creativity tips
interesting reflection on creativity at 'gaping void'... go and read the extended version too. the cartoons alone are worth it.
"So you want to be more creative, in art, in business, whatever. Here are some tips that have worked for me over the years:
1. Ignore everybody.
2. The idea doesn't have to be big. It just has to be yours.
3. Put the hours in.
4. If your biz plan depends on you suddenly being "discovered" by some big shot, your plan will probably fail.
5. You are responsible for your own experience.
6. Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.
7. Keep your day job.
8. Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion creativity.
9. Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to
climb.
10. The more talented somebody is, the less they need the props.
11. Don't try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.
12. If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you.
13. Never compare your inside with somebody else's outside.
14. Dying young is overrated.
15. The most important thing a creative person can learn professionally is where to draw the red line that separates what you are willing to do, and what you are not.
16. The world is changing.
17. Merit can be bought. Passion can't.
18. Avoid the Watercooler Gang.
19. Sing in your own voice.
20. The choice of media is irrelevant.
21. Selling out is harder than it looks.
22. Nobody cares. Do it for yourself.
23. Worrying about "Commercial vs.
Artistic" is a complete waste of time.
24. Don�t worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually.
25. You have to find your own schtick.
26. Write from the heart.
27. The best way to get approval is not to need it.
28. Power is never given. Power is taken.
29. Whatever choice you make, The Devil gets his due eventually.
30. The hardest part of being creative is getting used to it.
31. Remain frugal.
32. Allow your work to age with you.
33. Being Poor Sucks.
34. Beware of turning hobbies into jobs.
35. Savor obscurity while it lasts.
36. Start blogging.
aldborough house 7752
loved these walls. most walls and even some ceilings were stenciled in seeming imitation of wallpaper - some people thought it was wallpaper. but then you wouldn't have see the authentic tongue and groove timber walls.
just beautiful and delicate
aldborough house 7763
this wonderful historic house was being auctioned, so i took the opportunity to document some of its personality.
if i had the money, it would have been mine. but that was not meant to be, so i have the images as a memento.
aquarium 0229
revisiting some older images that hadn't seen the light of day before... Townsville Aquarium in April 2006. i came north to visit friends and family, and had such a lovely time we decided to move back to qld. i must go back to this wonderful resource when its not full of people. it's like diving without getting wet - great fun.
apostle birds
speaking of personalities - i hadn't seen apostle birds before... very engaging to watch their interactions with each other, and the galahs.
see more at http://www.flickr.com/photos/karentenni/
galahs 6600
did a trip to Greenvale to visit friends - and they have a flock of galahs that visit daily for a feed of seed. these birds have wonderful personalities, and i had great fun capturing their movements. see more photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/karentenni/
new year, new focus
its time to refocus energies - starting a new body of work called 'transit-ion', exploring using photography in different ways, combining with other media and extending my photoshop skills. I plan to use this blog as a kind of journal of the process.
in addition, working on a variety of individual images for flickr, a great source of inspiration. Expecially as now i have to wait until i travel to visit galleries (a downside of living in a regional town). the internet is even more vital for research and stimulus for my art.
also doing a bit of market research around adding rexlaxed style portraiture to my art practice. so far, response has been positive - just waiting for commissions now.
in addition, working on a variety of individual images for flickr, a great source of inspiration. Expecially as now i have to wait until i travel to visit galleries (a downside of living in a regional town). the internet is even more vital for research and stimulus for my art.
also doing a bit of market research around adding rexlaxed style portraiture to my art practice. so far, response has been positive - just waiting for commissions now.
relocation rave...
wow - moving interstate and rebuilding your life takes so much more time than you'd think!
the experience of driving (we took a couple of weeks, including visiting relations) across this huge island called Australia is quite amazing.
a quick summary...
day one: Adelaide to broken hill. a mere 553km in 7 hrs. I really like broken hill - striking country. main concern was driving long distance with our cat - but he handled being in the cat box quite well. sneaking him into motels along the way was challenging.
