Pebble Study & The Art of Brainstorming

For this week’s post I thought I’d share an old project of mine from art school. We were asked to do a study of pebbles, and find the most creative way possible to illustrate them. As always, an idea starts with thumbnails of sketches. You play around with different layout options:

I took a break from active brainstorming and began to cook dinner. As I dressed my salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, I was reminded of the interesting way the two liquids interact. A light went off in my head.It turns out that you can control (to a certain extent) the shapes that balsamic vinegar forms, and I was successful in creating the look of my final sketch. You just need to have your camera ready for a quick snapshot! This is a reminder that sometimes the best ideas are found in unexpected ways and places. Often what inspires us has no direct connection to the actual subject matter; it is just a stepping stone (pun intended) to our eureka! moment. So let your mind wander once in a while. Step away from the creative project at hand, or the personal problem for which you can’t seem to find a resolution.

You may be pleasantly surprised where it leads you…