Tag: Creativity

Creative Prompt #338: Riverbank

Riverbank, Calif

Riverbank Unified School District

Riverbank Galaxy Theatres

The Riverbank Cheese & Wine Exposition is a street festival for the whole family.

Riverbank State Park, New York, NY.

Riverbank Farm

Riverbank Chamber of Commerce

Tales of the Riverbank tells the story of three friends – Hammy Hamster, Roderick Rat and GP the Guinea Pig(2008)

Riverbank Attributed to Dong Yuan (Chinese, active 930s–60s) Hanging scroll; ink and slight color on silk; Image: 86 3/4 x 43 in. (220.3 x 109.2 cm) Ex coll. (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

River Bank by Brad Paisley

Definition: “the ground at the edge of a river” (Merriam-Webster)

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and get familiar with your blog or website.

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to  post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

We are also talking about this on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag #CPP

Creative Prompt #336: South

South Seas

Southern Hemisphere

South Bay Quilter’s Guild

South by Southwest

South Arts is a regional arts organization which provides grants, programs and services to artists and arts organizations in the southern United States.

South Island Cultural District

South San Francisco

South: The story of Shackleton’s last expedition 1914 – 1917

North and South by John Jakes

Deep South

The Edible South by Marcie Cohen

Festival South

South Shore, Lake Tahoe

Rock the South

Definition: “South is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. It is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. South is the polar opposite of north and is perpendicular to east and west.” (Wikipedia)

South is a tool to provide consistent, easy-to-use and database-agnostic migrations for Django applications.

South Africa

South Valley Quilt Association

The South

South Carolina

T.R.U.S.T. South LA, Community Health Councils

South Coast Plaza

South Bay

South Korea

Twelve South creates beautifully designed accessories exclusively for Apple computers.

South Mountains State Park, North Carolina

PAX South

Empire State South takes a modern approach to creating authentic Southern dishes,

South Station is Boston’s Largest Transit Hub.

South Pole

South China Sea

South Street Seaport for Food, Music, Outdoor Movies, Open Bars & Shopping.

South Beach Diet

South Padre Island

South Sudan

South Park

South Dakota

Associated Colleges of the South

Old South Church

The countdown has begun. Only 29 more CPP posts left.

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and get familiar with your blog or website.

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to  post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

We are also talking about this on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag #CPP

Book Review: The Little Spark

The Little Spark 30 Ways to Ignite Your CreativityThe Little Spark 30 Ways to Ignite Your Creativity by Carrie Bloomston

One of the things I try and do with the creative prompt project is to help you spark your creativity. A regular habit really encourages the creative person to continue. I was intrigued to see what Carrie Bloomston thought on the subject when I saw her book.

The book starts out by saying that it is an interactive workbook. When I write reviews, I read the whole book straight through and it was hard to stick to that practice with this book. The book contains 30 ‘sparks’, which are exercises to ignite, inspire, encourage your creativity. The book gives options for doing those exercises, but does not demand a certain way of doing them. Do one a day, one a month or dip in and out.

The author’s definition of living a creative life is a definition I enjoy. She writes “It is a way of living life with curiosity and openness. It means thinking from your heart, thinking for yourself, and thinking outside of the box.” It is actually definition that I am also a little afraid of. She tells the reader right upfront that we will be getting out of our comfort zone.

The Introduction is a kind of call to arms. Bloomston talks about the earliest examples of people making things and of many different ways people have expressed themselves through the ages. Then she says …”your desire to make things is bigger than you.” That line startled me, because I often think about why I feel such a strong need to make quilts and sew things. Yes, to use up fabric. Yes, to try something new, but there is something even deeper that demands I have something soft yet colorful in my hands on which to work. I suspect is has to do with a life not being forgotten.

The first spark confirms that we will be getting out of our comfort zone. Spark 1 has the old creative adage: just start and goes on to explain how starting is hard. We have all heard it before, but it doesn’t make it any less true and the beginning is a good place to start.

The general format of the chapters (sparks) is to introduce the spark, provide directions for the exercise and then provide tips. The tips for getting started are things like don’t hoard materials, do some warm-ups (creative prompt project anyone??) and take baby steps. All of these are sensible and we have heard them before. Still gathering all of these pearls of wisdom into one book is handy.

