When I asked for your suggestions for maintaining creativity without draining the bank, I shouldn’t have been surprised at the wide variety of answers, from quiet bead stringing to making a chocolate bunny sure to please a bloodthirsty adolescent boy. You are, after all, a highly inventive bunch. Here’s how you lift yourself out of a slump:
I go to the nearest Barnes & Noble (or wherever there’s a big magazine rack) and spend a couple hours looking at the magazines to see what’s happening and how I can relate it to one of our publications. Just a little hint here and a little treatment there can give your layouts a fresh jolt. Doesn’t cost a dime. — Bono Mitchell
My sister (a painter), two sixteen-year-olds, two twelve-year-olds, and I (a print designer) made our own Easter bunnies because we were sick of hollow chocolate bunnies. We made truffle ganache (care of my Martha-worshipping sister), melted white, dark, and milk chocolate, and went to town. The twelve-year-old boy made a bunny that “bled” raspberry Jell-O when the head came off, and I made a bunny covered in eyes (candy dots on paper). — Diane M. Serpa
To keep motivated, I tat, knit, and play with eyelets. I read and re-read Gene Gable and Molly Joss. Between those two I don’t feel so alone with a brain that doesn’t shut down. I keep a 4-inch x 6-inch sketchbook in a bag hanging around my body and every idea, no matter how whacked, gets written down, sketched, drawn, colored, doodled, bedazzled, whatever! When I’m stuck, I peruse my book and pick out something to get my juices flowing. — Stacy Fontenot
The best way I know to clear my mind and get creative is to get on a sailboat and enjoy the water, the wind, and the peace and quiet. — Beth Anderson
I spend as much time as possible with my kids-they help me to have new eyes everyday. That, along with listening to music; reading; and attending ballets, concerts, galleries, museums, plays, and other theatrical events keeps me young and open to new ideas. Multidisciplinary arts feed each other — there’s so much cross-pollination. — Douglas E. Johnson
I cook. It’s still creative, but I’m getting my hands (and my kitchen) messy. I try different things, I try complex recipes. I love to cook for other people, so I often have dinner parties where we eat good food, drink Australian wine (the best in the world), and enjoy each others’ company. All thoughts of Macs and the Adobe Creative Suite flee from my mind. It’s fantastic! — Paul George
I am the creative director in a small in-house design department for a big company subject to the often uninspiring and counterproductive policies of “Big Brother”-like management. As a creative, it’s a rough spot to be in. Sometimes I make clay critters from kneaded erasers, other times it’s paper sculptures or paper airplanes. I also tinker in Photoshop. Nothing beats turning coworkers into trolls or virtually repainting the office in hip and trendy style that would never fly with management. My favorite is to paste myself into a fantasy location, such as a gorgeous Hawaiian beach. — Ray J. Taix
Nothing better than a free weekend, a good photograph, a Wacom tablet, and the brushes feature in Photoshop! — Christine Shock
When I need to be infused with creativity and it’s just not coming, my two favorites are Starbucks and the forest. Think triple grande non-fat latte and the bookstore’s design section, finding color combos and inspirational ideas that trigger a masterpiece. I’m also fortunate to back onto green space and forest. I set up a drafting table on the back deck. That, a pot of tea, and a pad of rag bond inspires some creative doodling, which I then bring into the computer. — Lori Ellis
Being an illustration gun for hire, a lot of my hired work is more pasteurized than I prefer. (An example of a client request: “We need Santa driving a school bus. Be sure that all ethnicities are represented, and tastefully. Your size is two inches.”) So once a week I do a movie review in cartoon format. Sometimes it’s a new movie, sometimes it’s an old sleeper. I send them out weekly by email. — Mark Monlux
There’s a bead loom in my studio where I have quiet time to myself, when that’s what I need. I do airbrush painting when I feel like getting my hands dirty. I design mostly for print, but I have a personal Web site for which I snap photos and write silly copy.– Jason Rae
I cook. It’s still creative, but I’m getting my hands (and my kitchen) messy. I try different things, I try complex recipes. I love to cook for other people, so I often have dinner parties where we eat good food, drink Australian wine (the best in the world), and enjoy each others’ company. All thoughts of Macs and the Adobe Creative Suite flee from my mind. It’s fantastic! — Paul George
I must have an engine on my legs that’s connected to my brain because I always find a solution or at least a spark of an idea when I’m walking or biking. An alternative is listening to music, especially unfamiliar music. If you do things that make you feel differently, you’ll think (and then create) differently. — Sergio P. Jr.
This article was last modified on June 30, 2023
This article was first published on April 12, 2005
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