Sometimes when I get blocked creatively I look around for inspiration. I found two artists who got me moving. The first is Dutch artist Theo Jansen’s living and breathing sculptures — I must say this utube of his astonishing work is one of the most eerily awe-inspiring things I’ve seen in awhile! I think that’s because it stimulates all three of my intelligence centers: head, heart and gut. He calls his art “the Strandbeests.” These walking sculptures are made of lightweight plastic tubing, that “feed” off wind-power and spend their natural lives frolicking in the tide-lines of northern beaches! Yes, this is “gut” creativity at its best!

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDn6Cj4p-Z8[/youtube]

Jansen’s designed intake pipes detect when his creatures venture too far into dunes or water, causing them to careen the other way to keep themselves safe. Simply brilliant creations!

The other artist whom inspired me this week is Thomas Dambo. He makes BIG art projects from trash. Most of us dive into clean pools, he dives into dumpsters around Copenhagen, Denmark. He has fun with trash and inspires others to use recycled materials for works of art.

In 2015 Thomas Dambo and his team made the recycled sculpture Simon Selfmade in the town of Tilst outside of Aarhus, Denmark. Unfortunately a big hurricane hit Aarhus shortly after, and Simon was completely destroyed. A 14 year old girl named Anine was really sad about losing Simon– so she created a Facebook page to raise funds to have Simon rebuilt, which she accomplished in only four days.

Sculpture: Simon and Anine.

The new sculpture is now finished (see video for the process) and includes a new friend to keep Simon company. The name of his new friend is– of course– Anine.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/C7vgv0fneZo[/youtube]

All of Dambo’s sculptures are made solely from local scrapwood and recycled materials, some are placed in hidden locations like Oscar under the bridge. This invites viewers to go on a treasure hunt, to see both the sculpture and hidden gems in nature.

Oscar under the bridge is made from scrapwood and broken pallets from local industries. Here are a few more of Dambo’s unique sculptures.

Not only are Dambo’s sculptures made of recycled materials, but as you can see, they are interactive (provoke our gut center), always inviting us to play! And–of course–play stimulates creativity.

How do these works stimulate your creativity–from your head, heart and gut’s perspective?

Thanks for reading my post. I am an organizational and business consultant living in the mountains of Santa Fe, New Mexico with my husband and dogs. My core message of everyone is creative resonates with people of all ages and walks of life. I invite all to become the best version of themselves in my new book and find true meaning by pursing long term creative quests.

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