The sparks are all different and many are things I didn’t think of in this context. Space, classes, messes, permission, grace, rule-breaking, time and many other things are all covered. Yes, I have heard of some, but some were surprising, if completely reasonable to me. The author also does not whitewash this process and talks about issues such as “The Crazies” and self-doubt.

The book just ends after the 30th spark. No sad farewell, drama or an index. The book just ends, which I think is appropriate, because if you have done the book right, then you will be off on a new journey.

I like the layout, colors and photos used in this book. I think it will work well for those of you concerned about creativity and encouraging it in yourself.

View all my reviews

Sketching #219

Creative Prompt Response #219: Bow
Creative Prompt Response #219: Bow

Here is another Blast from the Past! I decided since posting seems to be a problem this week that I would post a #CPP Response and try, once again, to encourage you to take five minutes for creativity.

I was also thinking that my routine for doing these prompts has been interrupted now that the YM is off at college. I’ll have to see about rearranging my schedule to find a comfortable time to do the responses.

Will you do a response? The original prompt can still be found and is waiting for you!

Creative Prompt #335: Urchin

Echinoidea

Urchin is a web statistics analysis program developed by Urchin Software Corporation. Urchin is used to analyze web server log file content.

Virtual Urchin website features expanding mobile compatibility!

The Big urchin is a random event that can occur during Prifddinas Waterfall Fishing. Players – Runescape Wiki

Seiko “Sea Urchin” SNZF Watch

Urchins are spiked aquatic creatures that have appeared as enemies throughout the Mario series.

Maine sea urchin divers have reached a crossroads as conservation efforts have kept the delicacy virtually off limits to new divers.

Urchin Software analyzes web server log file content to generate traffic reports based on the log data.

jewelry from The Sea Urchin Collection

Sea Urchin Regulations

Sea Urchin Ornamental Wall Decorations from Target

Tea Urchin was set up to share the joys of premium & rare Chinese teas with the world.

Urchin softlight. A shape shifting light that provides ambient diffusion of energy efficient LED light.

Urchin Bistrot

Urchin is a film and animation studio developing a sustainable business practice rooted in free/libre tools and culture.

Sea Urchin Studio is a design company specializing in nature-inspire products for kids.

sea urchins have a water vascular system

Sea Urchin Sea Urchin are Leila Hassan and Francesco Cavaliere

Purple sea urchin. From “The Intertidal Zone.”

Urchin Urchin from TheKolWiki

Sea Urchin by Laura Knetzger

Urchin or urcheon is the Middle English term for “hedgehog“. As such, it is applied to many things that take a similar form to a hedgehog:

  • Street children, homeless children who live on the street
  • Sea urchins are spiny sea creatures that are round and prickly like hedgehogs
  • In old theater, urchin was a common name for an elf or fairy that took on a prickly appearance
  • The word urcheon is used to refer to the hedgehog in heraldry

It may also refer to:

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and get familiar with your blog or website.

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to  post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

We are also talking about this on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag #CPP

Creative Prompt #334: Witch

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble

Bewitched

Tennessee’s Bell Witch

witch hunt

Salem Witch Trials

W.I.T.C.H. – 2004 to 2006 TV series

The “witch of Agnesi” is a curve studied by Maria Agnesi in 1748 in her book Instituzioni analitiche ad uso della gioventù italiana (the first surviving mathematical work written by a woman). The curve is also known as cubique d’Agnesi or agnésienne, and had been studied earlier by Fermat and Guido Grandi in 1703.

The name “witch” derives from a mistranslation of the term averisera (“versed sine curve,” from the Latin vertere, “to turn”) in the original work as avversiera (“witch” or “wife of the devil”) in an 1801 translation of the work by Cambridge Lucasian Professor of Mathematics John Colson (Gray).

The Witches of Eastwick

Leland’s witches do not see Lucifer as the evil Satan that Christians see, but a benevolent god of the Sun and Moon. The ritual format of contemporary Stregheria is roughly similar to that of other Neopagan witchcraft religions such as Wicca.

The Witch (2015 movie)

Witch Skincare

Witch of Hemwick (Bloodborne Wiki)

Kitchen Witch Bone Broth produced nutrient dense, healing bone broth from local and sustainable ingredients.

