So, out of all of the vast array of websites out there, which do I find the most useful in my crafty endeavours? That was the question that got my attention as I was deciding what to write about for this week’s entry into the GESSO: Primed Creatives blogging challenge. And my answer?
SHOPS!!!!! art shops… craft shops… bookshops…
Okay, that may not have been the intent behind the question, but seriously, the ability to read a blog post or watch a video where someone mentions an interesting product you haven’t come across before, search for it and order it minutes later is invaluable — also hard on the wallet, but mostly invaluable…
Also… YouTube, Pinterest and the plethora of blogs that are such incredible sources of inspiration. And Pocket for saving things to read later. And Feedbin (other feed readers are available) for making it easy to follow all those sources in one place.
Some people complain that there is just too much of everything available, how it’s hard to find the good stuff in amongst all of the stuff, and for some things, I’ll agree wholeheartedly, but for the creative stuff…
I love the sheer quantity of it. I love flicking through blogs in my feed reader and posts on Pinterest and videos in my YouTube subscriptions. Yes, I love the things that catch my eye, the ones that make me scroll back for a better look, but I also love the totality of it all.
If I only look at a few things, I am more likely to be directly influenced by an individual creation or idea and anything I create using that influence stands a greater chance of being derivative of it.
(That’s not to say that I don’t frequently go “that’s neat I must try that!”, but that’s experimenting rather than creating. (And yes, my brain does come up with some weird definitions and distinctions.))
When I scan many things, the glimpses and half-seen images come together with the ideas already floating in my mind to create something that is informed by the sources but not recognisable as any of them.
So I’m not going to pick out any particular sites or channels, because my list changes every few months as I find something or someone new and drop sites that aren’t inspiring me any more. And if all else fails a random term put into Google image search can often inspire.
GESSO: Primed Creatives – What sites online are invaluable to you as a creative?
Crafty Rat 