Produced by Matthew Reason and Brian Hartley in association with Mind the Gap 1
This book was produced through a collaborative research process with artists from Mind the Gap. Thanks to: Liam Bairstow, Paul Bates, Jess Boyes, Alan Clay, Alison Colborne, Jez Colborne, Howard Davies, Euan Evans-Thirlwell, Daniel Foulds, Anna Gray, Zara Mallinson, Laura Reed, Jack Riley, Julia Skelton, Bee Skivington, Charli Ward.
Think inside this book
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Creative Doodle Book This book is about helping you to be creative. Creativity is about being imaginative, playful, adventurous and free. We are all creative. Sometimes, however, we need a little help. This book is full of ideas designed to get you thinking creatively.
Do the pages in any order. Break the rules if you want to. If you’d rather draw than write, that is fine! Remember, this is your book.
Have Fun With It! 3
The book is divided into three parts,
Ideas to help you DO
These instruction-based ideas are designed to help you be creative.
Ideas to help you T HINK Thinking is hard, these pages hope to make it fun and engaging.
Ideas to help you REFLECT
We learn through reflecting on what we’ve done before, these pages support you in doing just that.
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Turn this SCRIBBLE into a picture of yourself.
Creativity is about seeing things in new ways. 5
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Choose objects. Invent a CONVERSATION between them.
What’s it like being a toothbrush?
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Do
Bathrooms stink. Remember, you can draw, write, cut and paste... 7
Go for a WALK with a friend or family member. Tell each other a true story. DRAW or WRITE their story.
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Do Walking allows you time to think, and to be creative. 9
Fill this page with Positive THOUGHTS.
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“
Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud. Maya Angelou
“ Think THINK 11
PLAN a great day out. List where you would go, who with and everything you’d need to take.
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Think
It
co
y. . .
ar in a
g
d ul
be
m o s
h w e
e r e
re
, l a
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im
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tiny changes. What little things would you like to CHANGE about the world. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 14
6. 7. 8.
10.
Reflect
9.
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What makes you feel INSPIRED?
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Creativity is about being inventive, coming up with things that are new and interesting.
Reflect 17
Here are some examples of work created from some Doodle Book creative sessions facilatated by Vicky Ackroyd. The artists sent their work which arrived via email, text, WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger and show some of the range of responses, from drawing, writing and collage in the pages of the book, and explorations into photography and using found objects.
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Acknowledgements Few of the tasks in this book are entirely original and we would like to thank the thousand forgotten sources of inspiration. More directly we have been influenced by the work of Keri Smith (Wreck this Journal and How to be an Explorer in the World) and Julia Cameron (The Artists’ Way and The Vein of Gold: A Journey to Your Creative Heart).
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Mind the Gap Theatre Company and York St John University have developed the ‘Creative Doodle Book’, which encourages positive creative expression through arts-based activity. During lockdown in May 2020, Mind the Gap successfully piloted delivery of the Doodle Book at a distance with their network of artists with learning disabilities. It proved a great way of engaging and connecting people. We are keen to build on this work and develop the Doodle Book as a model of inclusive arts practice by sharing it with different community groups. We would love you to be one of those groups. For more information about the project please contact Deborah Dickinson at Mind the Gap: deborah@mind-the-gap.org.uk or 01274-487390.
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