At some point or another, you will hit the wall and creativity will become an elusive companion. In fact, it will probably happen many times over the course of your creative life. You are not alone at that wall but what can you do to turn around?

I have a few things that keep me going creatively. They aren’t earth-shattering or even all that original but they can make a difference when you find yourself struggling to create.

1. Surround yourself with other creatives. Early last fall, I emailed some friends of mine who are in various creative fields – writing/editing, photography, design, video – and suggested we begin meeting once a month. We call it “Creative Coffee.” We have no agenda. We simply meet to encourage, inspire, and support each others’ work. We share ideas on books, conferences, and software that will benefit our various projects. Just being around other creatives can help stir up ideas.  A nice side to the meetings is that each of us now have new people in our network to recommend when jobs come up such as ad designs or copy writing. Recommendation: When you are gathering a group think about how the personalities will work with each other and what the individuals can bring to the table in terms of knowledge and experience.

2. Keep an idea book. No, it’s not a journal. I have a little book that I carry with me. Anytime I hear a phrase, see or read something that sparks an idea, I write it down. I may not immediately do anything with it but I may come back to it later.  The point is always be aware of your surroundings. You might just find your next exhibit subject in these notes.

3. Be inspired by others’ stories. I love watching documentaries and I’ve been motivated by many to try something new or return to something that had overwhelmed me before. Just think of the vast movie vault you have at your fingertips with the internet. It’s so easy these days to simply stream or download a movie. Watch one over your lunch break (if you take one) or use your meeting time with other creatives to watch one. Some really good TV networks that carry documentaries are The Documentary Channel, OvationTV, and, of course, PBS. Some recent inspirations for me: Lemonade, Deaf Jam, and Art Race (ok, this is really a TV show). Keep in mind these stories don’t have to involve the creative process but can be anything that moves you.

4. Build a library.  We live in a time where, like movies, it’s so easy to pick up a book anywhere and by any means. Personally, I like a good old-fashioned bound book. I also enjoy visiting the local library. I have found recently that I’m purchasing books that help in my creative career so I’ve now officially begun a home library. Like documentaries, books inspire. Fill your library, either hard or digital copies, with books by artists, life coaches, career consultants, marketing experts, anyone that can help you do what you love. Mark your favorite passages, write in the margins, highlight, hang quotes on your cork board. Be inspired.

5. Reassess your creative environment. If you have a home office, there a few simple things you can do to help keep the creative fire burning. I recently decided to purchase a dry-erase board and cork board for my office. Primarily, I did this because I’m a to-do list person so now the list stares down from me from the dry-erase board. I love to cross things off my list. I don’t erase them. I cross them off so I can see what I’ve accomplished over the course of the week and that provides its own inspiration. I use the cork board to post favorite quotes and pictures that get me going when I’m ready to just walk away. Hanging up a board is pretty simple to do but what about actually repainting your office or buying new furniture?  The colors orange and yellow are said to inspire creativity. Some people I know are fortunate to have a converted shed in the backyard for their office. So, if you have the time and budget, consider an area in your house that might make the perfect getaway office.

The point of all this is when you feel your creative side beginning to slow down, step back and take a look at the world around you. Rethink about what sparked that initial creative fire and put yourself in a place or with people that can inspire you back.

What do you do to stay creative?

My dad served in the U.S. Army for 20 years. He retired as a First Sergeant when I was just a little girl. I wasn’t even old enough for grade school. I didn’t spend a large part of my childhood moving from base to base like my oldest brother. But I’m definitely an Army man’s daughter and proud of it. I guess that’s why I’ve always been sensitive to the military and continue to support them. Perhaps that’s why it’s not surprising that one magazine article sparked an idea.

Late one night I picked up a magazine that I’d been meaning to read. It was there that I came across an interview about a woman who had recently returned from duty in Afghanistan and who was suffering from PTSD. I was moved by her story and began to realize how little we hear of our service women. There they are making sacrifices to defend our country and yet their stories are seldom told. The idea came. Why not create a project that focuses on the lives of these women through interviews and photographs?

