The Big Bang Creativity Warm-Up

In my studio, I have a small plastic tub labeled "The Black Hole" filled with bits and bobs of fabric and trim that are tool small to keep organized elsewhere. Here's how I use the contents in one creativity exercise.

1. Clear space on the table and turn on an iron.
   
2. Open the tub. This results in a small Big Bang of fabric.
3. Grab some fabric for a background and give it a quick press to remove wrinkles.
   
4. Grab the first scraps you come to that already have fusible webbing applied.
   
5. Set the timer for 2 minutes.
6. Arrange the scraps and fuse them down.
7. Give the composition a name.
   

The key to this, like most of my warm-ups, is to work fast without expectation or judgment. Since you're not using up any "good" materials, it's easy to be silly and move on.

The piece just above here at first looked like a fish (mouth to the right). Then I thought it was a flying squirrel heading the other direction. Then I  thought I could see a dog, so I added a bone and called it "Fetch." The piece at the top, I called "Fetching."

How about sharing your warm-ups? I've created a Flickr group where you can post images. When you do, please hit the comment button below this post to share your name for the piece.

P.S. You can do the essentially the same exercise with paper and a glue stick instead of fabric with fusible. Just keep things random and quick.