Creativity Pep Talk :: Slow Down, Breathe and Beauty in Simplicity

This week’s Creativity Pep Talks episode starts with some breathing! How often do you take time to stop everything you’re doing and breathe? It feels so good, and I am practicing taking time in my day, more than just once or twice, so breathe deeply, stretch and move my body, and tune into how I’m feeling.

Life moves so fast, and by slowing down and choosing to be more mindful, I am able to connect more deeply to myself, my family, and my creative work!

This week’s Art Oracle card draw was Charles and Ray Eames! They were the creative masters of design and architecture. I love using these cards as a playful way to bring some wisdom, encouragement and inspiration into the week, but also to take some time each week learning about artists I may not be as familiar with.

Highlights of this week’s pep talk include:

• Allowing slowness and quiet into our days and our work

• Lead your day with how you want to feel instead of what you have to do

• Infusing more function and practical simplicity into our days while still making it beautiful?

• Learning to compromise and choosing to be flexible in life

Enjoy this week’s pep talk, and don’t forget to subscribe!

Creativity Pep Talks :: A New Weekly YouTube Series

Hey there, creative friends! Happy Monday to you! It’s snowing (again) here in Connecticut, and I am over it! I thought it would be rainy today, and I was so pumped for the snow to melt.

But alas…more snow.

[insert sad trombone noise]

I’m not totally crushed, though, because I have exciting news to share…

I launched a YouTube channel!

That’s right! My senior yearbook was right when they did a spread of “Where will they be in 20 years?” and mine was starring in her own sitcom.

Maybe it’s a bit more legwork being a one-woman show, but I am incredibly happy to be sharing my journey in this new format.

Creative Living with Shannon Sorensen offers a glimpse into my life as a full time working artist (and working at home…and working at home with kids), offer creativity pep talks for exploring your creativity and doing more of what you love and enjoy, and inspiration!

You’ll get to watch me work on paintings and drawing coloring pages, with my insights into the work, the process, what inspires each piece, and some little technical details.

I will sit down for a weekly series called “Creativity Pep Talks”, offering wisdom, guidance and encouragement to get your week started.

And I want to share behind the scenes, places I love that inspire me, little Q&As, tutorials, and whatever else this channel might become!

Here’s my first creativity pep talk episode - I am using Art Oracle cards to draw wisdom and guidance from great artists - their work, their struggles, their lives - to translate into some present day encouragement and inspiration.

Don’t forget to subscribe, and let me know in the Youtube comments what you think!

How to Shoot Natural Light Flat Lays in Your Home

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Sometimes I get an idea to record a tutorial and then it blooms into this whole thing. This is the thought process behind this post today…

I made some bread!

I’m going to eat the bread for breakfast. Oh, it looks kind of nice on the plate! I should take a picture.

I should do a quick set up and actually make this look nice so I can share it on my Instagram.

If I’m doing this much, I might as well record HOW I’m doing it. And share it to IGTV. And Youtube. And throw the video in a blog post and…

This is what it’s like being a content creator. Once you start in on an idea, your brain spirals out into a million directions of how to use the content to optimize the reach.

I’ll probably send this to my email list, too.

In this video, I did a very quick, basic setup in my front kitchen window while Andrew watched our steps being torn apart outside. I’ll link to the things I used below if you want to explore creating an at-home product or flat lay setup.

Whether you’re photographing food, products, or a lifestyle flatlay, all you really need is space on a table or floor near a diffused natural light source. A “diffused natural light source” is sunlight that is coming through a window, maybe filtered with sheer white curtains or an overcast day. You want bright, but diffused light, not full direct sunlight (that would be too bright and create harsh shadows). Think of it like the clouds, or sheer curtains, are creating a soft, even light.

Here’s the video tutorial!

Things I used:

Vinyl faux marble background - This 3 pack is great if you plan on doing different styles of flat lays.

White foam core boards - I like the smaller size to use as reflectors, and the bulk pack because they can get beat up and bent (or stolen by my kids for art projects)

That’s it! I shot and edited on my iPhone using Adobe Lightroom Mobile (free to download and use) and my own editing presets, which will be for sale in my shop soon! If you want to grab them as soon as their available, sign up for my email, because a little birdie told me my email list will be getting early access and a discount code.

I have a couple other backgrounds that give a good variety of options, depending on the look you’re going for! There are solid colors for a clean pop, and double sided marble and stone. I’m also a fan of these square board sets when you are looking for an especially branded look.