The theme for the Creative Initiative this week was to get outdoors. And well, I didn't have to walk farther than the parking lot behind the student center to find my inspiration (I don't really do nature.) Since I took this photo the leaves have been fading and falling fast. Which is fine, since that means giant piles of crunchy leaves just begging to be jumped in all over campus. 

Fall at Harding is perfect. It is the saving grace of the state of Arkansas, if we're being honest. Those three or four weeks when the temperature is perfect and the leaves look like they are on fire make up for the countless potholes in the roads and the questionable-looking locals in the frozen food section of Walmart.

In Georgia, everything is green until about February and then all at once, the leaves fall and the landscape looks barren. Speaking of Georgia, as you're reading this I'm packing my bags to go home for Thanksgiving. And then two weeks later I will be home indefinitely until I find permanent employment. I will miss everyone at school terribly and the changing of the seasons. 

If you are new to the Creative Initiative, here are the rules: 

1. Create something in your sketchbook based on this weeks prompt.

2. Post about your artistic endeavor on your blog and link-it-up to this post (every Thursday.)

3. Comment on other bloggers posts! The prompts leave a lot of room to use your imagination and we should all support and encourage each other and we explore.

Next week's theme is: "Gratitude."

The theme this week is "What did you do today?" And if you are new around here, you know that I am in love with coffee and lattes (read more here.) This week I branched away from my americano or nonfat cafe au lait, and splurged on a gingerbread latte. If you haven't tried it yet, you must. And I can never get over how much I love the red cups. They are the true signal that it's acceptable to being playing Christmas music and getting in the holiday spirit (Thanksgiving included.)

And instead of photographing my red cup in my hand, I decided to illustrate it for this week's Creative Initiative. Besides drinking coffee en mass, I haven't done much other than going to class and working.

So what is The Creative Initiative, you may ask? 

This series is a sketchbook challenge (obviously I am terrible with pen & paper, so I am doing my drawings on Illustrator.) Every week we will introduce a new prompt and you will have until the following Tuesday to post whatever it is you made. You will have a week of knowing and thinking about the prompt (and brainstorming and sketching and practicing etc.) before you post your artwork on the following Thursday! You can view my first post here. 

Here are the rules: 

1. Create something in your sketchbook based on this weeks prompt.

2. Post about your artistic endeavor on your blog and link-it-up to this post.

3. Comment on other bloggers posts! The prompts leave a lot of room to use your imagination and we should all support and encourage each other and we explore!

So there you have it! Week 2 in underway! Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Next week's prompt is: Get outdoors.

Lena from This Lovely Little Day reached out to me a few weeks ago and asked if I would like to help put  together a link-up focused on creativity. And of course I said yes. Because we all get into a rut when we feel like the log floating down the river has more creative energy than we do.

And while I am by no means an artist of any form besides witty remarks, I love the idea of getting out of my comfort zone and into the habit of thinking creatively. Lena is a wonderful drawer/sketcher/artist and I envy her ability to use a Moleskine notebook for its intended purpose. But have no fear because if you, like me, would rather not take pencil to paper, that is ok too. The whole point of being creative is working in a medium that you enjoy, or trying a new one if that is your cup of tea. Charcoal, watercolor, photography, decoupage, graphics, you name it, it will be welcomed into the creative initiative.

So here's how it will work:

1. Create something in your sketchbook based on this weeks prompt.

2. Post about your artistic endeavor on your blog and link-it-up to this post (every Thursday.)

3. Comment on other bloggers posts! The prompts leave a lot of room to use your imagination and we should all support and encourage each other and we explore!

Each week there will be a different theme. This week, as the introduction to the project, the theme was simply: The creative initiative. I love typographical quotes and am still learning my way around Illustrator, so I thought it would be perfect practice to create a type poster for this week.

Next week's theme is: What did you do today? 

We would love to have you become a regular contributor to The Creative Initiative. It's a wonderful way to encourage others and to become inspired. If you feel like you have been in a creative rut of sorts, this is the perfect exercise to work your way out of it.