Fun Monday Challenge #2

"Quiet Mind" Collage by Lani and textures from FlyPaper

I was reading Christine Carter's blog post for Raising Happiness in which she describes the reasons for quieting our monkey minds, our constant inner chatter, how part of the brain that is so caught up in the chains of the past and the expectations for the future that it keeps a running commentary going even when we are in conversation with other people.  How in the world can we "be here now" with our inner monkeys constantly chattering?

And of course as artists we've all had those quiet moments of flow where we are so lost in out art making that the words and chatter drop away, and all there is is this present moment, the art materials and the artist at play.

Daniel Kahneman, Nobel prize-winner and author of Thinking, Fast and Slow,  suggests that the noisy verbal part of our brains is slow, processing only about 40 bits of information per second (slow?). The creative, intuitive, non-verbal brain processes about 11 million bits per second (OMG).  That is amazing.  So if we turn down the chatter and listen to the stillness what will happen?  Will we be using our non-verbal brain?  Will we develop more flow moments?

To try to practice deep wordlessness, Christine Carter turned to Martha Beck's  Finding Your Way in a Wild New World.  Beck says it in the quiet mind, the non-verbal part of the brain where the magic happens; it's there that we make necessary associations to solve problems and play creatively.  She suggests we take some time to stop thinking in words. Beck feels that’s always been the way humans entered the zone of creative “magic”.  Who among us wouldn't love more time in the zone of creative "magic"?  Her book has many techniques for activating this zone and here's a simple one.  It involves mindful breathing, inhaling slowly and deliberately, exhaling with equal mindfulness and when you are at the end of the exhale pause a moment to listen for your heart beat.  Then repeat the cycle several times.  This technique takes us to a very friendly quiet space in no time.

But if you have ten minutes (only 10 minutes) do her guided meditation “Seven League Boots” of Finding Your Way in a Wild New World.   Just click on the live link for the book, scroll down to the free downloads and you will see the "seven league boots" exercise.  It's the most valuable 10 minutes anyone can give you, and it's free.

So here's the Monday Challenge, we'll be engaging that magical quiet, creative place.  You can do this with either the listening to your heart beat, or the "seven league boots" exercise.  They are both awesome.  So before beginning call to mind a puzzle, a difficulty, a concern that your mind has been working on with the verbal side of your brain.  Just one will do for this exercise.  Then proceed to the breathing and listening cycles (see above) or to the "seven league boots".  Once your mind is quiet, try creating some art from that space.  Let it stay very intuitive.

When you are finished, look at your art piece and look for the symbols of the solutions to the puzzle or difficulty.  The creative, quiet mind speaks in metaphor and symbols.  It may take a minute or two to see them, but they are there.  Our wisdom is within us!

Feel free to share your work or play on Instagram by adding #14SecretsChallenge to your description, or by adding your photo to our Flickr pool.

Fun Monday Challenge #1

Over at 14 Secrets we were thinking we needed some more virtual activities, so here it is Monday morning and here's a virtual activity for you. Sometimes Mondays can get folks down, because it's not the weekend anymore, it's time to get serious, time to get to work. So why not let the creative part of your mind have some fun while the serious part of your mind is hard at work.  Take a look at our challenge, and let your creative mind puzzle over it and see what comes from it.

Take a peek at this video, (it's short, don't worry) and then think about times in your life when things were not "going well" and that some how grabbing the art materials at hand was a huge help. You made good art, maybe not art that others would look at as good, (that doesn't matter) but art that you look at and feel satisfied. There's an inner dialogue with your inner artist, and there's a feeling of understanding and being understood.



Can you remember those times? Well, here it is Monday morning, it's not the weekend, (sigh...) but you can make good art!

"Your creativity is waiting"  Collage by Lani and textures from FlyPaper

Once your inner artist has played with this challenge, if you would like to share your work, you can do so at Instagram by adding #14SecretsChallenge to your description, or by adding your photo to our Flickr pool.

Awesome links for digital collage play

"I open my eyes and..." Collage by Lani and textures from FlyPaper

• The Library of Congress' photostream
• Photoshop tutorials on Dummies.com
• Gimp on Dummies.com
• The Field Museum Library's photostream
• The Brooklyn Museum has some interesting sets. This is one.
• Interesting set from Brooklyn Museum
• New York Public Library Photos
• Ellis Island Photos
• Kim Klassen's flickr inspiration
• Les Brumes textures
• Free textures here
• Beautiful texture work here
• Good source for digital images

We always have a choice...

