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K is for Kitchen Inspirations

For better or worse, we all have to eat. We've sought sustenance since we were born. Food and the kitchen, from which it hails, is a great way to break creative blocks.

Here are some suggestions for writers:

  1. Write about your most memorable meals.
  2. Create meals for your characters, and have those meals become a catalyst in the story.
  3. Research different types of foods and then incorporate that knowledge into your work.
  4. Look into the history of food and see if that leads you to discover any story lines or characters that could accentuate your work.

Asparagus with Fixins' c. 2015, Stephanie Rose Bird


And, here are a few suggestions for visual artists:
  1. Collect food wrappers and packaging; use these materials to create fiber art, collage or assemblage.
  2. Paint different types of foods with textures, colors and shapes that are interesting.
  3. Study old still life works and consider some ways you could make contemporary statements with this age-old art form.
  4. Learn to extract dyes from different types of vegetables and fruits and use those in your work as ink or water-based paint.
Finally, invite your critique group to bring kitchen creations to share with the group and see how those goodies enrich the conversation about all of your creative works.



Comments

  1. Agree food is a great way to add layers to a story. On a completely different topic, your painting is lovely but I have to say it reminds me of a sort of sad little story online recently about the guy who brought home some asparagus spears and stuck them in a vase, thinking he had bought a flower arrangement for his wife and they were budding flowers about to bloom. Bless his heart.

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  2. Hi Stephanie .. love your art work - and I do love asparagus - the season is about to get going here. A description of a good meal in a book always makes me think of similar items, stories of time etc .. brings the book to life a bit more .. cheers Hilary

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    1. Hillary, I agree. I write about food in my fiction and nonfiction, and paint about it too! Nice hearing from you!

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  3. Oh this is lovely Stephanie! Kreative indeed! I love arranging food for guests and making pretty and appetising ...

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  4. Love this advice! I agree that food definitely can be inspirational! So many different things to write about just from one single piece of fruit! Thanks for the post, and for stopping by my blog!

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    1. You're welcome and I've been enjoying your posts!

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  5. I admit to being a foodie, but there is one author who always brings food into her stories with her main character cooking and I find myself skipping over it. Too distracting. Unless of course, the book is about food.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I agree it's good not to go overboard Denise.

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  6. I'm glad you've been inspired Debs! I will check out your friend Jenny's work. Sounds right up my alley.

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