Isabelle Lafrance chats about creativity

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If you've been here for any length of time, you've no doubt seen me mention the generous and talented Isabelle Lafrance. I am SO pleased that she is joining in the celebration here this week! I asked Isabelle to chat about her thoughts on creativity, and this is what she had to say ...

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Okay, so I was asked to write a post about Creativity and though it should be an easy one, it's actually quite complex. I feel like everyone's creativity is fueled in different ways, so my perspective can only be a personal one.

I do not believe in creativity as something magical. It is a process that needs nurturing, discipline and a lot of hard work. Talk to the persons that did a 365, their daily photos were the result of discipline, yet somehow managed to be so creative at the same time. The brain needs to be fed in order to be creative. You can be creative while riding the bus or watching tv, music will bring something up, an image you find beautifully composed will urge you to try something.  Anything, as long as you keep going at it. I find myself the most stumped when I've been neglecting to work on a project, when I've been procrastinating. The brain gets rusty.

One of the hardest things about being creative is finding your own style of expression. Do not create something because you've seen so many others doing it, because it's “trendy”. What you create may look similar to what you've seen but it has to reflect who you truly are, and sometimes who you truly are may be quite inspired by what others are as well. We're all different and all similar at the same time, there's a thin line between being creative and being almost a copycat, but you will feel the difference.

As long as you find joy in what you create, as long as you are not just looking for approbation or success and that you remain who you are at all times, you will keep the creative spark alive. Keep playing, have fun, live life to it's fullest, just like you did as a child, take some risks. Do not expect perfection, wish for spontaneity. Experiment, try not to see the process as it's final result but instead as many different creative steps.

Make creativity a conscious decision. Be open to it and it will come to you, naturally.

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Isabelle must have the right idea because she is one creative lady. From photography, to photoshop actions and lightroom presets, gorgeous textures and her most recent endeavor, logo design, Isabelle's creativity knows no bounds.

For one lucky focus 52'r who joins in the link up here this weekend, Isabelle is generously offering her newest release, Soul Glow Light Layers. To be eligible for the giveaway, you must be a  member of focus52 (join anytime!), your link must follow the normal focus52 guidelines, and you can only link up once. One lucky winner for this giveaway will be determined next Tuesday, via random.org.

Note that, as always, you do not need to follow this week's word prompt to be eligible to win.

But it IS my birthday and all ;)

Many, many thanks to Isabelle! It's been such a pleasure having you here :)

 

focus52 february 20 to 26

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Once upon a time, many, many years ago (not that many, yeesh) in a faraway land of ice and snow (Canada) a chubby little bouncing baby girl was born on the 26th of February. The Heavens opened, the angels sang in chorus and the world

Okay. Not really.

The Heavens might not have opened.

But this week IS my birthday week.

party!
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So ... I have some fun things planned for the group this week. A few surprise visitors and a couple of giveaways are in the works. I want to celebrate with you guys. And in light of that, this week's prompt is ...

I want to hear, see, read all about YOU! Show me your likes, dislikes, hobbies, loves ... show me you!

As always, the prompt can be interpreted in any way you like, in whatever medium you choose, and it’s entirely up to you whether or not you’d like to use it.

But hey! It's my birthday! Indulge me, will ya?

The linky for last week’s work closes tomorrow evening so there’s still time to link up your stuff from week seven if you haven’t yet. I'd like to see more of our flickr members sharing their stuff here.

So that’s it. Enjoy your week, and check back in here for a few birthday surprises :)

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me ... hehe ...

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If you'd like to have the 'celebrate' word art above, you can click on the image to be taken to the download (personal use only please). The file contains a full size version, and this smaller 600px wide version. The download will expire at the end of our week eight. Have fun!

focus52 link up! february 13 to 19

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This week's focus52 prompt is 'close up'. I can't wait to see what you've done with it!

This is one of my favourite shots from last year, getting all up close and personal with Mr. Snail ... (no, this is not my entry for this week ... no cheatin'! heh)

'Close up' can be taken in all manner of ways though. It doesn't necessarily have to mean running for your macro lens. And if I were writing for this week's prompt, I think I would probably fill a page.

