The stacks of painted canvases, sheets of sketches strewn across your room, and the collections of fictional stories you once wrote—as an artist, you’ve done it all. Painting, sketching, and writing are some of the creative classics you can always turn to, yet you crave something new. Much like a writer facing writer’s block, struggling to find a captivating topic, you might hit an artist’s block, unsure of what to create. Here are a few bold ideas to ignite your inspiration.
Bedazzling
This is something I discovered in my senior year of high school, from decorating my senior tie-dye shirt to wear on my first last day, to making a bejeweled graduation cap to close the chapters of my high school journey. Adding rhinestones to anything can elevate its look. Take a plain object, like shoes, a denim jacket, a poster, or a book cover (almost anything you can think of), and decorate it by gluing on rhinestones in colors that complement the piece. Whether you use your gems to fill in shapes, outline figures, or make new designs, the end results are fabulous!Â
Bouquet Making
A craft that embodies spring, every bit of bouquet making is fun, from selecting flowers to arranging them, to adding a decorative wrap and finish. Simply put, bouquet arrangements have two components: the flowers with their stems, which are the focal points, and the greenery and foliage, which act as contrasting and supporting elements. To make a beautiful and striking bouquet, choose flowers with complementary shapes and colors, and differing volumes. After pairing flowers with foliage, wrap the floral arrangement in cellophane and secure it by tying rope or colorful ribbon around the stems. These bouquets are a treat to give your friends or loved ones, or serve as a lovely decorative piece for your home.
Elevating a dish
For anyone who loves to cook or bake, this is an activity inspired by shows like MasterChef and the Great British Baking Show. Most of the culinary challenges on those shows entail creating dishes that follow a certain theme. Why not do the same when you’re in the kitchen: take the thing you know how to make really well and give it a little twist or add some flair. Here are a few ideas: plate a familiar dish in a fancy way, feature a new ingredient as the star of a recipe, or swap out routine ingredients to explore bold new flavor combinations.
MUsical mashup
For any one who is into making music, the Garage Band app, available on apple devices, allows you to create some eclectic pieces. This may seem basic, but it’s a cost-friendly and quick way to experiment creatively. My friend and I had hours of fun on Garage Band mixing instruments from different genres and layering their tracks to create a composition. Use the app to play a variety of instruments, add your own recordings in, generate beats, and put everything together. Definitely use and combine instruments from different genres and cultures because, surprisingly, they make the best mashups.
When you’re looking for something different and creative to do to take up hours of your time, give these a shot. Who knows, maybe you might create your next masterpiece!
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