Seeking Inspiration: Cross Training

Photo from : tumblr

My Dearest Devotees,

Sometimes, I go through periods of inspirational drought. Every time I try to write, or design, or create art through one of my regular mediums I encounter a huge mind block that cripples me creatively. Sometimes, I just get bored of using the same materials or skills all the time. I long for something different and desire a new challenge. At these times, just being thrown out of your comfort zone and having to make use of skills you didn't even know you had is enough to get you inspired. I'm talking about cross-training.

During the last undergraduate retreat I attended, we talked about how athletes sometimes use cross-training to improve certain skills. For example, a basketball player could do gymnastics to improve his/her agility on the court. During the retreat we were told about how we could cross train in our faith, by using different types of prayer. And after taking all the classes I took last semester, I've been trying to figure out how I can cross-train by trying out different forms of art. For the longest time, I've been a writer. Ever since I was eight, I've been writing poetry and short stories. Since then I've written songs, blog posts, a short novel, a short play, and worked on plots for movies, and sitcoms. I've been designing clothes since I was 12. Coming up with new ideas gets hard after a while and just the thrill of trying something new could give a totally new approach. Who knows? You may even a stumble on a hidden talent.

I'm going to take a break from my fashion designer dreams for a while and dive full speed ahead into music and visual arts ( mostly drawing and painting still lifes and human figures.) I've no idea where it'll take me, but I'm really excited to see. I say taking a break because it's hard to imagine that I won't still be caught in fabric stores picking out swatches for my next project in a couple of weeks, but it's all about taking it out of first place and putting it in maybe second place? My darling devotees, if you've been feeling uninspired whenever you take to your art form of choice, why not take another route? Cross-train with me and if you have any ideas of different art forms you think I should try you can let me know in the comments or email me at aury4eva@gmail.com.

Here's the inspirational exercise for this week:

How do you translate this picture into your favorite art form? Or you could translate it into a totally different art form to start your cross-training practice.

My Translation:

At this very moment I felt like I could fly.

As the ground beneath me disappeared, dashed dreams and lost ambitions were left behind.

And hope filled me completely.

Suddenly, I could see a future where I would be happy- where everything I wanted could and would happen.

As my feet reached over the sun, I leaned back, prepared to jump.

And took a flying leap into the great beyond.

I'm also working on a silhouette drawing of this picture that I may show you all later this week in another post.

***

Links that have inspired me this week

I think Doe Deere is absolutely wonderful for doing this.

This song has nothing to do with this post but it makes me soo happy. It's Matt Hires Honey Let Me Sing You a Song.

I really loved this post on being an 18th Century mortician. Who knew they could be so stylish?

I thinking making my dorm room green may just be one of the best ideas I've ever heard.

We can either sit around and sulk about what sucks in our lives or we could decide to do something about it. A advocates the second in this post.

Love you all and Stay inspired,

P.S. So let me know what you think. What inspired you this week? What is your favorite art form and what would you try out if you were cross-training? Feel free to let me know in the comments below.