day two: was aiming for Nygen but drove straight on to Gilgandra, nsw. 776 km - 9 hrs. all about the wildlife today - emu, goats, sheep, cattle, crows, parrots. such diverse country.
day three: onto Miles, Qld. 780km - 8.5 hrs. squally showers today, spectacular cloud formations.
day four: arrived in Yepooon. 480km - 6 hrs. visiting with Q's family for a week.
next travel day five: left yeppoon, drove to proserpine. 536km. decided to overnight there.
day six: arrived charters towers about 3pm to stay with our wonderful friends who are always motivating, supportive and inspiring. K + R have 3 girls, and another on the way.
sadly, didn't get to capture many photographs along the way - the most spectacular spots either didn't have anywhere safe to stop; or we'd just started out after a rest break, and the urge to keep driving was stronger. plan to revisit some of the more interesting spots at leisure in the future. or i'd love to be a not-so-grey nomad, travelling with our home to the next scenic spot.
now we both have jobs, and moved into a lovely house - the next step was to reconnect with the rest of the world. it took two weeks to get a phone tech appointment to find/fix a fault in the line, and of course, you can't connect the internet via ADSL unless you have a working phone line. frustrating but, we are back in contact, finally.
now to get on with my next task... creating a blog reflecting on the Parks Helix Project's final year (see previous posts), and finishing graduate diploma in community cultural development with CANSA.
the experience of driving (we took a couple of weeks, including visiting relations) across this huge island called Australia is quite amazing.
a quick summary...
day one: Adelaide to broken hill. a mere 553km in 7 hrs. I really like broken hill - striking country. main concern was driving long distance with our cat - but he handled being in the cat box quite well. sneaking him into motels along the way was challenging.
day two: was aiming for Nygen but drove straight on to Gilgandra, nsw. 776 km - 9 hrs. all about the wildlife today - emu, goats, sheep, cattle, crows, parrots. such diverse country.
day three: onto Miles, Qld. 780km - 8.5 hrs. squally showers today, spectacular cloud formations.
day four: arrived in Yepooon. 480km - 6 hrs. visiting with Q's family for a week.
next travel day five: left yeppoon, drove to proserpine. 536km. decided to overnight there.
day six: arrived charters towers about 3pm to stay with our wonderful friends who are always motivating, supportive and inspiring. K + R have 3 girls, and another on the way.
sadly, didn't get to capture many photographs along the way - the most spectacular spots either didn't have anywhere safe to stop; or we'd just started out after a rest break, and the urge to keep driving was stronger. plan to revisit some of the more interesting spots at leisure in the future. or i'd love to be a not-so-grey nomad, travelling with our home to the next scenic spot.
now we both have jobs, and moved into a lovely house - the next step was to reconnect with the rest of the world. it took two weeks to get a phone tech appointment to find/fix a fault in the line, and of course, you can't connect the internet via ADSL unless you have a working phone line. frustrating but, we are back in contact, finally.
now to get on with my next task... creating a blog reflecting on the Parks Helix Project's final year (see previous posts), and finishing graduate diploma in community cultural development with CANSA.
helix update
yay! the project ended with a bang!
the walk was a fab event - and all the art well received. will post some photos soon...
I plan to start a new blog highlighting the helix project and the various art created over the past three years. watch this space for a link.
here are some of the digital stories and songs created by community members with project partners of the Parks Helix Project... check them out.
the walk was a fab event - and all the art well received. will post some photos soon...
I plan to start a new blog highlighting the helix project and the various art created over the past three years. watch this space for a link.
here are some of the digital stories and songs created by community members with project partners of the Parks Helix Project... check them out.
parks helix project event
The Parks Helix Project has been an integral part of my practice and professional development for the past three years - working with Robert Petchell, the project coordinator, and many wonderful community members and staff. 'Pathways and Connections', the project gallery display, will be available for viewing at Axis Gallery (Cowan St, Angle Park, SA) until Sunday 17 June, which is when the public walk of the 'walking connection' trail will happen. all are welcome to join us....
if you must have grass...
let it be an interesting shape, at least.
a fun project for a long weekend?
sourced from
http://readymademag.com/feature_6_sodcouch.php
the big shift
By this time of our lives, we 'should' be several years into paying off a mortgage, settled and advancing in our careers, and have a couple of children in school.
