What Are The Creative Themes You Keep Returning To?

[Dan Goodwin]

In your art, what themes, ideas, concepts, and topics to find yourself keep being drawn back to?

It could be certain objects, or colours or places, or it could be themes like loss or immortality, or forgiveness.

Share with us your themes, and why you feel you're drawn to them...

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

One of the themes or concepts that I keep coming back to is that of the circle or spiral, a cycling around pattern that is discernable in life and in my art. I just realized this morning that I have been attracted to circular patterns for a long time. The circular theme appears repeatedly in my painting, design, computer graphics, bead work, and now in mandalas :)

Books, representative of communication through the written word are another theme that I find has been repeated in my visual art.

I'm attracted to repeating designs, and to symmetrical designs.

[Lotus L Vele]

me 2. circles n spirals. flowers. fantasy like fairies. ; )

[Jules]

CCS

[Fiona Kelly]

Friends and family definitely in all I write. There are themes of bonds between people -- like the kind that do not get severed no matter how bad it gets. I notice this theme coming in often. That feeling of back-to-back against all odds. I don't want to say "buddy story" or "romance" because there's a lot of variation and sometimes the relationship is purposefully nebulous. But it's always about deep bonds. I also find myself with a related theme: misfits becoming family. It always seems to happen so strangely on its own. My characters bond in strange and wonderful ways under my amazed gaze.

I also find myself telling stories very often about warriors, soldiers, knights, that kind of thing. And I find myself definitely playing in the realm of Coming of Age, not romantically, but as people. Usually the twenty-year mark for characters and facing the world's challenges in which they live. Big themes for me.

In non-fic I find myself coming back to the principles behind TimeDay.Org in America -- time off for workers and relief from workaholism and overwork. And also etiquette and social graces are a big one for me. And then also I find myself writing about the craft of writing a lot.

In art I really love orange and blue as a color scheme. It's my favorite one to use. Pale orange hues are skin tones, and earth tones in orange are seen almost everywhere. Brown being a dark orange for example. And then blue is sky and sea. So it's a very nice landscape or storytelling color scheme.

I think that's about it! I think I'm drawn to these topics because they resonate with me so deeply from my own life experiences. I miss having a family, as I'm basically in many respects nearly an orphan. My only remaining (immediate) relative is my mom and we have a sibling relationship more than a maternal one, since I didn't grow up with her. So I think family, deep bonds, misfits turned family, and 'soldiering on' and dealing with the world's challenges are all part of my Vein of Gold in many ways.

[Ben Kelly]

In my writing the characters almost always end up being warriors, knights, soldiers, or adventurers of some sort who end up coming together for some common good or goal. Which leads to the theme of teamwork and camaraderie, which also tends to pop up regularly. This, I think, comes from my deep love of military history in which it shows in stark reality the highs (and sometimes lows) of humanity when pressed to extremes.

In my artwork and design I tend to focus on contrasts, but not in how they are separate but how they work together in a piece and work with one another. I suppose this really isn't too different from my writing as it again looks at differences as a means of making something whole.

I also tend to favour an orange/blue palette when I create art as I find it very versatile to depicting the world around us, but of course it changes accordingly. I often find whimsy coming out in my work as well (sometimes even when I don't mean it) but always try to find some sort of character moment or portrait piece when I draw a character or scene. I don't know if I'm always successful, but that's what I aim for and continue to practice.

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

I'm attracted to strong contrasts as well. Love the way you put it in your second paragraph, Ben.
It's also the attraction in the colors ... blue against orange, purple against yellow ... when juxtaposed the vivid brilliance of each is increased dramatically.

[Anne Westlund]

Color!

[Hannah]

Disillusionment and confusion

[earthwalker]

Intimacy and beauty.
Depth and connection.

[Dan Goodwin]

Does exploring difficult and challenging themes in your creativity and art help you better deal with them in your everyday life?

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

I write more than I used to, yet I don't consider it art. It's journaling (Morning Pages a la Julia Cameron)
Often it helps me better deal with difficulties and challenges. Other times I can feel good about things in my writing, feel as if I am capable of working things out, and then I do just the opposite later in the day.
I just have to look at it as one step forward, two steps back, and keep trying.

[Hannah]

It practically zaps them into oblivion! Then they come back though.