Filling My Bucket

I think I've mentioned before about filling our creative wells (or buckets).

Since it's difficult to create in isolation, finding ways to become inspired and to get new ideas into my brain is paramount to my creative process.

I often seek out new and different ways to generate those ideas to fill my creative bucket.

My entry, a silk belt I wove...

Recently I entered a Society for Creative Anachronism arts and science competition called Queen's Prize Tournament. (Think show and tell by the hundreds!)

This annual event brings together artisans from a four-state region to show off their current endeavors.

Showing the process of spoon carving...

Whether metalwork or brewing or woodwork or a multitude of creative pursuits, seeing how other people craft their passion brings joy to my heart and ideas to fill my creative bucket.

I hope chatting with other makers and sharing ideas benefits them as much as it benefits me.

A crafted sword and scabbard...

So many entries in various categories! Walking around and looking at all the beautiful items, inspires me to try all the things regardless of my skill level.

And every person in the tournament loves to talk about their creative process and share their artistic ideas!

Four types of home-brewed mead...

At some point during the day, a panel of three judges visits each entrant. As the different expert judges visit the entrants, they talk about the process of making. Each expert offers tips for improvement and lets the entrant ask questions.

I enjoyed having the chance to talk about how I wove my silk belt with so many other artisans!

At the end of the day, everyone goes home with a sponsored gift and new ideas for making better things.

I love filling my creative bucket, and since chatting with and critiquing other artisans, I have a list of new to me activities I want to try!