Creative me

Little S is in plein bétise mode and I have been trying to keep him entertained by drawing which works well but there is only so much drawing we can do. It's a full time job because he's still at that age where you have to be right by his side when he's creating or working. He needs that companionship.

I haven't been as creative as I'd hoped lately because of all the chaos of moving--packed up art supplies, missing camera chargers and lack of time or space have all contributed to my slump. I'm hoping to get back in to creating full-force next year because I am beginning to see clearly that there are two versions of me. The creative version of me is so much calmer and happier with herself than the bogged down, overextended mother version. I like the creative me so much more and so does my family.

I thought I'd share some creative links I'm enjoying lately. Please share some of your favorites too either in the comments or on your blog:

First of all I've been devouring the short films in Paris Je T'aime. This is a really interesting series of 18 films done in Paris with the theme being love. The directors are all famous--Wes Craven, Gus Van Sant, and The Coen Brothers to name a few of the biggies. The films are completely diverse and interesting. If you are a francophile you will adore the scenes of Paris. The best part is the diversity though. You jump from one director's vision to another. It's great fun. Go buy the dvd. If you want to see a few snippets on You Tube you can check out a few of the best ones but do go out and buy the dvd.

Here's a fun blog I found recently geared towards Ikea addicts. I 've always thought you could mix up the parts and make cool things! Some are funny, some are silly, and some are pure genius. At the end of the year they post their hacks of the year and you can vote on them.

Jul pointed the way to this wonderful blog where you can participate in Art Every Day Month in November (AEDM). You can jump on the bandwagon next November or just commit to a month on your own next year. Why not? The blog is really great with lots of wonderful ideas and links. It also currently has a Creativity Every Day challenge.

This is a blog I've been keeping an eye on lately, The Strobist. I want to learn how to use the flash correctly on my camera and get more into portrait and still photography. I'm not a fan of flash photography but there is a way of using it that really appeals to me like in this photo which to me because looks like a painting. I really love that and I want to learn how to use an off-camera flash to do this. This is a great blog by a pro with lots of tutorials assignments and a Flickr group for inspiration.