Category: blog

Inner Mission: A new adventure at Creative Clarity Labs

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Join us as we blast off into space to find new creative tools in the universe. We bring them back to the lab on Planet Creativity to test—and, we’ll show you how to play with them and make them work for you, too! These one-minute creative breaks are best enjoyed when feeling stressed or uninspired. Like anytime at work, or during that wedge of time after lunch when you want to go take a nap but you can’t. Co-captains Sarah Spencer and Cyndi Coon are ready to take off again soon, so climb on-board the Spaceship Airstream for an Inner Mission you wont forget!

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Souvenir

From the Latin subvenre, this word has come to be know as something you buy at the airport. The Latin translation, though, means to come to mind. And isn’t that what a souvenir is supposed to be: a memory?

Do you have a memory so visceral that when it comes to mind all your senses remember? I have one of those memories, swimming in the Caribbean Ocean during a downpour. Heavy raindrops splash and overpower all voices around me. Ocean water dense with salt floats my body at zero gravity. Saltwater gets in my mouth. Liquid becomes a scent. And, I experience a green-blue illusion of light as if the ocean itself is filling the sky. This is my souvenir from a recent retreat to the Caribbean.

This retreat was special in that it was, among all things, a study of innovation. A small group of us gathered to research and study nature and culture. We painted in journals, read inspired books, and wrote about our observations. We got to know the culture of the place and became friends with locals who were, in their own way, innovating in their environment. We shared our thoughts on the future of business and refilled our spirits with energy. We boarded the plane with enough ideas to fill a cargo ship. I am grateful for this annual event. It is what propels me forward.

 

DIY 340: Refinish and upholster a bench

I refinished this little bench with “Chalk Paint” by Annie Sloan. The pretty teal color is Florence.

I first primed the old wood with Kilz primer then laid down a light blue I had from a previous project. The intention was to have a base so I could attain a distressed look.

I painted over the entire bench with Annie’s Florence blue, then rubbed with a cloth to distress. Once I had the desired effect, I finished the wood and sealed in the pigment with Annie Sloan’s soft wax. The finish is soft and pretty (not a hard shellac look or feel).

The fabric came from the awesome selection at Jo-Ann’s and it was a matter of cutting to size and stapling tight. This bench took me about 2 hours after I had all the supplies.

To make your own chalk paint, see this tutorial on the DYI Network blog.

Always be prepared to play

Play has always been a central part of my life. Because it keeps my curiosity stoked, it is what I am drawn to do. My “play personality” is fired up by discovering new things through research, art and travel. What is your play personality? What activities and tools do you use to have fun? Can you get to these activities and tools easily? Will you spend an hour a day doing one thing that is fun and makes you happy?

In the case of art journaling, having all your tools together for fast action—either to create-on-the-spot or grab-and-go—is a must. Below is a list of what’s in my caddy.

Get your “play station” set up:

A caddy filled with all the tools you need to start playing right away is very helpful. What this affords you is the ability to set up and break down fast and maximize your play time. Also, a caddy makes it easy to travel. I meet friends weekly to paint and catch up and when it’s time to pack for a trip, I transfer all the contents to my suitcase.

This entry into my journal was painted at Coachella 2014. We sat in the shade and took in all the sights and sounds of this amazing art and music festival. Life’s experience is my fuel.

Coachella 2014 Report: In Photos


The Sahara Dance Tent.


During the windstorm, a bag in suspended animation.


Tent armageddon in the dust storm.


As close as I could get to Fat Boy Slim in the Sahara tent.


Sunset on Saturday.


Red fish…


Blue fish…the mirrored Mako shark in Yuma tent.


Cathedral of light. DJs in the Sahara tent.

Coachella 2014 Report: The Art

Our excitement for music festivals goes beyond the music spilling into our interest in the artistic expressions at every event. At Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival the installations are epic.

Large-scale installations create a new Coachella Festival skyline each year. They skyscrapers this year consisted of a twisted pink-and-purple light-pretzel, an erect robot, epic strings of balloons and a gigantic astronaut.

Pictured above, the astronaut scoots around on a rolling platform to interact with fans. At night, video images change in his helmet. Designed by the same team who crafted perhaps the most popular art piece in Coachella history—last year’s “Helix Poeticus,” a.k.a. The Coachella Snail—”Poetic Kinetics” of Los Angeles is setting the standard for temporary public art.

 By far my favorite was the robotic bird. Built by Festo.com and remotely controlled by this guy…

CC and I wondered how many of these fell to their tangled death before the operator could safely navigate the bird in the breezy skies. The movements of this bird are so natural, if not for its size I would have been fooled.

