Grellow Studio

So I’ve been trying to punch my creative juices in the gut to create something artistic or original. These creative juices have been super lazy lately and I’m not happy with them. I often get these lulls and it seems I’m in a constant battle to figure out how to move past these blocks.

For the most part, things are good; work is steady and keeping things pretty fresh, I’ve been making ‘Beer Books‘ in hopes to make a few extra bucks at upcoming art markets (and it’s a great excuse to consume tasty beer), ‘Grellow Shots‘ (which only lasted 4 weeks) was making me take photos and browse through Flickr on a regular basis, I’ve got plans to start painting, and I’ve been getting quite a bit of reading done (including blogs). I just don’t feel like I’ve done anything tangible or worthwhile so far. Maybe I make too many excuses? Maybe I have no ambition? Or, like I keep telling myself, maybe I should quit talking and start doing.

Wherein lies the problem – I don’t know where to start. I don’t know what I want to do. What is something? What is anything? Already I don’t keep my blog up-to-date enough, I don’t take enough photos, I don’t design much outside of work, I haven’t started painting yet, I’ve got tons of books I need to read… the list goes on. I can start there, but will that be enough?

Maybe I shouldn’t have written this post so late (4am), but I need accountability. I need responsibility. But above all, I need initiative. Something to drive me to do something.

So, if you’ve got any ideas, thoughts, comments or criticisms – I’d love to hear em. Until then, I’ll keep reading over this post in hopes for that killer creative spark. Watch out creative juices…

So, after sifting through somewhere around 1400 links and favorites (StumbleUpon), I linked up some of the really inspiring design links (over there on the side –>). There’s about 30 so far and the plans are to spotlight each one individually so stay tuned for write-ups. The ‘Home Page Worthy’ category means they update content just about daily and they stay on top of things. The ‘Inspirational Links’ have great stuff to check out and bookmark (or just bookmark my site instead!) If you know of any other good links I can add, shoot me a comment!

Well, it’s like air – it’s all around you, everywhere you go. Problem is, just like air, it goes unnoticed on a highly regular basis. You’ve got to learn how to observe and make use of inspiration for design. For me, the point of this blog will be just that – to learn how to be aware of and utilize my surroundings to help me be inspired and become more creative.

I know I fail to notice inspiration around me all the time. Lots of times, I try the ‘wait and see’ approach and usually come up empty handed as far as any great ideas go. I lay down and try to come up with the next best idea – routinely falling asleep and having nothing to show for myself, but that’s another story.

The time I notice I’m ‘at my best’ concerning being inspired is when I’m carrying a sketchbook or camera. Then I make myself jot something down, sketch or doodle something or just snap a shot… of something. This can be anything from writing a thought, sketching a cup of coffee, designing a cool font, taking a photo of trash or whatever. Just doing something. (more…)