Glinda the Good Witch

WITCH (World Induced Technical Change Hybrid model) is one of the main modelling tools developed within FEEM’s Sustainable Development research

Every Witch Way (Nickelodean)

Kitchen witch

Wicked Witch of the East

The Ale and the Witch is an American Small Craft Taps and Casks House located in Saint Petersburg, FL.

Witch Dungeon Museum, Salem, Mass.

Witch Baby Soap

The Last Witch Hunter

Definition: “A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft.” (Wikipedia)

witch doctor

Bubble Witch 2

Fat Witch (NYC’s legendary brownie)

Rediscover the magic and synchronicity that unfold when you come back to yourself and your center. Join Maia Toll for Witch Camp – The Course!

The Switch Witch Halloween book and doll brings a magical, fun tradition to your family and solves the problem of too much candy in a way that kids love!

Salem Witch Walk

Bad Witch is an Australian based online store. Necklaces, Rings, Earrings. Stones including: Moonstone, Amethyst, Rose Quartz and Clear Quartz.

Sarah Graley has created Pizza Witch as the very first webcomic for Comic Book Slumber Party!

The White Witch Golf Course is carved from the rolling countryside of Jamaica’s historic Rose Hall Plantation and is an 18-hole championship golf course.

 

Animals

Books and fairy tales

Film and television

Music

Plays and ballets

Ships

Video games

Other uses

(Wikipedia)

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and get familiar with your blog or website.

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to  post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

We are also talking about this on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag #CPP

Creative Prompt #333: Crown

Crown Point Press

Definition: “A crown is the traditional symbolic form of headgear worn by a monarch or by a deity, for whom the crown traditionally represents power, legitimacy, victory, triumph, honor, and glory, as well as immortality, righteousness, and resurrection. In art, the crown may be shown being offered to those on Earth by angels. Apart from the traditional form, crowns also may be in the form of a wreath and be made of flowers, oak leaves or thorns and be worn by others, representing what the coronation part aims to symbolize with the specific crown. In religious art, a crown of stars is used similarly to a halo. Crowns worn by rulers often contain jewels.” (Wikipedia)

Crown Royal Canadian Whiskey

Crown Battery

The Slime Crown is used to summon King Slime, a Boss-type enemy in Terraira.

dental crown

Crown Castle is the nation’s largest provider of wireless infrastructure.

dental crown

Triple Crown

Violet Crown Cinema is a locally owned and operated cinema with four screens devoted to art, independent, documentary and international films.

Crown Princess is one of the largest Princess cruise ships

Crown College, University of California, Santa Cruz

Crown Plaza Hotel

Crown Equipment Corporation is a global manufacturer of material handling lift trucks and technology

Arts

  • Crown (comics), a fictional character in the Marvel Universe, and an enemy of Spider-Man
  • The Crown (TV series), an upcoming television drama series created by Peter Morgan for Netflix

Currency

  • Crown (Australian coin), the Australian version of the British Crown
  • Crown (British coin), a heavy silver coin, parallel in size and weight to the United States silver dollar
  • Crown (currency), a monetary unit used in the countries of Czech Republic, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and the territories of Faroe Islands and Greenland
  • Crown (English coin), originally known as the “crown of the double rose”, an English gold coin introduced as part of King Henry VIII’s monetary reform of 1526 with the value of five shillings; later a silver coin of the same value
  • Estonian kroon, the official currency of Estonia for two periods in history: 1928–1940 and 1992–2011
  • Hungarian korona, the replacement currency of the Austro-Hungarian Krone/korona amongst the boundaries of the newly created post-World War I Hungary
  • Koruna (disambiguation)
  • Krona (disambiguation)
  • Krone (disambiguation)

Dentistry

Motor vehicles

Music and audio

Places

Science

Symbols of monarchy or rank

  • Crown (headgear), often an emblem of the monarchy, a monarch’s government, or items endorsed by it
  • An alternate means to refer to a monarch
  • The Crown, the legal embodiment of Executive Government in Commonwealth countries
  • Crown, a military decoration in the ancient Roman Republic, including:
    • Grass crown, awarded for saving a city in battle
    • Civic crown, awarded for saving a citizen in battle
    • Camp crown, awarded for being the first to penetrate the enemy’s camp
    • Mural crown, awarded for being the first to scale the walls of an enemy city
    • Naval crown, awarded for being the first to board an enemy ship

Other uses

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and get familiar with your blog or website.