I was charmed by the five-story-high robot “Becoming Human,” by Christian Ristow. The Bot holds in his right hand a blue flower that he lifts to his nose throughout the weekend. He is the central point on the festival grounds and the place where we all met if we lost each other.

Saturday evening a dust storm blew in and turned the atmosphere to a scene from Mad Max. The wind blew so hard and sustained for so long that all the shade structures in the massive camping area attached to the grounds were shredded or carried away. We were informed that it wasn’t as bad as last year…note taken.

Lightweaver, designed by Los Angeles artist Alexis Rochas is a continuous coil of fabric zipped onto a metal structure.

It provided much needed shade on the sunny days.

The Yuma tent is an enclosed disco room that we ducked into every day to get our groove on and cool off. Among the disco balls is a disco shark. I don’t know what to say…it’s so awesome I am speechless. Designed by Kevin McHugh.

Speaking of disco, the Sahara tent is an Ibizia dream come true. On my “Decade 40” bucket list is a trip to Ibizia, the island off the coast of Spain that is party central for dance clubs of the world. And although the tent itself isn’s art—albeit impressive—the art is the light shows that accompany the DJs music.

CC and I were so deeply influenced by our immersion in the innovative sights and sounds of Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival that we literally invented a new product! Look out for announcements in the Fall. Yay!

Coachella Valley Music and Art Festival 2014

CC and I are on a mission to hit every awesome music festival in existence. Coachella is a coveted ticket and has always been high on the list. Thanks to a generous friend and planets aligning in every solar system this side of forever, we were graced with the opportunity to attend the 2014 festival in the desert.

It was an epic event since neither of us has been to a music festival this large. Last count we heard was 300,000 people in attendance, and on Saturday it felt like it. The mass was so dense we couldn’t get within earshot of the music in the Sahara tent for Fat Boy Slim (my only bummer in the weekend).

Later, the wind kicked up and sustained a dust storm from 5pm to close making any hiding spaces scarce. Overall, the 3-day weekend was like walking around in my Pandora Stations. Hit after hit closed out every show, groove masters in every corner and under every tent, breathtaking light shows, and the most diverse parade of attendees I have ever seen in one place.


(Click on the photo above to see the fine print.)

We were pretty much knocked out by every band, but our standing favorites for what we saw are ZZ Ward, Ellie Goulding, Lorde, Bastille, DJ Falcon, Capital Cities, Frank Turner, Trombone Shorty, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the Business, Poolside, and Flight Facilities.

Not to mention the enclosed Yuma tent in general. It was a continuous dance party in the dark from 11am past midnight. The mirror ball Mako shark was Awe-Some! I finally wore my dance pants out. Didn’t think it was possible.

The Music. The Art. The Life. It was amazing. Next post up is an Art Report. The installations this year (as every year) are epic. Stay tuned…

Supplies for inspired camping

Here is the list of supplies I bring with me wherever I go.

Opaque Watercolors.
I love the intense color I get from using opaque watercolors. My favorite so far are Pelikan brand. I get these at DickBlick.com.

Really, Really nice paint brushes.
More than anything I use, a great paintbrush keeps me painting. My finest brush I bought over 20 years ago and it still performs beautifully. It’s so old Windsor & Newton doesn’t make it anymore, but there are equals out there. Generally the more expensive brushes (exceeding $20) are handmade of natural hairs. If you invest as I have done, and care for them, you will love the act of painting for many years to come. A great final painting is just a bonus!

Watercolor Paper.
Watercolor blocks are great for full coverage since the edges of the paper are held tight until dry. I carry a butter knife with me to separate the pages, but any flat tool will do as long as its not sharp like a knife. If that’s all you got be careful. I have sliced through many nice pieces with my pocket knife.

Another great canvas-on-the-go to have is a watercolor field journal. I use this when I am working on several paintings at the same time, or I am just sketching and don’t mind if the paper gets a little warped.

A cup for your water.
While this is very elementary and hardly worth mentioning, I thought I would share a bit of a discovery about using a collapsible cup. The pill holder part of the cup (you can see in the photo below) creates two water reservoirs which was handy as I worked with different color intensities at the same time. When I was done creating all my colored stripes I was left with “dirty” water that had enough pigment in it to create a beautiful taupe color that coordinated with the rest of my piece.

These little color explorations were a joy to do, and the capture the spirit and colors of the Grand Canyon as I experienced them in Havasupai Falls. This coming weekend we are going to Coachella Music Festival. I am interested to see how different the colors are and what inspires me (besides the music.) I can’t wait!