Have you ever heard of an **”artist’s date?” Whether you are a writer, artist, poet or designer, an artist’s date involves spending regular time getting fresh input to generate new ideas. You may choose to go somewhere, search the web for information, take time with other like minded artists or writers: whatever you choose. Creativity is like food. If you don’t eat a variety of things and you’re stuck in a rut, you get bored, face writer’s block (or artist’s block) and lose your enthusiasm for what you love.
The tricky part is finding the time!
Over the past year I have been seeing posts linked to a site named Pinterest. I checked it out to determine if it was yet another time waster, then decided it was. It was the best kind of time waster. It was a guaranteed artist’s date for this writer, right on my computer at any time of the day or night, any weather and it cost me not a cent. That is a lot easier than getting to the arty side of our city and paying for parking…
Now Pinterest is not everyone’s cup of chai latte. I originally thought it was just for arty folks or people flogging crafts they had made. I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong. Everything you can imagine is there: quotations; typography; colour combinations; interior decor for every area of the house imaginable; storage solutions; jewellery designs; food inspiration; amazing photography; art journal ideas… the list is endless.
All you do is ‘pin’ things to your boards you like or just ‘like’ them. You can also follow people with similar interests. 
Whichever way, it solves the problem of seeing something that inspires you and not remembering how to get back to it! You can also share your ‘likes’ and ‘pins’ with others; add your own content; follow just the topics you are attracted to and spend as much or as little time there as you desire. I am only in once or twice a week. Big names are also present such as the United State’s Better Homes and Gardens magazine. No one has hit me with spam, advertising or other annoyances. (Please note: I am not being paid a cent to write this post. I am just sharing a resource.) It is all looking, no pressure.
So if you need that little push, want new inspiration or simply some fun time online enjoying what you love, give Pinterest a try. If you need an invite, let me know and I will send you one. I will just need your email.
Enjoy!
**The idea of an artist’s date came from Julia Cameron, author of “The Artist’s Way,” “The Vein of Gold” and my favourite, “The Right to Write.” You can read more about the Artist’s Date, plus Julia’s suggestions on what you can do on such a date, on her web site: http://juliacameronlive.com The full list of Julia’s books, her bio and blog are also on the site.
All the images on this post are from Pinterest. I would list their sources, however, with items pinned and repinned, finding the original gets difficult. Please accept my apologies for not listing what belongs to who. No offence is intended.
This blog post by Cate Russell-Cole is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. You are free to share and adapt it.
