Young Artist Profile: DANIEL

"Keeper of the Ruby" is this robot's name, and he has six special powers. He controls, earth, stone, water, fire, ice and wind. He was created to hold the Great Ruby of Ta Metru.

This young artist loves robots and loves to create them - out of anything! He uses paper clips, Legos, Bionicles, boxes, tape, crayons and markers to make his fantastical robotic creations.

Bravo Daniel! Keep designing and you'll be on Battle Bots!

CREATIVE SPARK #9: Dream a Little Dream

Are you prone to having wild dreams? Do you wake up feeling as if you've just left another world?

Some of us have vivid imaginations that fire up when we close our eyes to sleep.

Your CREATIVE SPARK? Tonight when you go to bed, keep a journal on your nightstand. When you wake up, take one minute to capture your own creativity.

Artists: Do a quick sketch of the first dream image that comes to mind. Did you dream of a person like a glamorous Hollywood starlet? Did you dream in color? What were the hues you recall the most?

Writers: Record a conversation from your dreams. Jot down snippets of dialogue, impressions of tone or characteristics. Or, make notes of plot lines and solutions to plotting problems.

You'd be amazed to learn that many successful artists and writers solve their creative problems during a sleep state while the troubles of the day are kept at bay.

Artists all Around Us

Each of us has an inner artist - just ask the person standing next to you! Today I met a muralist, a sculptor, a scrapbooker, a photographer and a sketch artist, just by asking the question.

Do you know what your neighbor's hidden creative talent might be?

Ask! You might be surprised at what you can learn!

CREATIVE SPARK #8: Nature Out of Place

Sometimes nature encroaches where it doesn't belong. Take this adult copperhead, lurking not so nicely by my car last night. He's silent, he's unexpected, he could strike at any moment. He definitely wasn't where he belonged.

Your CREATIVE SPARK: take a few minutes to place an object of nature in an unnatural setting. Tackle one of these questions:

-- If a character encounters an object of nature foreign to a setting, what emotions might that character feel? Describe them, from the character's point of view. Use dialogue, action and the physical senses.

-- If you were to sketch a natural object out of place in a scene, what technique would you choose? Abstract? Realistic? Impressionistic? Concentrate on the object of choice and experiment with background and scene. What emotion will you try to convey? From whose point of view will you paint?