I can’t really describe my nearly lifelong fascination with index cards. In the same way that a new sketchbook or journal has seemingly limitless potential, to me index cards are that – times ten. Ideas, drawings, notes left for someone in their absence, a bookmark, an impromptu calling card, a shopping list, a profound concept that can be filed and sorted and later retrieved. They are a portal as well as a receptacle. An end as well as a beginning.
Words to live by
This is just a little art project I did using purple fountain pen ink as the color medium and acrylic paint for the lettering. I’ve never used pen ink as a brush medium before, so it was an exciting experiment. The project was done on a scrap of card stock, and since I usually don’t use a brush for lettering, it was another first for me. The result? Not technically impressive, but deeply satisfying.
My first creative love was drawing. I never took any formal training in art beyond classes in elementary school. I knew that there were colleges for art, but I wish I’d known there was a high school with arts focus that was only 20 minutes away from my home at the time. Too bad that I didn’t know anything about it. Not that my family could afford tuition, but maybe a scholarship? No matter, that water is long under the bridge.
Anyway, without formal education, I find that my desire to create often runs up against technical limitations. It’s said that creativity is best when your skills match the challenges you face. But when your skills fall short, disappointment and frustration is usually the result.
Color mediums like painting have always fascinated me, but I constantly fall short of the skills and materials needed. Today’s little project, done on a whim, turned out to be very satisfying, if perhaps not technically impressive. That’s not a bad way to start a day.
The notetaking lifestyle
This piece was inspired by a comment on creativity by a YouTuber. Of course, I immediate jotted it onto an index card. You never really know why you take note of something, but I’m seeing the value of trusting that intuition.
I have always kept a notebook handy, even if I’ve been hit-or-miss about using it. I’ve had the experience of not using it because I wanted what I put in it to be “good.” I’ve tried a daily diary of my thoughts. I’ve tried bullet-journaling. And I’ve had that notebook that I just kind of throw anything into without structure. And index cards. I love my 3×5 index cards, but came late to the Zettelkasten method. I have wrestled with my Zettelkasten on and off for a few years now.
But I have always loved to keep a notebook. After a time, I’ll leaf through them. Sometimes it’s embarrassing. Sometimes it’s a inspiring. Or a memory gets unlocked. Or the dead come to life. I value it more as I get older, so that I don’t forget who I was.
But the practice of making sure to write even the most fleeting thought has been the most helpful. And regardless of the medium, be it an index card, or sticky note, or journal, it’s important to make it a habit. It should become almost automatic, because…
If you don’t write it down, you will lose it
And if you lose it, then no one else will be able to bring forth that idea in the same way you would.
Do you have a habit of writing things down? What’s your method for capturing ideas? Let me know in the comments!