Do you need a low stress way to include seven minutes of creative contemplation into your week? Consider this your helpful nudge towards a slightly more creative life. If it helps, come back every week for a quick hit of creative contemplation. Each week I’ll share a new nudge. It will include a Thing (T), a Place (P), and a Sense(S) for your focus, a TPS creative nudge.
We’re taught not to play in the street by our moms, but I hoped you disobeyed and found some ways to use gutters to inspire creative play. Like me, did you discover the hidden beauty of these urban waterways? Whether you mapped where the water goes, wrote an ode to a cell phone you lost down a storm drain or transformed found objects into something weird, I hope you rediscovered something to enjoy about our unnatural environments.
This week, we’re shifting our creative gaze inward to indoor innovations that give us more time to be creative: light bulbs. The light bulb is a universal symbol of inspiration and bright ideas, no surprise given its impact on all parts of our lives. But what might be a better symbol for inspiration today? Perhaps the smartphone, with its vast potential for creativity and connection, could serve as a modern icon. As we bathe ourselves in light bulbs, let’s appreciate their role in shaping our environments and experiences.
Light bulbs not only illuminate our spaces but also influence our moods, highlight our art, and reveal the hidden details of our surroundings. For most of us, light bulbs extend our productive hours. This means we certainly have several minutes to spare to feed our creative side. Incandescent, LED, or vintage filament light bulbs offer a variety of shapes, textures, and warmth that can spark our creativity. Let’s throw a switch or two and see how they can inspire us to shine a little brighter in one of these activities:
Heat and Light: Turn on a bulb and feel the heat it emits on your skin. Observe the way the light changes the ambiance of a room. Write a poem or a short reflective piece about the sensation of warmth and the emotions evoked by different lighting. How does the time of day affect your perception of light and heat?
Bulb Art: Use the unique shapes and materials of light bulbs to create a piece of visual art. You could paint or draw the intricate designs of vintage bulbs or use a burnt-out bulb as a canvas for your artistic expression. Consider creating a mixed-media artwork that incorporates bulbs, wires, and other related materials. Photograph your artwork in various lighting conditions to highlight different aspects of your creation.
Light Show: Experiment with light bulbs to create a small-scale light installation. Arrange bulbs of different colors and brightness in a way that creates interesting patterns and shadows on the walls and ceiling. Capture the installation in photos or videos, and reflect on how the light transforms the space. This activity encourages you to play with light and shadow, exploring how they interact to create visual interest.
Bulb Song: Channel your inner Neil Diamond and write a song about lights that make you feel happy. Do you have a made-up song for when the street lights come on? Or for when it’s lights out at home? Try adding a new tune or a second verse to a little ritual for transitioning from day to night.
Did you know that Nikola Tesla, the famed inventor and engineer, made significant contributions to the development of modern electrical systems, including innovations related to lighting? Tesla’s work with alternating current (AC) power systems not only revolutionized the way we use light bulbs but also played a crucial role in electrifying communities like ours, helping make citrus a cash crop king.
Embrace the playful, the practical, and the imaginative, and let these activities carry you through the week with a fresh perspective.