"Honour that innocent monkey" Collage by Lani and textures from FlyPaper

I read this Love Letter to the World on Kate Swoboda’s site Your Courageous Life and thought sharing it might be just the thing!  I know life or people can be overwhelming, but we always have a choice...  And I really like Kate's list of options!  I think they might just be secrets to a happy artist's life!

“Whatever we see in the world, that is us, too. Cultivate a willingness to compassionately drop down into the zero center of someone else’s imperfection, and you’ll see their pain, and piece of your own. We are not so very different. We are far more alike than we often believe. With courageous hearts, we can change the world. So here goes:

In the face of complaints, look that person in the eye and imagine what it might have been like to be raised to see only what is wrong.
In the face of selfishness, wonder what it might be like to walk the world with a feeling of lack, of depletion.
In the face of insults, consider where this person first learned that it’s okay to abuse others.
In the face of disconnection, think about what causes it, and ask if your response will widen the river between the two of you.
In the face of laziness, recognise the fear of living big dreams.
In the face of extremism or fundamentalism, see the clinging, as well as the terror-filled silence that would arise for that person if they risked letting go.
In the face of controlling behavior, understand the chaos that must have bred it.
In the face of “always needing to be right,” see how often this person was once made wrong.
In the face of arrogance or bravado, hold gently that still, small piece that says “I’m not enough.”
In the face of drama or attention-seeking, see the person who wishes so much to be seen.
In the face of accusation, imagine what it might be like to live life with suspicion.
In the face of judgement or comparisons, step into the opportunity the world has just provided you for practicing love and acceptance.
In the face of passive-aggressiveness, recognise the child that wasn’t taught a safe way to express their truth.
In the face of anger, see the pain of isolation from others.
Most importantly: In the face of ferocious hatred, believe in the possibility that there exists the potential for equally as big, intense, lovely and fiery ferocious love.”

Woops, a little negligent here...

It seems that I've been a little negligent here, while playing with elephants on my own blog.  One of our own reminded me of this video and how easily we could replace girls with 14 Secrets folks.  Enjoy!

More creativity jumpstarts best done in collaboration

"Believe" Collage by Lani and textures from FlyPaper

Here are some more interesting jumpstart ideas which I have adapted from BIG Kids Magazine Vol. 3 which work particularly well if you can collaborate with a child or two:

1. Create some Grid Games.  Get some card stock, ruler, and pencil and create lines across and down.  Number your squares.  Fill up each square with a drawing or a directive (lose turn, jump ahead two spaces, etc.)  Think of it as creating your own "Snakes and Ladders" game.  You need game pieces and a dice or spinner to play.

2. Create your own paper dolls with clothes and accessories.  (There is a Zine here with directions and inspiration)

3. Create worlds (murals) on big pieces of brown paper,  so your paper dolls can have adventures.

4. Pose paper dolls in their "worlds" and take pictures.

5. Here's a funny dress-up game, open someone else's clothes drawer and take 3 items, go to the kitchen and take one item.  Now create a costume with your 4 items and take a picture.

6. Take a camera for a walk, find faces in buildings (like windows might look like eyes if you crop your picture carefully) and other unusual places.  Take a picture.

7. Turn your back yard into a big game board!

8. Dear Hope Street. Google a street view of a Hope Street home somewhere in the world (you could pick a different name, like Dream Street, or Joy Street) and create a postcard for the resident of that home.  See if you get an answer.  (You can read about kids who did this here.)

Jumpstart creativity

"Creative and Curious" Collage by Lani and textures from FlyPaper

Here are 10 best methods to jumpstart creativity adapted from Javiera Aldunate in Uppercase 12.

1. Go for a walk and collect little stuff that gets your attention. (If the weather is bad, try it in your house or at your place of work) Take a photo, draw, create a story...
2. Lie on the grass and see figures in the clouds.
3. Ask a child if you can collaborate on some work together.  You and the child can start separate pieces and then switch.  Want some inspiration on this one?  Check out BIG Kids Magazine; Bravery Imagination Generosity; Side By Side: Children & Artists
4. Take a break from what ever you are doing and call a friend and talk about the meaning of life.
5. Enjoy a glass of wine or a mug of hot chocolate near a fireplace.
6. Listen to music really loud, or listen to the sounds of nothing really soft.
7. Get in a traffic jam.  Imagine the lives of folks in the cars around you.
8. Go to sleep with a notebook beside your pillow.  Dreams are an amazing source for jumpstarting creativity.
9.  Design some un-useful stuff for yourself.
10. Create a "10 best" list of your very own.