A sunflower about to bloom is filled with intrigue. It's poised on the verge of emergence and seems so hopeful, just like the creative spirit. Here are a few ideas to awaken yours.
How to Awaken the Creative Spirit
Are Shelfies The New Selfies?
A shelfie seems like a generous way to share your library of ideas, instead of your silly selfie face. Shelfies also reveal how unique you think your intellect is, but they can show how deep is your soul.
Are you at your desk, in front of your laptop? Are you at your easel, in front of your canvas? Great. If an idea comes, you'll be ready for it.
There Is Nothing Fair About Fair Use
How can you respect the rights of image creators? Simple. Don't download their work without permission, and don't claim "fair use" if you do. Check out these royalty-free sources for free art instead.
Attention Small Brands, You Can’t Waste Time on Facebook Anymore
It's time for brands to quit wasting time on Facebook. Its familiarity is comforting, but the results for brands are not. What to do instead?
Divergent in Photography and Thought
Robert Frost's 1916 poem still holds meaning for me, and finds its way into my photography, and my life.
Inspiration by Graphic: It's all about you. Who you are is what you make, and what you make of it.
Watering the Desert: Reflections as Distortions
Reflections of the vast brown Chihuahuan desert that surrounds a vivid green church in a tiny Mexican village are distorted by more than sundown.
You Are a Fountain of Ideas
You are an inexhaustible fountain of ideas. If you don't believe it, find some inspiration among writers writing on writing.
To Dive Inside a Pistachio Dream
If you dream in green and ice cream, you may want to dive inside a pistachio-colored booth at Austin's Amy's Ice Cream.
Where Inspiration Comes From
There's no need to make the creative process into a big mystery to outsiders, or even yourself. It all comes from your influences.
Why It’s Called Social Sharing
You won’t be noticed, much less discovered—there is too much competition from the entire global community for your one little drop in the big web bucket to get found. Instead, start local, where your roots are.
How to Deal With the Loneliness of Creativity
"Creativity is Essentially a Lonely Art . . . An Even Lonelier Struggle" - Lou Dorfsman
It’s All About Your Perspective
In Austin, Texas, we take our local landmarks seriously, and our city ordinances decree that new high-rise condos must not exceed the height of our beloved homegrown businesses.
How To Lead The Creative Life
"We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us." —Joseph Campbell
The Challenge Comes With A Risk: Print, Or Paint?
As a photographer who paints, and a painter who photographs, there's a challenge and a risk I'm often faced with: Print, or Paint?
"Remember the Alamo!" If you're leading a charge against a conquering army with but a ragtag rebel force, you can rally your troops with this trusty, time-tested cry. Remember the Alamo? Not the one that began its life in San Antonio, Texas, and was made famous by a battle on this day in 1836, but the... Continue Reading →
Perfection Is Overrated.
See and read my imperfect works at my website.
Has HDR Gone Too Far?
Did your (very) human eye see the scene you photographed and post-processed the way your HDR image looks? Not likely.
My image library is overflowing with photographs of abandoned places. They are evocative. They provoke my storytelling curiosity.
Jann Alexander :: Pairings 