Category Archives: Design

The Question IS The Answer

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Asking

We each have secrets, stories we rarely share. Those things can prompt us to tears, or elicit smiles, upon a sight, sound, smell, taste, or touch. Some we hide because the pain is more than we can deal with comfortably, or because the pleasure is too precious to allow others.

These experiences, the answers to the questions why we are ourselves, are rich fodder for creativity. Sometimes we bury things under thick blankets of forgetfulness in our minds. If we dare to exhume the flesh and bones entombed, sometimes stories, paintings, essays, memoirs, tragedies, comedies, romantic novels can result. What are our secrets, but mysteries and thrillers that deserve a telling?

Did we act out once too often and alienate our best friend? Did we move to a new town, and never get over the home we left behind? Did we think about dying, or try our hand at suicide? Did we fall in love and learn our darling was not the person we adored? Did we want to travel, only to be stuck in our morning commute? Did the job we thought would solve all our problems become a nightmare with no escape? Did someone leave us desolate and alone? What about the dream that was better than we imagined? Who was that person we glimpsed, then met years later and became lovers? How is it we all have cell phones and are always connected, but we have lost touch with ourselves?

That was just brainstorming. What if? Why? When? How? Who? What? Where? Those are simple, but questions are best friends with creativity. Watch a toddler who is trying to understand the world. Questions are continuously on his or her tongue. Parents often wish they could shut down the constant curiosity, but we need to find it in our creative lives. We need to discover engrossing questions and create whatever may be our answer.

The question is the seed, germ, reason for bringing imagination to life. Maybe we are at work, and we wonder why things are always done a certain way, a change, a solution, could positively impact, maybe revolutionize our company. The most significant way to innovate, build resolutions, is the use of creativity after examining problems through extraordinary questions.

As a prompt: Take one of the mentioned questions or create your own and give life to your answer in whatever media you wish.

Thank you for sharing your day here on Haphazard Creative. I hope you will either click the button to follow the site or come here again soon. If you have comments or criticism, feel free to share in the comment section. As always, keep creating, and make your day the best you can. God Bless You!

© Jo Ann J. A. Jordan

Making Time to Free Imagination

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Creativity Thrives

Our lives are so busy, and we invite our cell phones, computers, tablets, Kindles, AIs and other technological wonders to notify and alert us of everything happening whether essential or just noise. We hardly leave our screens. It is a bit disconcerting to go to a restaurant where people are dining together and see them rather than engaged in conversation, sitting across from one another busily tapping on their cell phones.

We need to distance ourselves from devices for some bit of time each day. I am not anti-technology. I have ridden the wave as an early adopter since 1991. However, there is a need for us to have time to think and imagine with clarity. Everyone is creative, but not everyone allows time to find the expression of their creativity.

An excellent way to engage in some noggin time is to take walks. This is not about walking from the desk to the water fountain or break room, or the bathroom. Leisurely walks outdoors or even indoors without the interruption of devices give the brain space to make novel connections.

Some of our great creatives, the Transcendentalists, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, walked to generate ideas. Henry became a surveyor to support himself and continuously observed the natural world around him. He was not as successful in his writing and lecturing, as was Emerson, while alive, but he is now considered one of the linchpins of the Transcendental movement. Henry often wrote about what he had seen during the day on his walks far afield of his home. He also sketched. If you have not read Emerson and Thoreau, they are highly recommended.

We may think we have no time to break out and away from tech, but the rewards are great. We can explore plot lines, observe the symmetries of nature and turn them into works of art, we can generate ideas for essays, anything creative can be born in times when we give our brains free rein to create imaginative ideas.

If we have children, we can take them along. Let them run ahead or fall behind safely and carry on their delight with its giggles and exclamations. Then gather them close and walk together playing a game of silence, maybe see how long they can maintain quiet. Spending time like this with kids inoculates them with a love of movement and freedom that will fare them well later in life.

Time is something the creative person needs to set aside for thought. Maybe writing it into a schedule or on an electronic calendar will give a proper reminder. This is time to fill the well so when one tries to bring up a bucketful of ideas the supply has not dwindled to nothing.

As a prompt: Take some time to walk or to sit and imagine without the constant distraction of technology. This enables visits to universes of creativity that cannot be reached in the busyness of every day.

Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts. I hope they encourage or inspire you. Please, click the follow button, or come again as you can. Your comments and criticisms are always welcome. God bless and keep you always. May you find all you need to create the worlds and life you wish.

© Jo Ann J. A. Jordan

A note of explanation: The ideas, writings, and photos found here are my creations. I do not use photo stock. My interests and views are wide-ranging, but I communicate as myself.

 

What We Remember Is Ours

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Inspire with Masonic Lodge

This building was a vintage Masonic Lodge, it was also used as a meeting place for various groups in our community. Someone in their deviousness, arsonists, burned it down. The citizenry of the area came together and rebuilt it, though I have no photos of the new construction.

Often, our memories lay dormant, unconsidered, but they are gifts that may fire our imaginations with inspiration. Creativity hides behind the veil where the present meets past. We can explore memory for treasure to use in the present.

A photo from childhood may contain the germ of a story, relevant today. A song may remind us of a time we had let slip away but can be used as the setting for a drawing or a novel.

We are time machines, and our minds contain worlds. Creation is our default parameter, it makes our lives impact others in ways we may be unaware.

As a prompt: Find a photo and let it loose your creative imagination.

© Jo Ann J. A. Jordan

 

So, It Is!

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Life is Creativity

We do not have to be perfect. We must be willing to try, and keep trying even when we make mistakes, or fail. No great work is done without practice, and perseverance pays high dividends in skill and accomplishment. We must embrace new things and adapt ourselves to the times.

