> I don't know what I am really getting at, I'm
> more rambling than anything. Basically this is
> just a reflection. I am glad that I have been
> able to do something that makes me proud,
> and I think it would be interesting to hear
> another persons take on the creative process,
> and what other's do to express themselves
> creatively.

I'll take a crack at replying to your post. I work in one of the creative fields, namely graphic design. Theoretically, I should be flexing and honing my creativity every day on the job. This isn't always the actual-factual case-- there seem to be very few graphics jobs around that allow one to be involved 100%, 24/7 in creative projects, and even people in positions like that probably find themselves doing some busy work.

I currently work in retail advertising - basically I lay out department store ads. The specific areas I generally work on are shoes and men's fashion. Not incredibly exciting. I work with a group five other designers, led by one senior designer who prototypes all our jobs and an art director who oversees everything. I am low man on the totem pole, which means I *rarely* get to be creative. I enjoy my work most of the time, but it's very cut and dry.

Sometimes I worry that because I don't get much opporunity to be creative, I'll lose the ability to be. I try to create little projects for myself to do that will give me practice, but I'm married and I have a child, so my spare time is always limited. Plus, gotta have my leisure time (i.e. RinkWorks, hehe) and although sometimes I'll use that for creative projects, normally I'd rather just let my brain relax after a long day of work.

When I get stuck in the creative process, there are a number of methods I've found to help get myself back on track. Sometimes taking a break is enough. It also helps to write out or draw ideas on paper, but it sounds like you've already got that one down with your reference to your sketchbook. Talk to other people, too... and not just people you think of as "creative." Bouncing ideas off of your friends can frequently help you think of new ones.

But here I am, giving advice when you weren't really asking for it. Well, I hope my musings have at least been interesting reading.

Gri"the guy whose sermon notes are always full of stupid zany cartoon doodles and squiggles"shny