15 Posts To Put A Stop To Writer's Block

Getting out of the writer's block rut and creating new ideas for your blog when you just aren't feeling inspired can be a big challenge. That's why I always get slightly excited when I see a new post on my Bloglovin' feed that promises a list of ideas to get my creative juices flowing. Even if you have plenty of inspiration already, it's always nice to have a few backups for a rainy day right? So I thought I'd compile a list of 15 of my favourite blog post idea posts that I have come across...

1. The Bloggers Lounge - 38 Blog Post Ideas

2. Water Painted Dreams - 50 Fail Safe Blog Post Ideas

3. Sweet Electric - 108 Blog Post Ideas For When Writers Block Strikes
4. The Blog Stylist - 32 Of The Most Popular Blog Post Ideas
5. The College Prepster - 50 Ideas For Blog Posts
6. Sometimes Sweet - Post Ideas For The Stumped Blogger
7. The Best Of Intentions - 36 Of The Best Blog Post Ideas Ever
8. Zoe London - 50 Ideas For Great Blog Posts
9. The Sunday Chapter - 150 Blog Post Ideas For When You've Hit Writers Block
10. Chasing My Extraordinary - 18 Blog Post Ideas
11. Postcards From Rachel - 15 Blog Post Ideas
12. Allyssa Barnes - 25 Blog Post Ideas For The Uninspired
13. Strange & Charmed - 25 Blog Post Ideas For Any Blogger
14. Frock Me I'm Famous - 50 Blog Post Ideas
15. Lot 48 - I Don't Believe In Writers Block: Some Blog Post Ideas 

Did you find any of the above posts useful? If you have a blog post ideas post of your own, please let me know - I'd love to check it out and maybe I'll add it to second edition!

19 Things In 19 Years

So today is my 19th birthday *yay*! I feel like 19 is a bit of a funny one; you've done all of the big celebrations that come with your 18th, and you have a while to wait until the big 2-1. With that in mind I don't have huge plans to celebrate this year, just a nice meal with my family and a night out in town with my friends. But I thought I'd begin my last year as teenager by sharing 19 lessons I have learnt in my 19 years on this earth. I'm certainly not saying that I have all the worlds wisdom, but these are just a few snippets I've discovered along my journey so far. Here goes...

1. Not taking the easy option pays off in the long term
2. Experiences are more valuable than possessions
3. Worrying changes nothing
4. Death doesn't care who you are
5. People change
6. There comes a point when you realise the way your parents built you isn't enough - and they don't ALWAYS know best
7. Regret is almost entirely pointless
8. Time heals
9. Pain often leads to the biggest growth 
10. Politeness is important, and it always gets rewarded
11. Forgiving people makes you feel lighter 

12. The way things are right now is not the way they will always be

13. Not everybody will understand the value in art
14. There is no shame in enjoying your own company
15. There will always be somebody who doesn't like you, so you might as well be yourself
16. Stepping outside your comfort zone is a good thing
17. Everything seems worse at night
18. Your school years are NOT the best of your life
19. Empathy is a very valuable tool

Do you agree or disagree with anything on my list? And what lessons have you learnt in your life so far?
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A Look Inside My Sketchbook: Remixing LOVE

Last month I created a post sharing some pages from inside my art foundation sketchbook, and I got some really lovely feedback from people saying it was something they were interested in seeing more of. It was really flattering to get such positive comments because anyone that knows me well will know that my sketchbooks are kind of my babies! So for this post I thought it might be nice to share a page from my current sketchbook in the context of the project it was produced for. 

Last weekend I was set a one day valentines project to complete. In short, the brief was remix 'LOVE' by Robert Indiana in any way we wanted to. It could be a flat artwork, a 3D model, we could change the colour, word or font, stack our own letters, create a photograph, alter the sentiment, literally anything! I chose to stick close to the original image, but I tuned it into an ice block! I photographed my giant ice cube in different locations around Manchester as it went through the melting process. It was a really fun little project and I enjoyed playing with the juxtaposition between the coldness of ice and the passionate connotations of love and the colour red. I certainly got some strange interesting looks from people while carrying that thing through the city! 

So, here is the sketchbook page I created to document my valentines day project along with a few of the finished photographs...

Exhibition Visit: Transmitting Andy Warhol at Tate Liverpool

It's contextual studies week for me at uni and so yesterday I decided I'd better get my act together and finally see the Andy Warhol exhibition that's on at Tate Liverpool before it closes its doors on the 8th February. Now, I must first admit that I'm not the greatest Andy Warhol fanatic. His work is more of an inspiration of process for me rather than a deep love of pop art on my part. I do however respect his incredible influence and the fact that many of his statements about the world are even more vital to today's society than the society from which he practiced. 

Despite any of my preconceptions, he is the most widely exhibited of all 20th-century artists, and Tate Liverpool are featuring more than 100 examples of his work, so I'd probably be mad to miss the opportunity to see miss Monroe for a fiver. I am a graphic design student after all, I thought there was bound to be something there to tickle my fancy. 

The exhibition had an interesting take, choosing to focus on how the American artist publicised his iconic paintings to as many people as possible around the world and I have to say I really did enjoy the work. What was interesting to see was the vast range of Warhol's commissioned graphic design work, from album covers to book design as well as his work as an artist in his own right. I even found a new favourite. The Electric Chairs Portfolio (1971) is a series of silk-screens done in shockingly inappropriate sugary colours, completely at odds with the morbid subject matter. It's a very odd sort of sensation you get when looking at them, especially in an exhibition environment with velvet underground playing through speakers in the next room. 

The music, bold colours and flashing images all combine to make this exhibition a true sensory experience throughout and I'm very glad I took the time to visit. 

The work is only showing for a few more days so definitely get down to Tate Liverpool this week if you can!

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