CREATIVE THURSDAY v.1 BIRD WALLS AND PORTFOLIOS

 Welcome to creative update - a post series where I share all the creative trouble I've been up to for the past few weeks. There will be pictures. There will be whining. There will be (hopefully) a bit of inspiration and a bit of a peek in to my process!

Images inspiring me: 
the above gorgeous, dreamy photos of Belarus by Alex Ugalnikov.

And of course, the image of times square that looks magically like an impressionist painting, by Michele Palazzo. I’m in love with accidentally classic photographs (anyone remember that parliamentary fight-scene photo that turned out to fit the golden ratio perfectly? Because I do, and I still love it)

What I've been writing:
Work has been a bit slow on the novel since mid-january. I'm going through a period of revision and re-thinking that tends to take away from the writing. I'm thinking a lot about my novel, and hopefully getting a clearer picture of what I want it to be about, who my characters are, and what on earth is happening in the giant mountain I'm determined to set it in. I did get a bit of writing in, though, so here's a little peek at some rough-work:

     Maeva didn’t know which fact she hated more - being born a girl in the mountains, or being born a girl to the Orvellan family. She wondered if Yuliya had struggled with the same things as she did - the steady, unsettling itch of being watched constantly. Being appraised, constantly. She wondered if men dared to gaze upon the prophet’s glowing form as she led the clans through the unending wastes. She wondered if men dared question her as she pushed open the golden gates to the paradise that had become their homeland. She wondered if anyone inturrupted her, swiped at her, laughed at her, mocked her. She wondered if the prophet had to contend with marriage proposals, if her followers would threaten to disregard her orders unless she married.


    And then she would shake the thoughts out of her head - those were the kinds of thoughts that got her in to trouble. Maybe that’s why she’d been born a girl to her pious family of men - too many blasphemous thoughts of a human prophet, all collected in to one tiny human. But it always stuck - the image of the prophet, her long black hair rippling out of it’s braid, messy and dark like liquid night, desperation and tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. Her form rising and falling with each breath, until she raised her head and looked directly at Maeva - every single emotion on her face hitting Maeva like a knife to the gut. It felt so human, so real. Even awake, the image haunted Maeva, fluttering in the back of her mind, haunting her.

 Here's my desk for right now: A huge mess, as always. I've started painting a colour every day, and putting them in my bullet journal at the end of the week. It's a great way to sort of gauge my week - it says quite a bit about the days I've had. I've been reading a LOT of comics lately. Like...I've done about three years worth of comics reading in the past week. I'm really hoping it will filter in to my work - it's some rad, inspiring stuff. I'll talk about it more next week. 

What I've been Doing
I got to see a lot of friends these past few weeks, which is a great boost for morale. Honestly, sometimes you don't realize how long it's been since you've seen someone else until you're incredibly desperate. So it's been a real treat. I've also been slowly plunking away at my February goals. 

It's been a bit of a slow week for my sketchbook/bullet journal, I always find that work screws with the systems I've set up (something I'm trying to figure out and fix). Here's a page that popped up over the week that I'm quite proud of. Sometimes just using a page to sketch can be really, really nice.

Music I’m listening to
This incredibly calm and warm playlist, perfect for a quiet winter night of creating
This awesome playlist for writing badass characters, inspired by Slytherin, to boot.
And finally, this great mix of female vocals, for creating when you're feeling a little less confident than normal

Art I've been Making
It has been a great week creatively! I decided to start to get together my portfolio, with a lot of pleasant surprises. I've actually made a lot of art I'm quite proud of, which has been a relief! I've started on a new project in the hopes of improving my ability to paint landscapes. They're not going to be masterpieces, but I'm hoping I can capture mood/colour/location details quickly and accurately. I'm quite proud of the first one. 

I also bit the bullet and made a gallery wall in the apartment this week. It involved a lot of swearing, a lot of improvising and a bunch of birds. The results are fantastic and I'm in love. If you're looking for an easy way to update your apartment, with only a small amount of fussing, I highly suggest making a gallery wall.

A small challenge:
In light of my home-decorating success, here's a small challenge for you: 

your space: claim a small space of your home in some way. It can be big or small (the more you see/use it, the better). Clean it up, wash it from top to bottom, try and filter out all the dust and negativity that may have collected there. Now, add something that makes you happy - it can be a little collection of items you find inspiring, it could be a picture (or 12), it could be a comfy chair, a coat of paint, some soft fabric and pillows. It could simply be a new way of organizing something. Try and make an area of your house more pleasing and more in-tune to you. Bring some good energy in as spring comes around.

What’s in store next:
These next few weeks, I have a lot of project-making to do. I'm planning on making hilarious valentines cards this week (hence the dancing...harpies? Maybe? Classical art is the. Best), and hopefully sharing them here. I'm still going to be plugging away at my portfolio, making a few small projects to fill and round it out, and I'm also hoping I can get back in to the swing of my bullet journal. 

I'm excited! We'll see what the next few weeks hold, and I'll have another great update for you then! 
Until next time - keep making awesome things!