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to  post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

We are also talking about this on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag #CPP

Creative Prompt #332: Taxicab

taxi medallion

Definition: “A taxicab, also known as a taxi or a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice. This differs from other modes of public transport where the pick-up and drop-off locations are determined by the service provider, not by the passenger, although demand responsive transport and share taxis provide a hybrid bus/taxi mode.

There are four distinct forms of taxicab, which can be identified by slightly differing terms in different countries:

  • Hackney carriages, also known as public hire, hailed or street taxis, licensed for hailing throughout communities
  • Private hire vehicles, also known as minicabs or private hire taxis, licensed for pre-booking only
  • Taxibuses, also known as jitneys, operating on pre-set routes typified by multiple stops and multiple independent passengers
  • Limousines, specialized vehicle licensed for operation by pre-booking

Although types of vehicles and methods of regulation, hiring, dispatching, and negotiating payment differ significantly from country to country, many common characteristics exist.” (Wikipedia)

Yellow Cab

Etymology: “Harry Nathaniel Allen of The New York Taxicab Company, who imported the first 600 gas-powered New York City taxicabs from France in 1907, coined the word “taxicab” as a contraction of “taximeter cabriolet“. “Taximeter” is an adaptation of the French word taximètre, coined from Medieval Latin taxa, which means tax or charge, together with meter from the Greek metron (??????) meaning measure.[1] A “cabriolet” is a type of horse-drawn carriage, from the French word “cabrioler” (“leap, caper”), from Italian “capriolare” (“to jump”), from Latin “capreolus” (“roebuck”, “wild goat”).

The taxicabs of Paris were equipped with the first meters beginning on March 9, 1898. They were originally called taxamètres, then renamed taximètres on October 17, 1904.[2]“(Wikipedia)

cab fare

A natural analogue to angles and trigonometry is developed in taxicab geometry.

“Taxi Cab” song by TWENTY ONE PILOTS

Checker cab

United Taxicab Workers – CWA

Taxicab Industry. In the United States, there are approximately 6,300 companies operating 171,000 taxicabs.

Taxicab Confessions

Taxi ( TV Show 1978–1983)

The Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) Board of Directors established an Advisory Taxicab Committee in September 1994.

Taxi Driver (1976 movie with Robert DeNiro and Jody Foster)

cab driver

taxicab with the doors open. A phrase used to describe a person who’s ears stick straight out from their head (at about a 90-degree angle) (Urban Dictionary)

In mathematics, the generalized taxicab number Taxicab(k, j, n) is the smallest number which can be expressed as the sum of j kth positive powers in n different ways. For k = 3 and j = 2, they coincide with taxicab numbers. (Wikipedia)

The A-Team: Season 2, Episode 7 The Taxicab Wars (1 Nov. 1983)

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and get familiar with your blog or website.

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to  post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

We are also talking about this on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag #CPP

Creative Prompt #331: Utensil

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and get familiar with your blog or website.

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to  post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

We are also talking about this on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag #CPP

Definition: “an implement, container, or other article, especially for household use.” (Google)

“Utensil may refer to:

fork

EcoSecurity Utensil (ESU) offers solutions for safety and humane treatment where utensils may be misused.

knife

Based in San Francisco, Utensil Recordings releases artist singles on vinyl and digital downloads. Our musical focus is the underground dance floor.

spoon

implement

writing utensil

utensil tray

Trongs – finger food utensil (who knew?)

spork

Boon ModWare toddler utensils

The Vision 1321/1327 Cart and Utensil Washer/Disinfector is a high-capacity mechanical washer intended for use in the efficient cleaning of reusable items.

Improve your customer’s dining experience with your custom Utensil Buddy™ …raising silverware to a safe, new level! (I didn’t know I needed this.)

Foam Padded Utensil Gripper

“Evident Utensil” song by CHAIRLIFT

The History of Eating Utensils – California Academy of Sciences

Last Defense Utensil Wipes allow you to eliminate 99.9% of germs and bacteria found on what you may think are clean eating and drinking items.

