Making the Invisible, Visible
Input Mapping:
This past week has consisted of identifying the things in my life that have an impact and influence on my creativity, the way I think and feel, and just my life in general. These inputs can be almost anything, and can range from experiences and feelings all the way to communication and activities you take part in everyday. In order to be a better creator, it’s important to discover more about ourselves and how we experience the world around us.
Starting off, I kept track of everything I’ve done this week. What are some of my habits? Favorite hobbies? How am I feeling today? From beginning my day with a skincare routine, to taking walks around my neighborhood, cleaning my house and preparing for Valentine’s Day, and watching the snowstorm hit my city, causing a power outage, I developed a wide range of various activities each day. I also took note of sources of inspiration, as well as some of the emotions I’ve felt throughout this last week. Since I don’t really follow a strict routine, I thought it was interesting how varied my days have become.
From there, I took a look at my list, and came up with five different colored categories based off what I had written down, in order to make everything more organized. The categories I chose were, Inspiration (Anything that inspires me in anyway, creatively or otherwise), Hobbies (Things that I do for fun), Everyday (Activities that I do pretty much everyday), Events(Special things that have happened this last week), and Feelings (Emotions that I’ve experienced). Having my lists separated by color and category allowed me to see what was different between the activities, and how some of the things I did showed up in multiple categories.
Some of my hobbies were also sources of inspiration, and I didn’t even realize it beforehand. I chose to make my lists and input map on procreate, because it’s a lot easier for me to switch to whatever colors I wanted, while still keeping my own handwriting, making my input map more personal to me and my life. I didn’t realize how much I actually do in one day, especially since working from home and being stuck in the house makes me feel like my life is incredibly boring. And a lot of these activities I’ve overlooked, and it makes me have more appreciation for the little things in life that actually make my life what it is.
