CREATIVE SPARK #5: Street Scenes

I have a favorite question for artists, songwriters, writers and creative people. Here it is:

When you walk down the street, what do you notice?

Your SPARK today? Walk down any street - in your neighborhood, in the city, even in a school hallway (an indoor street perhaps??) or a shopping mall.

When you're done, immediately take one minute and jot down or sketch out your impressions. File it away in your creative idea file. This simple exercise may turn into the spark that inspires the next great work you undertake.

What you notice will reveal a great deal about how your creative mind works. As a writer, I notice fine details and mannerisms - scuffed shoes, overstuffed shopping bags ready to break, or the simple act of a mother reaching her hand out to stroke her child's hair. To me, these are the everyday details that make up great characterization and setting.

An artist friend of mine told me he naturally sees things in terms of painting composition. His walk includes impressions of light and shadow, angles of building lines and architectural details.

So try this experiment yourself. Ask someone else to do the same thing -- your teacher, your classmates. Try it in school. Compare notes and you'll quickly realize just how differently we each see the world.