Gears in Motion

When a advertisers are ready to introduce a product, they need to create interest with a selective audience. Design and appeal are factors to consider in rolling out the campaign. In the initial stages, information is imported allowing gears to turn and creativity to flow. Remember the creative team in Mad Men and how they spent time deliberating? Brainstorming ideas created a bank of input /data. 

Each time I create a new campaign for my seasonal galleries, I mull over the ideas for weeks, searching for fresh and engaging visuals and thoughts to move creativity forward. When the creative spirit jump-starts the engine of my mind, flow occurs. The end result is a draft of ideas that I review and spend time refining. 

Thinking back on the process for my upcoming gallery, I allowed nature to lead the way. I noticed, observed, and found details on my walks that allowed my gears to turn. While on those walks at the preserve and my neighborhood, I gathered natural objects that I found to create a design. The fun began when I placed all the objects on my work table. Ideas started popping up. With glue gun in hand, I started the process of layering the objects to create my visual design. With the house quiet and only the pitter patter of the rain seeping through, I was lost in thought and design. The outdoors moved closer to me as I created and there it was in front of me. A seed of an idea blossomed into a brightly colored visual representative of springtime beauty. 

Nature, scraps of material, and snippets of artificial flowers provided the raw materials, creativity the spark, and perseverance the tool that led me onward to a finished product worthy to stand alone as an advertisement. 

What function does this ornamental design serve? It not only shows that creativity comes from whatever sparks your passion but that you do not need lots of money to bring an idea to fruition. My Do It Yourself design serves as a representation of nature's gift to us. From this creation, I wove the words to introduce my newest writing challenge for Spring's Seeds Gallery that can be accessed here. 

While this has been a roundabout process for addressing DigiLit Sunday's call to discuss function and my late entry, I had fun thinking through the design for my upcoming spring gallery and new hashtag site, #SpringsSeeds. My hope is that an inspired garden of poetry will blossom by the end of May. Please visit Margaret Simon's blog to read other's thoughts on the topic of function. 

Celebrating the Fall Season

As I continued to find fall this week, the weather turned to crisp autumn-like days. The creative spirit was awakened and I decided to invite fall inside. With DIY decorating dreams flying high, I prepared for a seasonal make-over. 

Thoughts of staging my house for the season led to an impromptu gathering of friends so after my professional development program on Monday, I devoted time to indulge my senses in autumn's colors, tastes, and smells.

Realizing that each one of my seasonal make-overs brings a sense of anticipation of what is to come, I recalled various past projects to get inspiration. Knowing full well that it takes planning, patience, and perseverance, I ventured to the attic where boxes of decoration wait for me each year. One pull-down of the attic stairs led to a procession of items carefully passed to my crew of not so intrigued men (husband and son).  

Next, the glue gun was fired up and the magic started.  A trip to the lake park by our house provided me with nature's bounty: acorns, berries on branches, and leaves. Creation time brought the season from outside in. After the front porch was decorated each room inside took on the colors of the autumn. A seed of an idea blossomed into a seasonal surprise.

What's a gathering without food so up next was the planning of the menu. Taste buds would need to be properly satisfied so while I prepared the main components of the meal, friends chose complimentary dishes to bring. 

Finding Fall Menu 

Hors D'oeuvres: apple flatbread pizza, Grandma's flatbread pizza, harvest nuts with candy corn, cheese platter with crackers and asiago toasts, autumn salsa and pumpkin chips, pumpkin pasta pockets with sage butter and hazelnuts, sauteed mushrooms, grilled eggplant with fresh basil, apple wedges with caramel dips, assorted wines, pumpkin ale, and autumn beer 

Entree: grilled pork with an apple, sauerkraut, and onion side, sweet potato and squash casserole, bread, cucumber, tomato, and onion salad, kale salad, grilled squash

Desserts: assorted chocolate chip cookies, apple crisp, pumpkin cakes, carrot cakes, dessert coffee with Bailey's Irish cream and fresh whipped cream, vanilla ice cream

The weather remained moderately crisp throughout the evening. The flickers of candlelight, hum of conversation, and satiated taste buds made for a memorable evening. As we all bid each other good night, I gave thanks for fall season and the years of friendship.  

As the week comes to a close, I celebrate fall and those who gathered together yesterday to savor autumn's tastes, smells, and sights with a short slideshow. I do hope you will find fall and join me in its celebration through my newest global gallery of artistic expressions, Autumn's Palette. You can enjoy last year's gallery here. 

For all those who enjoy creating digital inspirations, please see the unique capabilities of the digital tool Lunapic. 

Please visit two sites that celebrate along with me:Celebrate This Week with Ruth Ayres and DigiLit Sunday with Margaret Simon.