Daily Creative April 17, 2020: Quick Collage

Nurturing your creativity requires consistent practice. The Daily Creative is here to offer a new activity (almost) every day, but if you find something that feels especially helpful or fun, you can do the same activity each day. In the classic book The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, the reader is asked to write Morning Pages every day. Three pages, first thing in the morning, every day. Morning Pages are incredibly effective at shaking loose the cobwebs of your creative center and making space for new ideas and energy to flow. By the way, if you are unfamiliar with The Artist's Way, please search it out. You will have zero regrets.

In the same way, if an activity in the Daily Creative strikes you, you can experiment by repeating it. What is important here is consistency. Every day. What time of day should you do these activities? That is really up to you. I like to do my consistent practices in the morning. I wake up early, before anyone else is up, feed the cats, make my coffee, meditate, and do my creative practice. Truthfully, sometimes I meditate OR do my creative practice. But I do something every day.

Now let's get on to today's Daily Creative activity: quick collage.

Materials: magazine(s). Optional: glue, paper, scissors, journal.

Grab a magazine. Anything will do as long as there are some images along with words. Set your timer for 1 minute. Flip through your magazine and choose 3-4 images or words that jump out at you. Don't overthink this - just go with whatever catches your eye. And in the minute you have there won't be much time to ponder. You will be forced to go with your gut, and that's the whole point!

Rip out the images/words. I like to rip out entire pages as I go and when I have all my selected pictures rip them out individually. Make a clear space on your table where you can see your images without distraction and lay them out in front of you. In 30 seconds or less, arrange them in a way that pleases you. Again, don't over think this. When you have your arrangement, pause and spend a few seconds noticing what you have created. What do you see? How are the images connected? How do you feel seeing this composition? Give your composition a title. The first thing that comes to mind.

Now rearrange those pictures into a different configuration. Take less than 10 seconds to do this. Notice how this changes what you see and how you feel. Give this one a new title. Do the same thing a third time.

If you are using a journal or want to preserve your collage, you can tape or glue your images and write down your chosen title.

Note: I ask you to rip for a couple of reasons. First, it allows you to move more quickly through the exercise, eliminating the option of thinking too much about your choices. Second, ripping gives a different texture to your pictures. However, if you are someone who likes neatness, go ahead and grab those scissors and neaten them up after you have taken them out of the magazine.