I'm also curious to see which way you took 'close'. Change the pronunciation and you open up a whole other slew of ideas.

So, let's see what you've been up to.

Link up below. (links must be to the URL of your actual work, not just to the site it's posted in). Please don't link and run - try to find some time to visit at least a few of your fellow 52'ers.

And don't forget to add your work to the flickr pool :)

Note: I'm trying out a different linking system this week. I'm not totally satisfied that LinkyTools has gotten all of the bugs out of  their database move, and I really don't feel like another weekend of link havoc. heh. Let me know what you think of this one (better? easier? hate it?), or if you have any problems using it. If all goes well, I just might be asking Mr. LinkyTool for a refund :)
A few tips though: 1) name can either be your name, or what you want to title your post, and 2) choose 'CROP', not select, if you want a choice of how your cropped photo appears (clicking select allows inlinkz to just auto crop and it might not be what you'd prefer)

Ready?  let's do this!


focus52 february 13 to 19

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I'm soaking up all of the love flying around here and in the flickr pool and wishing you all a Happy Valentine's Day on Monday :)

There's still time to link up your stuff here on the blog and grab the subway art freebie if you haven't already. Both disappear Monday evening.

For this week, week 7 if you've been here since the beginning, our prompt is

* close up *

(click to define)

As always, the prompt can be interpreted in any way you like, in whatever medium you choose, and it's entirely up to you whether or not you'd like to use it. Just have fun!

Enjoy your week!

Watch out for flying cherubs :)

focus52 link up! February 6 to 12

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Week six has been all about the 'Love, baby'! L-O-V-E!  ...are you feeling it? heh. Even if you're (shudder) anti-Valentine's Day, I hope you had a chance to get out this week and capture love in your projects, in whatever way you might interpret it.

(minds out of the gutter, people)

Me? I've been having a creative blast. The first time, truthfully, since I ended my 365 project. It's the colors, I think. Vibrant reds, fun pinks. They woke me up :)

And I had fun creating the week6 freebie. It feels good to sit and make something that I want to make, rather than something I have to make, you know? I've been wanting to try my hand at subway art for awhile now, so this was fun for me.

I printed mine out in a 5x7 size, put it in a white frame I already had from the dollar store ($1! you can't beat that!) and I totally love it. Cute decor for cheap makes me happy.

I'm thinking I might just have to make something similar for the next holiday.

Wait, that's Easter. hmmm ... not sure if I can come up with that many Easter phrases. Maybe.

You have until the end of our week6 to download the freebie if you'd like to have it. And if you do, or already have, I'd love to see what you've done with it! This one ended up in my daughter's room and looks totally cute in there.

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So how about you guys? Show me what you've been up to!

Link up below. (links must be to the URL of your actual work, not just to the site it's posted in). Please don't link and run - try to find some time to visit at least a few of your fellow 52'ers.

And don't forget to add your work to the flickr pool :)

That's it! Show me what'cha got. Show me some love!

Baby :)

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NOTE: Linky tools will be doing some scheduled maintenance on Sunday at 1am CST (late Saturday night) and are expecting to be down for an hour or two, at which time the linky list below will not be visible. If you are here and there is no linky list showing, please try again in a little while. The down time will not affect any links already posted, so no worries.
UPDATE: Everything is working. We're just waiting on the older thumbnails to repopulate. You can go ahead and link up as newer links are working fine.

UPDATE#2: (Monday PM)  and now it seems to be down again. So sorry guys. Try again in a little bit if the list isn't here. I'm not sure what's going on with the linky site update, but obviously they've run into problems.

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EDIT:  Unfortunately, the link list for this post had to be removed due to numerous database errors on the part of LinkyTools. Although it was promised that links would remain, as you can see, they most definitely did not. Even after numerous (friendly!) emails to the owner, Brent Riggs, the issue was not corrected.  I'm sad that our member links for this post have been lost.

I have since moved the focus52 linking service to InLinkz and couldn't be happier with the friendly customer service and ease of use. If you're looking for a linking tool, I highly recommend them