Creators Block, Paying Tribute, and More Housekeeping...

HOLY COW! I cannot believe it has been nearly two months, since my last post on The Creative Cabana. No, I didn't disappear off the face of the Earth and it's not that haven't been lazy. I've simply experienced a period of what I'm going to call "Creator's Block" and a case of poor time management. In any case, if you haven't been here in awhile (like me) or you are a new visitor... welcome to The Creative Cabana!  This is the place where creativity and fun thrive, and you get to embrace it all through my experiences. I have a few things I need to address first, so bear with me as we get through these items together.

Creator's Block
So in the time between now and my last post, I experienced something that I can't honestly say I've gone through before. I'm sure you've heard of the term "writer's block" in which a writer comes to a stopping point with no direction in sight. While there's plenty to write about here at The Creative Cabana, I've been trying to become more focused on creating things and then writing about them. I don't have access to a lot of the more advanced programs I'd like to use for things like photography, graphics, and multimedia production. So naturally, I have to get creative with the tools I have at hand. Since I wasn't getting that "light bulb turned on" idea, I decided to go off the grid for a little while until it came back on- although I didn't expect it to be for two months. However, I do have some great ideas in mind as we get into the "Back to School" season. I guess it's safe to say the light bulb as turned ON!

Paying Tribute
I find it ironic that the last time I posted on here was a dedication to the great Casey Kasem as we celebrated his life and mourned his passing. Here I am again honoring another great legend. I don't need to tell you how shocked I was when I heard the news of Robin Williams' death. In a way, I feel as though part of my childhood has died too. It sounds odd, and by now it probably sounds cliche too. I am a 90s child, so I grew up watching movies like Aladdin, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Jumanji. Robin Williams was flawless in every movie I had seen him in. Prior to his death, I was shocked to hear that a man who brought so much laughter and joy to others, couldn't see the happiness within himself. As part of the "Creative Mastermind" section, I would like to do a special article written and dedicated to Robin Williams. So be sure to check back for that post, as I hope to have it published before the end of the week.

More Housekeeping
My friends and fellow readers, I ask for your forgiveness and patience for not having posted on here as much I had intended to. There has been a lot going on in my personal life and these are things that sadly have no place or right to interfere with The Creative Cabana. When I started this blog it was intended to be an outlet for all of the creative skill that I have built up inside of me. I still want to do that and in order to accomplish this I'm going to become more organized and efficient by scheduling ahead of time when I can create these posts to avoid any further gaps in postings. That being said, since it's time for back-to-school I'm going to do a couple of crafty/graphic ideas to help you design a DIY Planner and also Classroom decorations for my teacher friends. It's going to be a great time to get your crafty cap on, so be sure to keep an eye out for those posts.

Whew! I think that's everything. Again, to all of my readers thanks for sticking with me during this crazy time as The Creative Cabana is making a fresh new come back! Remember you can always follow The Creative Cabana on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest for more creative awesomeness and stay updated. Until next time, peace out my friends!

Good Tools Make Great Artists

Good Afternoon Creative Cabana visitors! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to give you a new post this week. Life has been pretty busy and I haven't had much time to sit down and share more creative goodness. It's a beautiful Saturday morning here in Ohio and I hope wherever you're reading this post from it's just as gorgeous outside. It's the weekend so if you're going to be out and about bask in some fun activities with the family to help start the summer season! If you're staying indoors for the weekend, I've got some great tips to help exercise the drawing skills we've been discussing this month.

Since I've been dedicating June as the month of drawing, I think it's important to talk about what tools you should have to help enhancing your drawing skills. Most people think you have to be some kind of Picasso in order to create good art, that's not entirely true. Drawing serves many purposes other than just basic art principles. Personally, I've drawn out many essential plans in my life such as designing my bedroom before I moved, drawing a outline plan for a scrapbook to cut costs, t-shirt designs, etc. So you don't have to be an expert, but to have expert results you should invest in a few good tools.

The general rule of thumb is a Number 2 pencil and a piece of paper- yeah, but let's go a little bit further. If you plan on keeping a collection of your drawings try getting a sketchbook to keep these pictures in. The sketchbook doesn't have to be super fancy most run anywhere from $3 to $15 depending on size and design of the book. I've got about 5 sketchbooks and a few tablets, but I like to draw a lot so I'm a bit advanced in that department.

The second tool to invest in is quality pencils and erasers. A regular pencil is ok, but I've noticed that drawings done in No. 2 pencils can fade quicker and can be messy if you smear your pictures frequently. Drawing pencils usually come in packages so you get different sizes to use. Most pencil packs range between $3 to $25 depending on what level you need. It sounds strange that someone would pay over $1 for a pack of pencils, but these are not your ordinary writing utensils. Drawing pencils come in different strength settings and different materials. Some pencils are made from charcoal to give subjects more detail and darker imagery, while other pencils are designed to provide light/smooth lines. You may see pencils labeled "HB", "2B", "8B", etc- this indicates the hardness of the pencil. The harder the pencil the darker and deeper the lines will appear to be. You may not need pencils this advanced depending on what you intend to draw, however if you want to practice using a variety of strengths in your pencils it would be a good idea to invest in a small pack of drawing pencils. You can also practice the shading scale with these pencils to see how each one can be adjusted in value as you draw.

The one final tool you should invest in is an eraser. This will probably be your best friend throughout the drawing process, so be kind to it. You'll want to have a standard eraser and also a special eraser called "kneaded". The kneaded eraser is one of the coolest things you'll ever come in contact with. It's an eraser that you can stretch and change forms- think of it like chewing gum. This allows you to reach and erase small spaces where normal ruler wouldn't be able to clean. Plus if you get frustrated with your work, it's a fun way to relieve the stress by simply playing with the eraser! 

