We may not always feel very creative at times… but I believe we are all creators and designers in one form or another. We may be home chefs, parents, teachers, and students,… makers and builders,…artists, musicians, photographers,…caregivers,…and those of us simply navigating this complicated and often stressful world.

Creative ideas can just pop up unexpectedly, or we reach way back for inspiration residing in the dormant recesses of the cloud servers in our brains. I’ll share some photos that may help ignite both your right…and your left brain. Your brain has 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion connections…so let me try to fire up a few with the power of imagery. Let’s begin by…OPENING UP SOME NEW DOORS.

Try looking at the world in a simpler way with fewer filters and preconceptions.

Is she seeing something I missed?

We often remain in our safe and familiar bubble, afraid or unwilling to see what is beyond the door to the NEW.

Try a new path to see where it goes. You just might find the experience freeing and exhilarating!

There is no better way to turbo-charge your brain than going to a museum. Study an art movement like the Pre-Raphaelites. “Ophelia” painted by John Everett Millais in 1851 is mesmerizing!

This was an exhibit of amazingly creative rock posters riffing on art-nouveau, pop, and psychedelic motifs.

Look up. This is the amazingly engineered CCTV building in Beijing.

Look down. Intricate stone patterns at the “Humble Administrator’s Garden”, Suzhou, China.

Look closer… a chandelier in Marrakech, Morocco.

And closer…The Amulet Market in Bangkok.

And even closer…a drop of water on a lotus leaf. Bali.

Explaining Cubism to 5 year-olds is an interesting exercise.

When it is safe to travel again, immerse yourself in a new culture. Logan receives a blessing from a Balinese priest.

Textiles and fashion have always interested me. This jacket at Le Bon Marche in Paris really spoke to me.

https://youtu.be/E9CVLVevm4E

You MUST click on the video above for music of the era to accompany the next 2 images.

Marla grooves on a fashion exhibit from the San Francisco Music Scene of the mid-1960s to the ’70s. These looks would not look out of place today!

Yes,..I definitely would have worn these!

Fashion for an unknown future. From a boutique in Rome.

Try something you’ve never tried before!

Some creations are beyond understanding,…but need to be just enjoyed without an explanation.

Visual inspiration from nature. Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, north of Hilo Hawaii.

Artistic juxtaposition…Auguste Rodin and Gustav Klimt. Museum of The Legion of Honor exhibit, San Francisco.

Architectural fascination at the Denver Botanical Gardens.

A mirrored building in Barcelona.

A wonder of creative exhibit design at Heimtextil in Frankfurt, Germany.

Into the unknown.

Fantasmagoric fashion. A student fashion and textile design exhibit at Heimtextil, Frankfurt, Germany.

It is ALL out there to be experienced and savored.

A bonus track of one of my favorite songs….just because.

Photos: Dick Gentry, “Ophelia” Tate Gallery, London. Not to be used without permission.