The Saturday Morning: Shopping for Creativity

Sometimes, we need to go shopping to get creative. There is always shopping for creative supplies, believe me I have enough paint, brushes, canvass, cameras, lenses, reference works, pens, pencils, do-dads and glitter to keep me busy for a decade.  But sometimes, I just need to wander around the arts supply store, the fabric store, the book store, to shop for ideas, without buying. 

Shop in new, different or weird stores.  I am unlikely to buy Camel Milk, but running across it while exploring a relatively local specialty market did make me think.  People from varying cultures see food, drink, and the world differently. Thinking differently allows my mind to be creative. What would I use this for? I wonder if it makes a rich custard. Maybe I should experiment with different custards - custard tart anyone? 

Take a different path through the same store. If you always go right when you come into the store, go left, view the store in a different direction, you will see things you normally walk past. Go shopping without a list - look and figure out what you need when you see it. 

Take a different route to places you always go. So what if it takes an extra ten minutes, the novelty will feed your beast. 

Get out of town, and see something new.  Find new places to travel to. Try different ways of getting there. I have three conferences over the next 20 months in Chicago, I have promised myself to take the train at least once. It will cover the same route, it will take longer and probably cost more, but I will see things I never see when I fly or drive the same route.  Onward!