Assignements for 'writers block'

One of my friends asked me recently where I get all my artistic ideas from. This is really a difficult question to answer because there are so many places and things that inspire me. I scan the internet daily researching current projects and whenever I see something I like I make notes about it in Photoshop, or Microsoft Word. The documents get saved in an inspirations folder. I also use a sketch book to draw, or the notepad and camera on my cell phone to take notes as well.When I need an idea I review my inspirations and then use my favorite ones to create something. I also look for materials and inspirations at thrift stores, antique shops, and my day to day life. Being an artist is a constant hunt for ideas, and when you have been doing it for a while it becomes a habit.

Unfortunatly, every artist is prone to 'writer's block'. Today I have a very bad case of it. When this happens I either give myself a break or an assignment. A full day of staying away from art projects and materials can refresh your mind. Sometimes I need up to a week to refresh my creativity, but most of the time giving myself a simple art assignment works. Assignments are meant to shake things up a bit  and make me think. Past assignments have consisted of the following.
1) Learn to use different materials or tools.
2) Choose an inspiration at random and make a spin off of it, or choose 2 difrent inspirations and combine them somehow.
My sister, Sharon, has a good one for this that she showed me recently.  Modernize William Morris Wallpaper. Here is her solution.

Isn't it Fab! The drops on the paper to the left are metallic. You can't see it well in my scan.

3) Spend the day researching an artist, genra, or favorite art related website(s).
4)  Revisit an completed project and find another way to use it or renovate it.
5) Unearth an old abandoned or on going project and try to make progress on it (I have lots of these lying around :P).
6) Pick up a craft kit from the store and put your own twist on it by using the materials in a different way or adding your own material or ideas to it. (This one can be fantastic or horribly disastrous. Either way you learn something valuable from it.)

Today I visited number 4.  The project I choose to 're-do' was actually my most recent one for my Spoonflower shop;  Peeling Pyrenees Planes.

I re-used the paper planes to create these (Physics of Flight). That's my own horrible handwriting in the background:

and the repeating paint peel texture I created for these (Paint Peel Chevrons)

 The colors are from the Pantone Spring 2012 palette. Hmmmm I actually like these tiled this way too......Have to make another with all 3 colors now XD.
Back to work!