Compostable Utensils

Utensil Welding Gun (Lego)

 

 

Creative Prompt #330: Wave

light wave

Definition: “In physics, a wave is an oscillation accompanied by a transfer of energy that travels through space or mass. Frequency refers to the addition of time. Wave motion transfers energy from one point to another, which may or may not displace particles of the medium[disambiguation needed]—that is, with little or no associated mass transport. Waves consist, instead, of oscillations or vibrations (of a physical quantity), around almost fixed locations.

There are two main types of waves. Mechanical waves propagate through a medium, and the substance of this medium is deformed. The deformation reverses itself owing to restoring forces resulting from its deformation. For example, sound waves propagate via air molecules colliding with their neighbors. When air molecules collide, they also bounce away from each other (a restoring force). This keeps the molecules from continuing to travel in the direction of the wave.

The second main type of wave, electromagnetic waves, do not require a medium. Instead, they consist of periodic oscillations of electrical and magnetic fields generated by charged particles, and can therefore travel through a vacuum. These types of waves vary in wavelength, and include radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays, and gamma rays.

Waves are described by a wave equation which sets out how the disturbance proceeds over time. The mathematical form of this equation varies depending on the type of wave. Further, the behavior of particles in quantum mechanics are described by waves. In addition, gravitational waves also travel through space, which are a result of a vibration or movement in gravitational fields.

A wave can be transverse or longitudinal. Transverse waves occur when a disturbance creates oscillations that are perpendicular to the propagation of energy transfer. Longitudinal waves occur when the oscillations are parallel to the direction of energy propagation. While mechanical waves can be both transverse and longitudinal, all electromagnetic waves are transverse in free space.”(Wikipedia)

sound wave

Apache Wave is a software framework for real-time collaborative editing online. Google originally developed it as Google Wave.

Wave is a free mobile app which enables you to locate your contacts in a PRIVATE and REAL-TIME map for a limited period of time.

The Z-Wave Alliance is a global consortium of 300+ companies creating products and services powered by Z-Wave.

Wave Books is an independent poetry press based in Seattle, Washington, dedicated to publishing the best in contemporary poetry, poetry in translation,

Google Wave

The Wave is Leatherman’s most popular model, with outside-accessible blades, bit driver, scissors, and wire cutters, all in a 100% stainless steel body.

Wave Cable TV and Internet

Wholesome Wave strives to create a vibrant, just and sustainable food system.

Touchjet Pond projector and Touchjet WAVE turns any surface, TV and monitor into virtual touchscreen giant tablet and smart TV.

1981 TV Short

Showcases the Wave series of spreading petunias. Available varieties, cultural tips, photos of implementations, and retailer finder.

94.7 The Wave

Doing the Wave

Wave Hill is a famous public garden in the northwest Bronx along the Hudson River, with flower gardens, alpine house, greenhouses, and cultural center.

Wave Motion journal – Wave Motion is devoted to the cross fertilization of ideas, and to stimulating interaction between workers in various research area

gesture of hello or good-bye

rogue wave

Single-use WAVE rocking bioreactors are suitable for both suspension and anchorage-dependent cells in applications including MAb production and virus, etc

Water Assessment by Volunteer Evaluators

D-Wave, a Canadian quantum computing firm

WAVE Fellows at Caltech

The Wave Glider SV3 is the world’s first hybrid wave and solar propelled unmanned ocean robot.

Rogue Wave Software

The WAVE Foundation: Women Against Violence Everywhere, is a nonprofit organization based in Seattle, Washington.

The Hobie Wave is an easy- to-sail, easy-to-rig speedster that will have you smiling.

The Wave is a photogenic rocky area in the Paria Canyon Coyote Buttes Wilderness area of southern Utah and northern Arizona.

The Wave Energy Prize is a public prize challenge sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Water Power Program.

The Global Wave Conference is an international gathering to advance the recognition of the value of waves and their protection around the world.

Wave Farm

Speed Wave

Third Wave Fund

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and get familiar with your blog or website.

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to  post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

We are also talking about this on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag #CPP

Creative Prompt #329: Castle

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and get familiar with your blog or website.

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to  post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

We are also talking about this on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag #CPP

TV Show

Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area

where a king and queen live with their princes and princesses

Neuschwanstein

Hearst Castle

Castle provides information and links for candidates preparing to take certification and licensure tests.