Please note that while these materials aren't exactly essential to your drawing needs, they're good investments to have if you plan on maintaining your drawing habits a lot. Don't over do it though, start out small and stick to the basic tools before you move on to more advanced (and expensive) tools. While you're at, share your drawings here at The Creative Cabana! I would love to see your work and you can have your talents known throughout the world wide web! Simply share it on Facebook or Twitter just search for The Creative Cabana. Go fourth and explore your drawing abilities. Have a great weekend and we'll see you all back here for a new weekly Creative Mastermind. 

*Images used in this post were collected from Google Images Search Results. These photos were used for visual representation and educational purposes only. No Copyright Infringement Intended.

Creative Mastermind for Week 06/09: Jim Reed, Extreme Weather Photographer

Happy Monday friends! Hope you've all had a terrific weekend and that you're having a good start to the week so far. It's a new week, so that means we have a new Creative Mastermind to announce. Over the last few days, I've been contemplating about which direction I wanted to go with when deciding this week's mastermind. I like relevancy, and I try to pick subjects (and people) that center around current trends based on what I see in the world around me. One of the things that has really caught my attention lately is the weather. A very broad subject, the weather is changing and because we're in the transition period between Spring and Summer we see a lot of patterns in the weather that effect us- our daily plans, moods, and even our health. Recall last week's post "What a Beautiful Day for Sketching!" in which the weather was so gorgeous outside I just had be a part of it. There's the really good and beautiful side to weather, but there's also the mysterious, dangerous, and breathtaking part of weather too which sometimes I think people tend to or try to forget about. 

I have a strong passion for weather and believe me when I say that for many years I had every intention of going to college to study meteorology. When I got to high school though, I was discourage from the field because of the struggles I had when it came to harder studies in Math and Science. None the less, of all the research I've done one of the pieces of evidence that scientists rely to study the weather is photography. Using photographs, scientists can use visual evidence to study a weather pattern and determine the movements of a particular storm (even in the aftermath). One man who stands out among many nature photographers is Jim Reed, this week's Creative Mastermind. 

 Jim Reed was born in Georgia in 1961, but raised in Springfield, Illinois. From an early age he developed a love for storms and passion for photography which literally came together as "the perfect storm" for him. He went on to receive his Bachelors of Fine Arts from the University of South California and started his career in film-making in the 1980s. He was producing many pieces such as commercials, music videos, and occasionally working on motion pictures. In the early 1990s, Jim Reed settled in Kansas and returned to his love of storms with his new skills in photography and cinematic arts.

His work has been seen throughout many books and TV programs spanning all across globe. He's been featured on channels such as Discovery, National Geographic, and even The Weather Channel to display his work and showcase his knowledge of storms through his art. Reed has also been honored many times through several organizations for his outstanding work in photography within his field. 

What makes this field of photography so unique is that not only does it open doors for creativity, but it's also unpredictable and spontaneous. Even with today's technologies, scientists still do not have a full understanding of weather systems and how they can predict the wrath of nature. So when photographers like Jim Reed go out into the field, you really don't know what to expect and what work they'll bring back with them. Hundreds of severe thunderstorms form throughout the North American region each year, but only a handful of them will produce really significant storms that spawn phenomenons like tornadoes, baseball sized-hail, or devastating flood levels. So when storms like these develop, Jim Reed takes advantage of the situation to document these developing cells. 

It's hard to exactly define the qualities that are precise reasons why Reed is a Creative Mastermind. I have a lot of respect for the art of what he does- it's more than snapping a picture of clouds. Each moment he captures tells a story from an event that could change history. For example, Reed has several photographs that captured the critical moments of Hurricane Katrina back in 2005- before & after, damage, during the storm, people driving through the storms, etc. Sometimes photos like these are the evidence that meteorologists use to survey storm strength and damage for insurance companies. After all a picture is worth a thousand words- but sometimes these pictures can be worth a thousand lives. Businesses looks back on these pictures and can say "this is where we went wrong and this how we're going to fix it". 

On the creativity side of Reed's work, I have to give major kudos for color and angle of his shots. While these images may reveal somewhat scary situations, they also have a certain degree of beauty in them. In this field nature is the canvas, and timing is everything, so Reed does an excellent job of using these elements carefully in a timely manner. Weather can change so quickly, and safety is important when documenting nature's wonders. Reed handles each of these factors with excellent consideration and precaution- though a few of his images I'm sure you'll agree appear to be "too close for comfort".

 

Overall, I think Jim Reed is a pure talent not just to photography, but also to science. Reed captures images that portray visual evidence of our scientific understanding of weather. I encourage you all to watch some of the various documentaries on extreme weather and see just how far crew members, such as Jim Reed, will go to get the perfect picture. This work is truly fascinating, and you can tell from the images just how passionate he his about weather. Don't take my word for it though. Visit his website: http://www.jimreedphoto.com/index.html and get up close and personal with nature's fury. 

Congrats to Jim Reed, Extreme Weather Photographer for being crowned this week's Creative Mastermind! Your talents have not gone unnoticed, and you are an incredible contribution to art and science lovers everywhere! If you would like to nominate someone to featured as a Creative Mastermind, go ahead and share your ideas with The Creative Cabana. Leave a comment on this post with the name and details of your nomination or you can share your nomination on Facebook or Twitter just search "Creative Cabana". 

* All images used in this post are the sole property of Jim Reed and Jim Reed Photography. The images were gathered from Google Images Search Results and are used for educational purposes only. Bio information was used from Jim Reed's website directly and I hereby give citation to the following website: http://www.jimreedphoto.com/index.html. All opinions in this post are my own views and do not reflect the views of Jim Reed or any of the organizations he has serviced. No Copyright Infringement Intended.