Yes, it’s Monday…the most dreaded day of the week for most people. I would have to say that I am guilty of feeling this sense of dread and gloom on most Mondays, especially today. After a restless night of sleep interrupted by both dog and husband, I was less than enthused about rolling out of bed this morning. The repeated series of events that occurred throughout the night: dog jumps out of bed, husband jumps out of bed to chase down dog, husband wrangles the dog to get her back in bed or she whines at the side of the bed until someone will lift her back up in bed. We really need to get her some stairs for the bed, but just haven't done it yet. Dave suggested stacking cardboard boxes up beside our bed or building some sort of styrofoam monstrosity in our bedroom...I don't think I was having the same vision as my husband when I said we should get stairs for the dog. I had something more like this in mind... 
After feeling not quite inspired to start out the work week, I found an article today on Crosswalk.com, a site I frequent regularly. It is titled "Redeem Arts & Culture through Divine Inspiration" and talks about how you can include the Creator in your creative endeavors. As someone who works in a creative field, I know it is sometimes difficult to always conjure up clever and innovative design ideas. This article details a few practical solutions to become divinely inspired. They include the following:
- Invite the Holy Spirit into your creative process.
- Develop a listening lifestyle.
- Make yourself completely available to God.
- Grow in your craft.
- Wrap each project in prayer.
- Enjoy seeing what happens.
The article is adapted from Finding Divine Inspiration: Working with the Holy Spirit in Your Creativity, copyright 2008 by J. Scott McElroy.
Today, I attended the monthly Oklahoma City Advertising Club meeting and listened to Dirk Fowler, accomplished letterpress poster designer and Communication Design professor at Texas Tech, speak about his art and business f2design. A few samples of his work are shown in the picture above. His collection of eclectic pieces, which often incorporate visual symbols and illusions, are simple, yet complex in meaning and imagery. It was inspiring to see how his work has impacted not only the design industry, but also the music industry. When asked where he comes up with some of his ideas, he responded by referring to the posters that were distributed to all the attendees titled "Hand Eye Chicken." Dirk recounted how the image came about just from moving around a few pieces and realizing that a new image had appeared. Much like these posters, design inspiration is sometimes accidental and results from experimentation.
Posts