Creativity is required for all innovation and meritorious writing and art, but creativity alone does not guarantee success. Giftedness and talent are helpful, but skill derived from hours spent in work and exploration are what bring shine to our endowments.

Everyone is creative, but not everyone will expend the effort to find out what lies within them. Creation is ongoing, one does not suddenly arrive at the pinnacle, there is always a further level to achieve.

Learning is a lifelong pursuit, and once that hunger ebbs, one is destined to regress. Read widely, not only for enjoyment, but to learn how language works, and how those who are preeminent in the publishing world cast their words. Create a voice, but attune ears to finding better phrasing. Study methods of whatever arts pursued, continually improve technique. Find tools that enhance the work done. Embrace change, for change and love, is fundamental to creativity. Without passion, little of lasting brilliance is made.

Invest time in those things that add creative joy and multiply achievement. We know these things, but when chasing a livelihood; sometimes we lose sight of what enables our best, and we should always strive for better today than we were yesterday. Comparing ourselves to others causes us to feel weak and incompetent, we are not; if we make ourselves the benchmark, we more likely stave off depression and self-doubt.

Remember, what we are doing today would have been beyond our powers in the past. We grow, our creativity enlarges our competence; and fills our hearts and souls with joy.

As a prompt: Try something new, if you usually use technology, instead engage in work with your hands and vice-versa. If you are a writer do something artistic, an artist expand your thought in writing.

No one can complain
We have failed when we have made
Progress toward growth.

Thank you so much for visiting Haphazard Creative. I am glad you found this place in the vast sea of cyberspace. Please follow the site if you care to, or come back again. Any thoughts you have to share are very welcome and appreciated, just leave a comment.

All the best to you, now and always. May many blessings accrue to you and yours. God Bless.

© Jo Ann J. A. Jordan

An Old Favorite – Updated

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When I was a kid, before microwaves, in a household that pinched pennies until Mr. Lincoln wished he had never entered my mother’s clutches, the above was a regular item on the limited menu.

Fast forward to this future, and you have me, who despises cooking and turning on an oven in scorching temperatures.

I have adapted the dish to something microwave friendly. The ingredients are:

Place a number consistent with your appetite on a microwave-safe plate. If desired you may make slits across the weiners to keep them from bulging in the heat.

Add:

You may use any brands you like, these are those I had on hand. Distribute ketchup over weiners in the desired amount and thickness.

Lastly, add:

I am a cheese fiend, and this is my favorite binge. Place cheese slices over wieners and bed of ketchup.

Place plate with preparations in the microwave, heat for a minute twenty seconds, or until you decide the meal is done.

Serve with your choice of chips (if you like) and beverage.

I do not usually share cooking ideas, so if you like this, drop me a line.

Have a blessed day and stay safe.

© Jo Ann J. A. Jordan

Redeeming Terms

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Redeeming Snowflakes

I hear people bandy about terms that were once understood as definite descriptions as if those meanings no longer apply. It seems to happen more often and to ever more beautiful words.

Politicalizing or degrading language is an offense, but it is also a part of the adaptation of words to current times. It behooves us to cast back on some of the original purposes set out in our lexicon.

As children, many of us wondered at the beauty of the falling snow, and scores of us have yet to lose the fascination. The idea that each snowflake is an imprinted original with a unique design unlike any other ever released from heaven is fantastic, as is the fact that each human being is an even grander a miracle.

Today, I encourage you to celebrate who you are and what you create. Contribute something refreshingly inventive to our world. Give others an opportunity to experience creation through your perspective. You can only impact society if you take action.

We may grow older,
But if we nurture our passions
Creativity survives.

Keep farseeing eyes
An open, compassionate
Heart, be a blessing.

Communicate LOVE
In all that you undertake;
It makes trouble quake.

As a prompt: Take a word whose reputation has been sullied by offensive misuse and harken back to its origins. Create something, letting the original meaning shine. Do this in any medium that appeals to you.

I am grateful:

  1. I have to chance to express myself creatively.
  2. I am able to write.
  3. Reading is a fundamental skill I exercise regularly.
  4. My son inspired me by calling.
  5. The well we plumb to manifest art and literature in our existence never runs dry.

Thank you so much for visiting Haphazard Creative. I hope you enjoyed your time here. If you wish, click the button and follow the site, or come back as you can. Should you have thoughts to share, please leave a comment. Your input is always welcome. Bless you, forever, and may you find life as you dream it with abundances of love.

© Jo Ann J. A. Jordan

Changes Spark Creation

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Design Your Space

I wanted to make a standing desk because I rarely sit down, that is how I lost sixty pounds, but that is another tale. I thought about putting cement blocks under the legs of the table I was using, but I thought that would look terribly unappealing. Though I have few visitors, my sense of style would have been insulted.

There were plastic file holders and other assorted important junk on this bar-like extension of counter space, I moved all of it. I cleaned the surfaces and moved the technological equipment and various desk accouterments here. There are spotlights just over this space, and the area is much brighter than where I had worked on the table.

My willingness to explore creative endeavors has increased dramatically. I have programs of which I never took advantage nor learned to use correctly; now I have begun expanding my repertoire and horizons.

I encourage you to optimize your workspace. Proper lighting is essential, it will lift your spirits and make your work much more comfortable. I did not spend anything to make the changes which I made. I merely expended some cognitive resources and some time. You can do likewise.

We often think our creativity is unaffected by outside influences, but the evidence shows that the environment can positively increase productivity.

I hope you will consider this advice, as always, take what you can use and discard the rest.

Your visits to my website are genuinely appreciated. If you have thoughts to share, please leave a comment. May all you do be blessed and may you ever be safe.

© Jo Ann J. A. Jordan

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