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By Belle Wong
Sometimes it's hard to trust in our own creativity when we've spent a lifetime listening to others' opinions and letting our own thoughts slip away in doubt.
If you find yourself questioning your own taste and style, try starting a style log. A style log helps you to accept your own personal preferences again. If it's been a long time since you've said to yourself, "I don't care if red isn't my colour. I love it and I'm going to wear/paint/dance/sing red today", keeping a style log will help set you back on track.
I find that a 8 X 12 hardcovered blank book with sturdy pages works best as a style log for me. Sometimes I'll buy a sketchbook and collage the front cover as a way to start the log. You should pick a book in a size and shape you find attractive. Try to get one that's large enough for you to fit an entire magazine page onto each page - that way you won't unconsciously limit your own choices.
Keeping a style log is both fun and easy. You can update your style log daily, or weekly, or indulge once a month. I find that the style log works well for me when I work on it weekly.
Whether you'll be working on your style log daily, weekly or monthly, begin keeping an eye out every day for pictures and colours that attract you. Once you begin your style log, you'll find yourself noticing more and more things around you. This is a good thing!
Here are some tips for maintaining your style log:
Keep scissors by your side when you read a magazine, and clip out any pictures that interest you. A picture or image might attract you because of its colors, its textures or the composition of the objects it contains. You might find your eye caught by the way a model's hair curls in a hair-colour ad - by all means, clip out that curl!
If you find yourself in a paint store or the paint section of a hardware store, check out the paint samples, and collect the ones that you find attractive. Don't forget to take a look at the names, too. If one paint chip has a beautiful name but a color you don't like, pair up the name with a paint sample you do like!
Start looking at the way text and colour are used on what I call every day paper (paper you might not otherwise pay much attention to, like ticket stubs and junk mail), and if you find something interesting or eye-catching, keep it for your style log. I've found interesting color combinations on show tickets and all types of fun or different fonts on junk mail advertising.
Remember those huge boxes of crayons you used to have when you were a kid? They still sell them today. Pick up a box and read all the color names. Write down a name you like, using the crayon with same name. Experiment with a page of crayon color in your style log - try different pressures, different shapes, a swirl here, a line there. A color page is particularly fun with oil pastels, but keep in mind that oil pastels will smudge. You can take advantage of this by rubbing a finished page with a tissue.
If you like to use your camera, set aside some time especially for wandering around with a camera. Take pictures of things you would never have thought of photographing before, just for your style log. I've taken "picture walks" all over my neighbourhood, and returned with treasures including a multi-colored granite boulder on someone's front lawn, a maple tree in full fall glory, and the stark brave green of a crocus leaf against the white of late snow.
Once you have a handful of clippings, start gluing them into your style log. Some days you might find yourself arranging things by colour or item or textures. Other days you might reach into your pile and pluck an image at random.
The most important thing to remember when putting together your style log? Don't think about it! Don't question your choices. Your Aunt Mildred might think that lamp you clipped out is hideous, but if it reminds you of a romantic Caribbean beach getaway, and you happen to like romantic Caribbean beach getaways, it belongs in your style log. Remember, this is your style log. It's all about you - your choices, your tastes, your preferences.
The most amazing thing about a style log is that once you've kept one going for a while, you'll find yourself being more positive in your choices. Whether you're deciding on the color to paint your bedroom, flowers for the garden, an outfit for the company dinner or the restaurant you want to go to tonight, your decisions will come easier, without that nagging urge to consult with someone - anyone - who is sure to know much better than you what's best. A style log helps to remind you that you're the one who knows what's best for you!
Belle is a writer, indexer and lawyer. She holds a J.D. from the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, and practiced law until 1999 when she decided to pursue writing and indexing on a full-time basis. Belle co-authored the looseleaf service Financial and Estate Planning for the Mature Client in Ontario (Butterworths Canada) from 1997 to 1999, and currently contributes regularly to The Weapons Manual (P. Harris, Canada Law Book) and The Young Offenders Manual (P. Harris, Canada Law Book. Her work has also been featured in various online and print publications, including Waycool Reviews, Benefits Canada, Equilibrium (CDA) and In Sync (CDA). Belle can be contacted at creativityforlife@zenliving.net
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