the challenge
The Seed I picked today for my creative exploration is the Chameleon Seed. The most immediate association it creates is of something that changes colors (although, as you might guess, this is just one possible association).
With that in mind, I went out to observe.
my insight
It was early in the morning. The sun was just rising. And although I’m out on the street almost every day at this time, today my brain made the connection between the sunrise and a chameleon.
It was the color of the sky that was the basis for this connection. When you look at the sky throughout the day, you get a spectrum of blues, whites, grays, yellows, and reds. The color of the sky is constantly changing.
But that’s only one dimension of change. When you look at different directions, or on different segments of the sky, you also notice different colors. Sometimes, the sky can be bright at one direction and dark blue at the other direction at the exact same time.
So, I decided that throughout the day I will capture pieces of the sky, and combine them into a series of photos — the palette of the sky as it was today.
reflection
When you first think of the Insight, I captured today it might sound like the most trivial association. Maybe it is. But, as trivial as it may sound in retrospect, most of us miss it.
Sure, everyone knows the color of the sky is not static. We sometimes accidentally look up and notice a beautiful tone (often associated with a sunset or a sunrise) and then we take a second to appreciate it.
But the sky is changing all the time, even when we consider it static just because nothing special catches our attention.
The Insight I captured throughout the day forced me to look up much more often than in any other day. The association with the Chameleon Seed made me curious and was the trigger to doing something unusual though very simple to do.
In a world where we barely look at anything more than once or for more than two seconds, noticing, observing, and experiencing processes like the changing sky is far from being trivial.
This experience also made me think about other things we might consider as static. Like a black road — is it black all the time? Is it the same black throughout the road? Or a green leaf — how often does a leaf changes its color? Is it noticeable?
Next time when I get the Chameleon Seed I will explore these questions.
mental notes
- Take the time to observe and experience processes in nature and beyond.
now it is your turn… be creative!