But my life is all about doing things differently :) Now in my third 'career' (hospitality, marketing and now artist/photographer/curator/community arts worker), my daughter is nearly twenty, has left home and in a settled relationship. So, the man and I are off to a regional Qld town to find new jobs and networks.
The main reason for this shift (beside being closer to the parents) is a long held desire to own our own nest - to stop being forced to move every time the property owner changes their mind. The chance to paint walls, design our dream kitchen and bathroom; let alone set up a studio with everything in its place - ready to work anytime without hunting through boxes or clearing the dining room table, will be a dream come true.
hopefully our traveling time from Adelaide to Charters Towers will allow time along the way to capture photos for a new series. My man had a wonderful idea - for us both to create separate blogs to record our individual reflections on the trip. and so it begins...
But my life is all about doing things differently :) Now in my third 'career' (hospitality, marketing and now artist/photographer/curator/community arts worker), my daughter is nearly twenty, has left home and in a settled relationship. So, the man and I are off to a regional Qld town to find new jobs and networks.
The main reason for this shift (beside being closer to the parents) is a long held desire to own our own nest - to stop being forced to move every time the property owner changes their mind. The chance to paint walls, design our dream kitchen and bathroom; let alone set up a studio with everything in its place - ready to work anytime without hunting through boxes or clearing the dining room table, will be a dream come true.
hopefully our traveling time from Adelaide to Charters Towers will allow time along the way to capture photos for a new series. My man had a wonderful idea - for us both to create separate blogs to record our individual reflections on the trip. and so it begins...
cats and art
Cats – why aren’t cats the subject of art more often? Dogs seem to have far more fans, for some reason. The latest rental house that we’re inhabiting (currently for sale if you want an investment property – oh the joy of open houses) came with existing residents – a group (quite possibly related) of several male cats, two of which were just kittens when we moved in 6 months ago. Both kittens are black, but with totally different personalities. One quite outgoing and happy to co-habit with humans, has a tiny white spot on his chest, and I started calling Monty; and the other is quite assertive about asking for food but shies away from contact, now named Billy-bob by my daughter. The process of gaining these stray cats trust has been a slow one, with moral dilemmas along the way. The local council doesn’t have a stray cat policy, except for hiring cages to trap them ready for euthanasia. Initially, this was what I planned to do, as we adopted a neutered male cat a year ago, and he was too intimidated to venture outside. But I couldn’t bring myself to punish these poor creatures just for existing, so decided to feed them, and discourage any anti-social behaviour by spraying them with vinegar and water. I now plan to take them to be desexed, as funds allow, and return them to share our backyard. Monty has started staying in at night, and Fluffy (an older fluffy boy) is very affectionate, but unsure of Claude (our official cat). Now the question is – what happens when we have to move again? Its hard enough to find a rental property whose owner allows one cat, let alone four. But if I leave them behind, am I just as bad as the original owner who deserted their cat intact to breed? On the plus side, the older gentleman that lives next door also seems to feed them, so they shouldn’t starve….
Well that moved a long way from art about cats, but the reason I started this rambling burble is that I shot some video footage of the kittens chasing bugs – ‘cause it makes me laugh, and maybe will make others laugh too. I’ll have to find out how to upload video to a blog… maybe youtube is the way to go.
Well that moved a long way from art about cats, but the reason I started this rambling burble is that I shot some video footage of the kittens chasing bugs – ‘cause it makes me laugh, and maybe will make others laugh too. I’ll have to find out how to upload video to a blog… maybe youtube is the way to go.
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