Definition: “A castle (from Latin: castellum) is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a palace, which is not fortified; from a fortress, which was not always a residence for nobility; and from a fortified settlement, which was a public defence – though there are many similarities among these types of construction. Usage of the term has varied over time and has been applied to structures as diverse as hill forts and country houses. Over the approximately 900 years that castles were built, they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls and arrowslits, were commonplace.

A European innovation, castles originated in the 9th and 10th centuries, after the fall of the Carolingian Empire resulted in its territory being divided among individual lords and princes. These nobles built castles to control the area immediately surrounding them, and were both offensive and defensive structures; they provided a base from which raids could be launched as well as protection from enemies. Although their military origins are often emphasised in castle studies, the structures also served as centres of administration and symbols of power. Urban castles were used to control the local populace and important travel routes, and rural castles were often situated near features that were integral to life in the community, such as mills and fertile land.

Many castles were originally built from earth and timber, but had their defences replaced later by stone. Early castles often exploited natural defences, and lacked features such as towers and arrowslits and relied on a central keep. In the late 12th and early 13th centuries, a scientific approach to castle defence emerged. This led to the proliferation of towers, with an emphasis on flanking fire. Many new castles were polygonal or relied on concentric defence – several stages of defence within each other that could all function at the same time to maximise the castle’s firepower. These changes in defence have been attributed to a mixture of castle technology from the Crusades, such as concentric fortification, and inspiration from earlier defences such as Roman forts. Not all the elements of castle architecture were military in nature, and devices such as moats evolved from their original purpose of defence into symbols of power. Some grand castles had long winding approaches intended to impress and dominate their landscape.

Although gunpowder was introduced to Europe in the 14th century, it did not significantly affect castle building until the 15th century, when artillery became powerful enough to break through stone walls. While castles continued to be built well into the 16th century, new techniques to deal with improved cannon fire made them uncomfortable and undesirable places to live. As a result, true castles went into decline and were replaced by artillery forts with no role in civil administration, and country houses that were indefensible. From the 18th century onwards, there was a renewed interest in castles with the construction of mock castles, part of a romantic revival of Gothic architecture, but they had no military purpose.” (Wikipedia)

Loire Valley “castles”

Pink Castle Fabrics

Blarney Castle

Castle Heavy Metal Band

North of Manhattan, the Castle Hotel & Spa sits majestically overlooking the Hudson River on sprawling acres of manicured gardens, etc

Durham Castle

White Castle – the first hamburger chain, started in 1921

Castle is a Chicago nightclub and multi-venue home to weekly shows from global superstar DJs and a premier private event space in the heart of Chicago.

Edinburgh Castle

Boston University’s historic Castle is an extraordinary Tudor Revival mansion on Bay State Road

Castle Crashers – website for the award winning 2D arcade adventure from The Behemoth!

Creative Prompt #328: Man

Renaissance Man

be a man!

Mountain Man

Tin man

he’s a family man

Gingerbread Man

Walkman

53-man roster

Man up!

Transcendent Man is the documentary film that introduces the life and ideas of Ray Kurzweil, the renowned futurist who journeys the world offering his vision of a future in which we will merge with the super-intelligent machines we have created and can live forever?all within the next thirty years.

Sovereign man

9-man: An award-winning sports documentary about a streetball battle in the heart of Chinatown.

Yes Men

Third Man Records

Kennewick Man

Isle of Man

Cafeteria Man shows us that improving school food isn’t about nutrients and recipes — but vision.” – Jane Black, Food Writer (movie)

Medicine man

man down

Definition: “A man is a male human. The term man is usually reserved for an adult male, with the term boy being the usual term for a male child or adolescent. However, the term man is also sometimes used to identify a male human, regardless of age, as in phrases such as “men’s basketball“.

Like most other male mammals, a man’s genome typically inherits an X chromosome from his mother and a Y chromosome from his father. The male fetus produces larger amounts of androgens and smaller amounts of estrogens than a female fetus. This difference in the relative amounts of these sex steroids is largely responsible for the physiological differences that distinguish men from women. During puberty, hormones which stimulate androgen production result in the development of secondary sexual characteristics, thus exhibiting greater differences between the sexes. However, there are exceptions to the above for some intersex and transgender men.” (Wikipedia)

The Last Man on Earth

12 Angry Men

The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson (book)

straw man

Two and Half Men (TV Show)

Burning Man

The Music Man (play/musical)

Mad Men (TV Show)

Declaration of the Rights of Man

Man of Steel

Blue Man Group

The Man (2005 movie)

con man

Iron Man (2008 movie)

Museum of Man: Anthropological museum containing artifacts, folk art, and archaeological finds.

