory that I find fascinating! Specifically, we’re beginning to cover the Arts and Crafts, and Art Nouveau movements, which sadly are only briefly covered in the book–I think I could devote a whole semester to studying it. I just love the marriage of influences (Eastern and Western), the creative and artistic energy and exchange of ideas that one perceives, and the beautiful legacy of this era in design history.

Going over the assigned reading, it struck me how closely both movement mirrors the current revival of interest in the creative pursuits that is going on right now. Aesthetics, and returning to a sense of the wonderment art can produce, and creative exploration seems so prevalent right now. Perhaps it is just me, but I can’t help but think there is a bigger movement going on that is touching so many areas. I suppose the best label to slap on it is “DIY culture”. It has influenced so many areas of the arts and created a sort of frenzy among artists of various types to reach out and express their own vision of the world (whether real or perceived).

Yet as I was reading my textbook, this paragraph caught my eye and resonated: “…art historian Herbert Read once suggested that the life of any art movement is like that of a flower. A budding in the hands of a small number of innovators is followed by full bloom; then the process of decay begins as the influence becomes diffused and distorted in the hands of imitators who understand merely the stylistic manifestations of the movement rather than the driving passions that forged it.” I can’t help but feel that we’re beginning to see the diffusion of the DIY Movement into commercialism and the greater, societal “aesthetic”. Take for instance the oft-cited Urban Outfitters, a company that peddles a wide variety of “faux handmade” items in an effort to bring the look of DIY to consumers who may not fully embrace (or understand) the concept. In a way, is Urban Outfitters (and like, mass retailers), not cheapening and causing the “decay” of the original movement in its effort to cash in?

There is no doubt that the “handmade look” resonates with quite a few people; I think in many ways the DIY culture is a reaction to the overly sleek and impersonal manufactured goods that are available to the wider market. Its a return to the feeling of “soul” in a piece because someone, not a machine, put thought into the design and process of creating those goods. I know I personally am drawn to making things myself, or purchasing them from other artisans, because it gives a feeling of integrity to the piece; that it wasn’t just slapped together thoughtlessly, nor am I just following some whim or trend without thought.

But where does the line between “bloom” and “decay” become crossed? The popularization in the social consciousness of the DIY movement has in a way, I believe, created a movement away from thoughtful creation and effort to protest against impersonal consumerism, to a more frenzied appeal to “standing out” and looking “handmade” at any cost. While I applaud anyone who does take an interest in engaging in DIY (after all, I do encourage everyone to find their creative outlet!), when mass marketers and manufacturers begin to mimic the essential “look” of handmade, have we lost the edge and have begun to witness the beginning of the end?

What are your thoughts?

To reward you all for having read through this rather tedious, muddled post (thank you if you stuck with me the entire way! hehe!), here is the Vintage Monday feature for today!! Hurrah for pretty things!

Another, pretty 1840s print! Although this one is just black and white (I think I’ve posted most of the hand-colored ones), I love the details and lines of the gowns.

I hope you have a lovely Monday, all!!!

Cheers!

[ Julia Kuo’s pretty little illustrations. I love how light and storybookish they are; go take a look!

[ a pretty, vintage peignoir I thrifted recently! ]

I meant to post this earlier today, but despite my best intentions, this day has definitely been “one of those” Mondays! lol. I feel somewhat like Garfield, who preferred to sleep through Monday… if only! hehe! I’m playing catch up today, because L. was back home this weekend! I hadn’t seen or talked to him for a few weeks (aside from our constant stream of emails), so needless to say I pretty much avoided my computer between Saturday morning and now.

It is quite frigid today… only in the low 20s! It seems so weird to think just last week it was pushing the low 70s, and today I’m bundled up and making lots of hot tea to stay warm (should I admit to the fact that I had four cups of tea before noon?! Oh my!!). Before it got so icy-cold, I did wear my “new” cardigan I refashioned! The pictures are a little odd, and I look rather serious (I was trying not to grin like an idiot! hehe!), but here I am sporting my revived cardigan!

I also have been working in snippets of time that I eke out on the Annabelle paperdoll. My fingers are slowly starting to remember how to paint, hold a brush comfortably, and manipulate the paints. Its so calming for me to just sit at my desk, perched on my stool and concentrating on the light washes of color as I build up shadows and depth. I can let my mind wander a bit, or just listen to music (Iron and Wine, Simon and Garfunkel, and The Be Good Tanyas are in heavy rotation these days)!

Thank you all so much again for your feedback last week on Vintage Monday features! I’ve uploaded the first one this week, which is the beaded necklace that I mentioned. I really want to try my hand at making one of these; if only because I think it would be a great way to use up the beads I’ve been collecting and hoarding for years! hehe. You can click on the image above, which is to the little preview image on my Flickr, or view and print off this large version! I wish I could offer it as a .pdf download, but alas–I only have Adobe Reader. So hopefully it isn’t too teeny-tiny when printed!

Have a lovely Monday, my friends!! I’m off to do some cleaning and reorganizing in my room (my “early spring cleaning” fever has hit!)…

Cheers & Creativity,
♥ Casey [ email me ]