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february 7, 2007 volume one : issue fifteen Do you have a personal creative manifesto? What is a manifesto? According to my handy dandy computer dictionary a manifesto is "a public declaration of policy and aims, esp. one issued before an election by a political party or candidate." Essentially, it is a cool, fancy name for a mission statement - a way to describe your overall creative purpose. This week we are going to investigate how to design your your own personal creative manifesto. Enjoy. Peace. Ali personal creative manifesto Today I want to dive into the idea of developing a personal creative manifesto just for you. Why a creative personal manifesto? Because taking the time to lay out and define the creative you want to be is a big part of actually becoming that person. Because outlining your creative belief system gives you permission to grow and evolve as a life artist. Because making lists are fun. Boiled down to its essence, a manifesto is simply a statement of beliefs. It serves as notice to yourself and others what it is you stand for, what is important to you, and where you aspire to be. My creative manifesto came about while I was teaching classes. Each of the statements are the things I found myself saying over and over again as I walked around the classroom. These are my personal truths related to my creative process. I also believe it is a lot about attitude, about what you want to remember and focus on as you go about your creative journey (and most likely, your life journey as well). Here is my original Life Art Manifesto: 1. It is ok. 2. Embrace imperfection. 3. Go with the flow. 4. Find your voice. 5. Tell your story. 6. Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be. 7. Play. Working on my Life Art book this week I have been thinking a lot about these different components...asking myself if they all still apply. Do I need to make adjustments? Add something? Subtract something? The conclusion I am leaning towards is that all manifestos need updates and maintenance. A little TLC every year or so, maybe shorter or longer depending on where you are in your life. I know one thing that needs to be added is celebrate the everyday. It is a big part of my creative belief system - something I am so very connected to in my core. I am also considering something about using creativity for good - still percolating on how I want to phrase that one. Building Your Own Creative Manifesto Here are some thoughts/ideas to consider as you begin building your own personal creative manifesto: 1. Develop single words, short statements, or entire paragraphs - any of these are totally appropriate. We are all at different places in our lives and our creative journeys and we all come to the table with different experiences and backgrounds. Your manifesto should be a direct reflection of you. 2. It can encompass your personal "truths" - such as an emphasis on faith or simplicity - or be totally funky and light- hearted and fun (or a nice combination of the two). You are your own audience so tailor it to thoughts that resonate with and inspire you. 3. Determine whether your one little word (if you are unfamiliar with the one little word concept read here) is a part of your list. Take a look at all the cool words that others are focusing on here - you may be inspired and it may generate something for your personal manifesto. 4. Recognize - as I mentioned above - that manifestos are constantly evolving. They change and grow and need to be updated over time. Whatever you decide upon now is not set in stone for life. 5. Don't worry if things on your list are not necessarily where you are right now. Having embrace imperfection as a part of my manifesto is a daily reminder to myself of how I want to be. Sometimes I am super successful and other times I struggle - it is what I aspire to on a daily basis both creatively and in life. 6. Have fun with this - don't take the process (or yourself) too seriously. Take this opportunity to define and establish your creative manifesto and those things that are important to you. How to begin? 1. Brainstorm. Start by jotting down thoughts you may be generating as you read this. Grab a sheet of scratch paper and leave it out in the open for a couple days so you can add to it as thoughts come into your mind. 2. Ask yourself some questions: Why do I create? What is the most important part of a scrapbook page for me? How does my attitude effect the outcome of my projects? What are my personal truths related to scrapbooking and creativity? What do I tell myself each time I am working on a project? (something positive, not negative - if the first thing you think of is negative then that is a good indication that you should be telling yourself just the opposite...add it to your list). 3. Breathe. Let it come to you as you go about your daily life. This could really go anywhere you want it to. Be flexible and open and let this come to you over the next couple of days or weeks. A couple examples: One of my favorite creative manifesto's was written by designer Bruce Mau. You can read it in full here. Hugh MacLeod's Creative Manifesto (from Tine) This one is less personal and more regarding general crafting: Crafter Manifesto from Hobby Princess And look at this: Change This - an entire site with lots and lots of manifestos (not just creative ones - their stated goal is to "create a new kind of media...") Also, a wonderful book: Visual Chronicles: The No-Fear Guide to Creating Art Journals, Creative Manifestos & Altered Books Ready. Set. Go. weekly challenge If you have made it this far you have probably guessed that the challenge this week is to come up with you very own personal creative manifesto. Maybe it is one word. Maybe it will be paragraphs. Whatever it is or becomes, take some time this week to begin generating one for just for you. Create a layout, begin a minibook, or maybe just start writing out your thoughts and then come by my blog and post your response to the challenge on Monday, February 12, 2007. Looking forward to seeing your creations and reading your thoughts. inspired by Inspired by: The Circular Life I pretty much love anything that is about documenting everyday stuff. I love how the view here changes throughout the day, over time. Just as an experiment tonight I typed "documenting everyday life" into Google to see what would come up. Here are a couple interesting hits: Time of Sorrow and Hope: Documenting Everyday Life in Pennsylvania During the Depression and World War II Center for the Ethnography of Everyday Life And one of my favorites: History of Documentary Photography regarding the issue of time In last week's AEzine I asked for additional tips and suggestions on finding time to be creative. Check out all the amazing responses here. If you have a question you would like to have answered in an upcoming issue send me an email (ali@aliedwardsdesign.com) with NEWSLETTER QUESTION in the subject line. do something good From my blog, posted on February 2, 2007: Many of you have sent me emails and left comments wondering how you can help in getting the word out about autism and fundraising. This morning I received an email from Stephaine (thank you) who let me know about a new social network set up by Kevin Bacon (yep, the Kevin Bacon) called www.SixDegrees.org in partnership with Network for Good. Here's the basics: www.SixDegrees.org is social networking with a social conscience. Through this web site, you can learn about and support the charities of celebrities and your friends, as well as fundraise for the causes close to your heart. By creating a Six Degrees Charity Badge you have an opportunity to raise even more money for your favorite cause! Your charity(ies) could receive a matching grant of up to $10,000. The six badges that have the most number of donations between January 18th and March 31st at 11:59pm ET will get a matching grant from Kevin Bacon. Multiple donations from a single individual to the same Six Degrees Charity Badge will only be counted once. The process is easy; all you have to do is created a Six Degrees Charity Badge and you will automatically be eligible to receive the matching grant. Once you have created your badge, post it online or send a link to it (sample) via email to your family and friends so that they can help to support your effort. Over on the right side of my blog - and directly above this write-up you will see my badge to raise money for Autism Speaks. I really think that we could get enough donations to receive a matching grant - as of right now over 80 people have donated - AWESOME. Here is your chance to make a difference. Copyright � 2007 Ali Edwards/AE Design/Life Art Media. Please do not reproduce any content without permission. Ali Edwards, author of A Designer's Eye for Scrapbooking and A Designer's Eye for Scrapbooking with Patterned Paper, is Creative Editor of Creating Keepsakes magazine where she writes a monthly inspiration column called Studio A . She is a wife, mother, artist, writer, and seeker of balance. Owner of AE Design and Life Art Media, she conducts life art workshops around the globe. You can find her online on her blog or contact her through email at ali@aliedwardsdesign.com |
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