Ant-Man (movie)

Spiderman

Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015 movie)

No Man is an Island

Man Booker prizes

young man

Lindow Man

origin of man

Man Bartlett is an an artist living and working in New York City. He is known for drawings, collages, videos, and online performance that often uses social media.

Man is an industry leading alternative investment provider offering a comprehensive range of transparent, dynamic and thematic trading strategies across the …

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and get familiar with your blog or website.

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to  post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

We are also talking about this on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag #CPP

Creative Prompt #327: Grill

gas grill

“A grille or grill (French word from Latin craticula, small grill) is an opening of several slits side by side in a wall or metal sheet or other barrier, usually to let air or water enter and/or leave but keep larger objects including animals in or out.[1]” (Wikipedia)

charcoal grill

George Foreman Grill

 

backyard grill

Tadich Grill (San Francisco)

Definition: “Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above or below (as in North America).

Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat quickly. Food to be grilled is cooked on a grill (an open wire grid such as a gridiron with a heat source above or below), a grill pan (similar to a frying pan, but with raised ridges to mimic the wires of an open grill), or griddle (a flat plate heated from below).[1] Heat transfer to the food when using a grill is primarily via thermal radiation. Heat transfer when using a grill pan or griddle is by direct conduction. In the United States, when the heat source for grilling comes from above, grilling is termed broiling.[2] In this case, the pan that holds the food is called a broiler pan, and heat transfer is by thermal radiation.

Direct heat grilling can expose food to temperatures often in excess of 260 °C (500 °F). Grilled meat acquires a distinctive roast aroma and flavor from a chemical process called the Maillard reaction. The Maillard reaction only occurs when foods reach temperatures in excess of 155 °C (310 °F).[3]

Studies have shown that cooking beef, pork, poultry, and fish at high temperatures can lead to the formation of heterocyclic amines, benzopyrenes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are carcinogens.[4][5][6] Marination may reduce the formation of these compounds.[7] Grilling is often presented as a healthy alternative to cooking with oil, although the fat and juices lost by grilling can contribute to drier food.[citation needed]“(Wikipedia)

John’s Grill (San Francisco)

In food

  • Barbecue grill, a device or surface used for cooking food, usually fuelled by gas or charcoal, or the part of a cooker that performs this function
  • Grilling, a form of cooking that involves direct heat
  • A restaurant that serves grilled food, such as a “bar and grill”
  • A Flattop grill cooking device often used in restaurants, especially diners

Music

  • Grillz, a 2005 rap single by Nelly
    • A Parody of the song by the German rap-group K.I.Z.
  • Grill Music Venue, an Irish nightclub located in Letterkenny, County Donegal

People

Other

  • Grill (jewelry), a form of dental jewelry commonly associated with hip hop
  • Grill (philately), a pattern of indentations on a postage stamp
  • Grille, architectural element
  • Grille (motor vehicle), an opening in the bodywork of a vehicle to allow air to enter
  • Grille (artillery), a self-propelled artillery piece used by Germany during World War II
  • Grill (cryptology), method used chiefly early on, before the advent of the cyclometer, by the mathematician-cryptologists of the Polish Cipher Bureau in decrypting the German Enigma machine
  • Grille (cryptography), a technique for encrypting a plaintext by writing it onto a sheet of paper through a pierced sheet
  • Grille, a decorative window Muntin for simulating separate panes
  • Grillwork, decorative grating

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and get familiar with your blog or website.

