This is a page out of my sketch journal. This week’s word for Illustration Friday was “suspense.”

When I heard today’s theme for Illustration Friday was “suspense,” I decided I would take a page directly from my sketchbook. The word reminded me of old radio drama shows and comic books. It reminds me of a little grime and notes taken on napkins. Something seedy is going on when there’s some suspense!

I drew this for Illustration Friday. This week’s word is “vanity.”

I’m thankful I’ve never had this problem. Still, whenever I’ve gotten on my lawn mower and donned the ear muffs, I’ve wondered what creative ways I could use them beyond mowing.

I drew this for Illustration Friday. This week’s word is “silent.”

When I heard Illustration Friday’s word was “ferocious,” I spotted this sketch in my sketchbook. Basketball is king in Indiana and if things aren’t going well, the coach can get quite ferocious. It they get worse, the fans get ferocious and the poor coach begins to fear for his life!

Lawrence Wilson had a good blog post today on five ways to unlock your imagination. He pointed out the things that bring him closer to God also fuel his imagination.

Playfulness was the one thing that really struck out to me. I realized playfulness fuels my creativity and make me feel child-like. That’s a good thing. Preschoolers and early elementary kids are so creative in their play. One of the tragedies of this world is we lose that creativity as we get older. Why is that?

One reason is kids don’t have the experience of failure. The world is new to them. They haven’t faced a friend who ridicules them for doing something out of the ordinary. What’s wrong with wearing a tutu with swimming flippers and a sunflower hat? Plenty if you are in elementary school! You’ll be branded as a weirdo before you can turn in your tutu.

But it’s that same kind of playfulness that can give us a creativity breakthrough! Oh, to be a child and have no worries about doing something society brands nonconformist!

Another reason is when we’ve tried something, and it doesn’t work, we hesitate before we do that again. That’s good for a preschooler when he is doing something that could be dangerous. It’s not so good when it comes to creativity.

When I teach, I look for ways to be creative. Ask yourself silly questions. What does love and pepper jack cheese have in common? What does an aardvark have in common with teaching perseverance? It’s those little mind games that can set your imagination free. After all, humor is all about surprise. We laugh when we connect something that normally doesn’t connect.

Here are a few ways to generate a creative brainstorm:

• There is a program on the web and available on the iPhone called The Brainstormer. Give it a try!
• Do something you’ve never done before.
  • Go to a different ethnic restaurant.
  • Try a class at your local library or community center.
  • Try an adventure. You may be surprised what kinds of recreation are available in your area.
• Participate with kids at play. It’s amazing what they come up with. Four to six-year olds make up totally crazy worlds that, to them, are perfectly believable.
• Look around the room and find an every day object. Take a few minutes to devise some unconventional uses for that object. Is that fork a back-scratcher for an elf? Is it a strange compass? Could it be a recliner for a hamster?
• Ask questions. Even if you think you know the answer. Besides, do we REALLY know the answer, or do we just assume we do?