Inkblots are not only useful in psychoanalysis, but they also can help get the creative juices flowing. Victor Hugo used inkblots to get inspiration for his writing, and ordinary people can make inkblots to get through whatever creative block they are experiencing. So says Margaret Peot in Inkblot: Drip, Splat, and Squish Your Way to Creativity.
Inkblot shows readers how to create single-fold and multi-fold inkblots, inkblots with different colored inks and blown ink, landscapes, and more. After listing the various supplies needed to create an inkblot and different techniques for moving the ink on the paper, Peot explains how to draw into the inkblots, or turn them into works of art. Various objects and scenes can be found in a single inkblot, and Peot teaches readers how to turn their inkblots upside down, look at the negative shapes, and trace what they see.
If readers don’t see something right away, Peot provides tips for looking at inkblots and asks amusing, thought-provoking questions to help them see things differently. She even provides advice on how to create a sketchbook full of inkblots. Inkblot is full of colorful illustrations of inkblots and the objects found within them.
After reading the book, The Girl (age 10) and I wanted to create our own inkblots. We didn’t have all the supplies listed in the book, but we decided to improvise, believing that our improvisation was creative in and of itself. We took two small squares of paper and folded them in half. I took apart a pen and cut the ink cartridge in half, and we dabbed the ink on one side of our papers. I used a cotton swab to move the ink around. Then we folded the papers over, smoothed them out, opened them back up, and let them dry. After they were dry, we looked closely at our inkblots, and used markers to outline and color what we saw in them.
I bet they would have come out better had there been better supplies on hand, but they were fun to make. Mine is on top. I saw a butterfly in my inkblot, but I guess if you turned it sideways, you could see snails. The Girl’s is on the bottom. She saw an alien crying. She colored only one side, partly because her left-handedness was streaking the ink everywhere and partly because she wanted to show a “before” image of her inkblot.
Inkblot is a book that will provide hours of entertainment and creativity. The idea behind the book is not to just create inkblots for the sake of creating inkblots, though that would be fine and fun; it’s to get your mind working and thinking about other creative endeavors. As Peot says in the book, “Many creative people say that it is important to cultivate playfulness and to do so regularly.” (page 8) Peot says creative people work on a schedule, which helps avoid creative blocks, and by making inkblots during moments when they don’t have any other ideas, they will teach themselves to see the world differently on a daily basis. We can’t say Inkblot has changed our lives or made us more creative after a single reading and a single inkblot, but it’s definitely an idea and a book that I can see us revisiting in the future.
Courtesy of the publisher, we have 1 copy of Inkblot to give away to our readers. To enter, simply leave a comment with your e-mail address and tell us what you normally do to get the creative juices flowing. This giveaway is open to readers in the U.S. and Canada, as the publisher is shipping the book, and will end on Sunday, March 27, 2011, at 11:59 pm.
**Please note that this giveaway is now closed**
Disclosure: We received a copy of Inkblot from publicist Diane Saarinen and Boyds Mills Press for review purposes. I am an IndieBound affiliate and an Amazon associate.
© 2011 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
The book sounds like fun. A great way to spend a rainy day. To get my creative juices flowing, I listen to beautiful music.
LikeLike
I listen to music, too, when I sit down to write. I have a playlist of songs that fit the mood of my novel.
LikeLike
What an interesting way to incite creativity! The natural effects of the abstract inkblots combined with the outlining process must be a lot of fun.
I try to stir up my creativity by taking a walk or getting moving, in order to take a break and get fresh ideas.
Great giveaway–I will post this in my blog’s sidebar.
suko95(at)gmail(dot)com
LikeLike
Thanks, Suko! I appreciate it.
Taking a walk can be very inspiring, especially where there’s a nice nature view.
LikeLike
Your inkblots turned out great! I had no idea The Girl is a leftie – Vance claims lefties are superior!
LikeLike
I’m the only right-handed person in the house! I’ll have to tell The Girl what Vance said; I’m sure she’ll love that!
LikeLike
no need to enter me. Sounds like a fun book. I see a skull with a worm in it from The Girl’s image…and I see the butterfly and snails in yours. I’ll post the giveaway i my sidebar for you though.
LikeLike
I didn’t see the skull and the worm, but now I do! Thanks for posting the giveaway.
LikeLike
This sounds like a great book, due to your great review.
LikeLike
Thanks!
LikeLike
Ohhh look a turtle 😀
Fun
LikeLike
I don’t see a turtle, but it just goes to show how many things you can find in a single inkblot!
LikeLike
I love this book….maybe I could even create something awesome???
LikeLike
If I can do an inkblot, so can you! 😉 I’m definitely not an artist.
LikeLike
Ooh, fun! We’ve done things with paint and marbles that the kids enjoy, this may give them ideas to take it further.
LikeLike
It was a lot of fun! We didn’t take it to the next level of creativity because we got wrapped up in the inkblots themselves, but I can see how they could be useful in doing so.
LikeLike
Interesting. I remember my daughter doing this in elementary school.
Ann
cozyintexas@yahoo.com
LikeLike
I never did anything that fun in school, LOL!
LikeLike
I can rev up my creative juices just by getting out my giant box of markers and my sketchbook. Just seeing all those colors makes me happy and the doodlebug impulse soon follows! then sometimes collagebug…origamibug…and so on.
Cheers!
LikeLike
Sounds like you have some good strategies for fostering creativity!
LikeLike
I was going to simply comment on this cool book, but I want to enter the giveaway, too – maybe I’ll share the book with my kids 🙂
You and The Girl are both very creative – I can see her alien crying, and I like that she chose to color only one side for the before/after effect.
Please enter my name:
dawn [at] sheistoofondofbooks [dot] com
LikeLike
Thanks, Dawn! I bet you’d all have fun with it.
LikeLike
This sounds like fun and a great way to spend mommy daughter time.
LikeLike
It would have been even more fun if we’d had all the proper supplies! But at least we were creative in working around that. 😉
LikeLike
I’d love to win a copy of this book. I think it would be really inspirational for my 5th and 6th graders!
LikeLike
This would be a great book to have in the classroom!
LikeLike
I usually visit some funny websites to get my creative juices flowing
LikeLike
I’m curious about which websites you visit…
LikeLike
I’m not too creative but I do enjoy organizing and redecorating our home. I usually get ideas from home improvement shows on HGTV. 🙂
LikeLike
I love HGTV and I don’t even own a home. My friend and I have spent many a Saturday watching all the home shows!
LikeLike
This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to all who entered or just stopped by the check out the review. The winner will be chosen via Randomizer.org and announced shortly.
LikeLike
[…] of an Eccentric (Delights & Shadows)94. Diary of an Eccentric (Staying at Daisy’s)95. Diary of an Eccentric (Inkblot)96. Gina @ Bookscount (The Witches Lottery)97. Gina @ Bookscount (The House at […]
LikeLike