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to  post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

We are also talking about this on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag #CPP

Creative Prompt #326: Vanilla

Definition: “Vanilla is a flavor derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily from the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (V. planifolia). The word vanilla, derived from the diminutive of the Spanish word vaina (vaina itself meaning sheath or pod), translates simply as “little pod”.[1] Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people cultivated the vine of the vanilla orchid, called tlilxochitl by the Aztecs. Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés is credited with introducing both vanilla and chocolate to Europe in the 1520s.[2]

Initial attempts to cultivate vanilla outside Mexico and Central America proved futile because of the symbiotic relationship between the vanilla orchid and its natural pollinator, the local species of Melipona bee.[3] Pollination is required to set the fruit from which the flavoring is derived. In 1837, Belgian botanist Charles François Antoine Morren discovered this fact and pioneered a method of artificially pollinating the plant. The method proved financially unworkable and was not deployed commercially.[4] In 1841, Edmond Albius, a slave who lived on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, discovered at the age of 12 that the plant could be hand-pollinated. Hand-pollination allowed global cultivation of the plant.[5]

Three major species of vanilla currently are grown globally, all of which derive from a species originally found in Mesoamerica, including parts of modern-day Mexico.[6] The various subspecies are Vanilla planifolia (syn. V. fragrans), grown on Madagascar, Réunion, and other tropical areas along the Indian Ocean; V. tahitensis, grown in the South Pacific; and V. pompona, found in the West Indies, and Central and South America.[7] The majority of the world’s vanilla is the V. planifolia species, more commonly known as Bourbon vanilla (after the former name of Réunion, Île Bourbon) or Madagascar vanilla, which is produced in Madagascar and neighboring islands in the southwestern Indian Ocean, and in Indonesia.[8][9] Leptotes bicolor is used in the same way in South America.

Vanilla is the second most expensive spice after saffron,[10][11] because growing the vanilla seed pods is labor-intensive.[11] Despite the expense, vanilla is highly valued for its flavor, which author Frederic Rosengarten, Jr. described in The Book of Spices as “pure, spicy, and delicate”; he called its complex floral aroma a “peculiar bouquet”.[12] As a result, vanilla is widely used in both commercial and domestic baking, perfume manufacture and aromatherapy.” (Wikipedia)

a genus of orchids

a color variation

a lightweight Internet forum package

something ordinary or everyday (plain vanilla)

computer software which is not customized.

a girl band from Barnet, London, England

Vanilla (Gackt song)

Vanilla (Leah Dizon song)

Vanilla the Rabbit – a Sonic the Hedgehog character

Vanilla – an Asterix character

Vanilla, Pennsylvania

The Vanilla JS team maintains every byte of code in the framework and works hard each day to make sure it is small and intuitive.

The Vanilla workshop bicycles

Vanilla Bean Frappuccino® Blended Crème

vanilla fudge

Bourbon Vanilla Extract

Vanilla buttercream

vanilla bean

Tahitian vanilla

Vanilla Ice

Absolute Vanilla

Cherry Vanilla soda

Amy Sedaris’s Vanilla Cupcakes

Rapper Vanilla Ice

 

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and get familiar with your blog or website.

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to  post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

We are also talking about this on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag #CPP

Creative Prompt #325: Vise

Definition: “A vise or vice (see spelling discussion) is a mechanical apparatus used to secure an object to allow work to be performed on it. Vises have two parallel jaws, one fixed and the other movable, threaded in and out by a screw and lever.” (Wikipedia)

grip like a vise

bench vise

The Wilton ATV All-Terrain Vise mounts to any standard 2-inch tow hitch for jobs away from the workshop.

fly tying vise

Vise magazine

Doris & Harry Vise University Library at Cumberland University

he Vanderbilt Initiative in Surgery and Engineering (ViSE) is an interdisciplinary, trans-institutional center whose mission is the creation, development, implementation, clinical evaluation and commercialization of methods, devices, algorithms, and systems designed to facilitate interventional processes and their outcome.

The center facilitates the exchange of ideas between physicians, engineers, and computer scientists.  It promotes the training of the next generation of researchers and clinicians capable of working symbiotically on new solutions to complex interventional problems, ultimately resulting in improved patient care.

Vise captures a hand-blown glass globe within brass claws machined to follow the gentle curvature of the glass.

Vise pocket tool

Wood Vise Screw Kits

The blacksmith leg vise or “solid box vise” is one of the most important tools in the blacksmiths shop.

axle vise

milling vise

Opti-vise IT is a managed services provider that specializes in backup and disaster recovery solutions, Network Management and business continuity.

caught in a vise

Melissa Vise is a historian of medieval Europe with a special interest in the religious and political history of the Italian peninsula.

Daniel de Visé is higher education reporter at the Washington Post and author of the College Inc. blog.

Vise bowling bags

saw vise

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and get familiar with your blog or website.

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to  post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

We are also talking about this on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag #CPP