Saturday, October 24, 2026

The Saturday Morning Post: Feed the Creative Machine


I was looking for a travel Tuesday post, and realized how few photos I have taken since we returned from the grand adventure in May, then I was looking for a photo of a painting I know I did this year, and realized it was done before the grand adventure in May. I have only finished a couple of paintings since May, only one of those is one I am truly happy with. Hmm, a dry spell, the muses are away on holiday.

Then I got to thinking about what I have been doing to stimulate my creative juices. The music I had playing in the background was sedate, Sweet Bear had questioned how I could stay awake with it playing. My reading has been pretty typical for the period. I have been walking on the treadmill, inside, watching the same YouTube feeds most days. In other words, while my creative input has been low and boring and my creative output has been low, and for the most part boring, I have been living a quiet and boring life. 

Time to change that up. Different background music. Nice long walks outside. More galleries and museums. It is time to feed the creative process. It is time to notice the things around me, and snap a photo or ten. It is time to start a fresh canvas, or maybe pull out the linocut materials I played with early in the year and trace an interesting doodle. But first, ramp up the inputs to feed the creative machine. 

15 comments:

  1. Keep a sketchbook. Draw every day. Don't confuse process with product.

    Will Jay

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  2. Linocuts sound like fun. I enjoyed doing those although never really loved what I produced.

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    1. Having fun is the important part.

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  3. I am not saying you have a YouTube addiction, nor am I confessing that I am addicted to YouTube. My 81 year old neighbour HH loves YouTube, in preference to television. I am not addicted, no I'm not. But I do watch rather too much YouTube.

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    1. YouTube has largely replaced other television for me.

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  4. I imagine as the seasons change from hot to cool you need to adjust your daily habits. We've been spending far more time outside now that it's cool and it does change your outlook.

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    1. I had a couple of nice walks this week, and I am sleeping later most days.

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  5. Novelty and relaxation should do the trick! But fallow periods are okay, too.

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  6. Hmmmm... You have become very much a creature of habit, as have I... except my habit is sleeping. We used to do more explorations, when all was mostly new here, and do more things together. Maybe we should work on that. I'll even volunteer to wake up before noon. 😘

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    1. Let me know where you want to go.

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  7. It's good to evaluate everything now and then! Seldom a day goes by that I don't take at least one photo.

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    1. I should take the camera out more often.

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  8. Give yourself a photo challenge. I do that every now and then. I pick a part of town to explore and take photos or I might pick a subject to photograph. One time I took photos of the same plant but at different times of the day to study how the light changes. Make it fun!

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