I mentioned the idea to a friend of mine who casually noted that she knew someone who had been in the WAVES. The what? Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) began in 1942 as women’s component of the U.S. Navy. After a couple of emails, I presented my project idea to a group of WAVES at their local meeting. Soon after, the interviews have begun.

I’m finding the project, “She Served Proudly,” to be somewhat organic and very fluid. It changes as more women are interviewed. But I like that because it makes it more their project than mine. They have been open about their lives with me as they share their laughter, pain, and history.

Of course, I hope to include women from all branches in the project as well as women from different eras as I move forward. I also hope that I can help bring attention to the women who have served our country proudly.

I spent a couple of hours today with a group of extraordinary women. They are veterans of our military service. Some had served during World War II, some during Viet Nam, and some recently in Iraq. They are a large part of why we continue to enjoy the freedoms we have in this country.

It seemed fitting that I got to meet with them a day before the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Their pride is contagious and as we stood together saying The Pledge of Allegiance and singing the national anthem, I couldn’t help but be humbled in their presence.

These ladies and I are beginning a journey together. Over the next few months, we will work together on a project that will bring to light their individual stories and, I imagine, the story of service women as a whole.

I’m excited to see the project progress and I look forward to sharing it with you.

A couple of weeks the photo group that I belong to took a trip to a small, historical town just south of Nashville. Our goal was to capture those places that make the town unique. You know, churches, houses, the town square. So off we went in little teams weighed down by cameras, lenses, and tripods. As is usually the case, I didn’t really know anyone in my group so I quietly went about the task we’d been given – but only for about ten minutes. Because as is also usual with me, I began to venture off on my own. While folks were looking for new ways to shoot an old church, I noticed a prayer garden off to the side. But, wait. An old building with vines and branches pouring into its windows was just down from the garden. So, of course, that’s where I went. The rest of the morning was no different. People were shooting houses and I was shooting the patterns the sun made as it streamed through patio furniture. I was on a different path.

I have no fear when I have my camera in my hand. Never mind that people look at me strangely while I point my camera at an interesting crack in the sidewalk. I will walk where I probably shouldn’t and take pictures on the sly without fear. Take the camera out of my hand and the fear can sometimes overcome me. The desire to move in another direction is there but the fear of making a mistake is also present. The questions of “Am I doing the right thing?” and “What if I fail?” pop into my head. But, every once in a while I feel the courage to step over to another path. It’s a strange and empowering sensation to take that step. And then even stranger when nothing bad happens as a result. So, then I take the next step and then another until I’m completely away from the old path. I know I can do it. That first step though. Well, it’s a real doozy.

This fear of making mistakes goes so far against that adventurous spirit of mine and the fear seems to be winning lately. By a lot. But, I can sense little by little the adventure gaining ground. And I like it. The new path is becoming clearer to me. The directions of how to get there seem to be taking a little time to gather. I can see it though. At this point I can’t see what’s along the way. But that’s the adventure, right?

Fear be damned.

It really wasn’t supposed to take this long. I was supposed to have it done by Christmas 2010. Well, one of my New Year’s Resolutions is to be more disciplined. Not a very good start. But I do have quite a few months left to get better.

If you’ve read previous posts, you know that my mom and I visited her hometown in northeast Arkansas last fall. She recorded her memories while I took photographs of familiar places. When I began putting the photos together I also started pulling out old family photos and high school yearbook photos to add to the mix of shots.

As I listened to my mom’s voice now weakened from age, I delicately arranged the photos to tell the story of a woman visiting her childhood. I shed some tears and often smiled as the story came together on my computer screen.

In December, my mom and I sat on the couch together as she watched the slideshow for the first time. I wasn’t quite finished. There were some timing issues and the music bed hadn’t been added but I felt compelled to share it with her. When the show ended, I turned to see my mom in tears. That was enough for me. No matter what anyone else may think of it, my mom’s reaction means more than anything.

No, it’s not perfect. It’s a first attempt at using Aperture to create anything. Yes, it took way too long for me to finish (something that I will improve on). But it’s something that I wanted to share with people. My mom’s story, and the stories of so many other people of her generation, is worth hearing and seeing. It serves as a reminder of where I came from and what I owe to those who came before.

Click here to view A Journey Home

When I was in Paris a couple of years ago with my brother, I found myself drawn to taking photos of chairs. At the time it was the lines, colors, and randomness of each chair’s position that intrigued me.

I still find myself taking pictures of chairs. In addition to the things that first appealed to me, I now see so much more. There is a history to each chair. I wonder about the people who have sat in it. The lives who have rested in it – sometimes just for a moment or maybe for an afternoon. The designs are always different. Fabrics, colors, and settings are as varied as the people who have plopped themselves down in them.

Maybe I’m making too much of them. They are just chairs. But they make great photo subjects so I’ll keep shooting them.

I’ve posted some of my European chair photos on my portfolio. Feel free to have a look and take and seat.

I didn’t take this photo. I had not been born yet. The date on the back of this little photo is June 20, 1947. My mom was 13 at the time and her daddy was a farmer. They had to deal with floods as you can see. I found this photo among piles of pictures in a box my uncle kept. This is one of my favorites.

My mom and her family grew up in a small town in northeast Arkansas. They picked cotton and made very little money. It was a hard life but they always had food on the table and faith and family were everything to them.

Last fall, my mom and I went back to the town. It’s almost non-existent. A handful of residents still live there while ramshackle houses scatter the streets around them. The house my mother grew up a few miles away is no longer there. Nothing but grass and dirt mark the area where three lives were shaped by two of the most lovely parents. The barn in the photo is long gone as well. The only thing that remains are my mom’s memories and they are quite special. She is the last of the family living so it was important to capture those memories in photos and audio.

My working title for the project is “The Arkansas Project.” I hope to share it in the next couple of weeks.

I love a good adventure. People who know me well aren’t surprised by that statement. I have taken on adventures many times over the course of my adult life. I’m not talking about jumping out of a plane without a chute or scaling the steep side of a cliff. I’m talking about leaping into the great unknown just to see what happens. You should try it. I think you’d enjoy yourself.

Oh, let’s face it. Everyday we wake up we’re facing the unknown. We’re never sure what the day will bring even though we’ve carefully laid out the day’s schedule, filled it with meetings, appointments, and projects. In an instant, our plans can change. In one day. Emergencies arise, meetings cancel, appointments run long, or people don’t have their part of the project ready.

But a schedule for life? I’ve been known to scrap a schedule and go in a different direction. Years ago, I left the security of home and moved to Nashville without a job and only three months rent in my checkbook. I had a job in a week’s time. I’ve left a job without another job to go to. It resulted in the some of the best four months of my life and, eventually, a job that was just what I needed. I’ve traveled to a strange country by myself and toured the streets without any idea of where I was going despite my itinerary. Yes, for me, being adventurous means getting lost quite a bit but it’s well worth it when you find something you weren’t expecting.

I’m not advocating a fly by the seat of your pants approach to living. I think it’s important to have a plan for how to take care of yourself and your family. You have to have order to be successful in living. But, the joy and excitement of taking that leap every once in a while is invigorating. Yes, it can also be scary but where’s the adventure if you don’t jump now and then?

What’s your next adventure?

I have taken on a project that is bigger than I expected. Sifting through more than 200 photos, editing down to a manageable number. Let’s not forget the hour or so of audio that needs to be spliced. Oh, and then there’s finding a music bed to play underneath the show. Did I mention I recently upgraded my computer and I have yet to transfer everything over?

In all honesty I’m having a lot of fun. I spend my days at the office waiting to get home to turn on the computer and begin pouring over the project. I have no clue as to when I’ll be done with it. Maybe before Christmas. I hope. I haven’t done something like this before. I have the technology and the time. More importantly, I have the passion. I’ll plow through as if everyone in the world will care but I’m not delusional. No one outside my family may even care. And that’s ok.