The Creative POV [4]: While sitting in traffic...

The chief enemy of creativity is good sense.

- Pablo Picasso

Hello Modern Human!

Welcome to the Creative POV, where every week an artist, Jenny Whitehead, and a comedian, Mike Lukas, offer creative tips on how to put down your screen and be entertained by the world around you.

You know, like people did before the internet because they had no choice.

For this post, you’re sitting in traffic.

When you’re trying to drive from point A to point B and what seems like every other car in the universe is crawling in front of and behind you, it’s tempting to sneak looks at your phone or satellite radio screen. But once in a while, do what artists and comedians do and search your surroundings for creative inspiration.

Here are three tips for doing that while stuck in traffic.

Creative POV Tip 1:

Stuck in traffic?

Look up.

Artist POV

Jenny Whitehead

A lot of people never notice that the sky is rotating paintings on an hourly basis.

Cloud formations change.

They move slowly, calmly, and have patterns of all kinds. Clouds open up to expose what is ‘hiding behind the curtain’ and then close again.

Airplane swirls (contrails) appear like writing with hidden messages and then fade away.

The changing position of the sun is a reminder that you’re running late, so ignore that.

Most non-artists say “blue” when asked “what color is the sky?”.

But in reality, the sky has more hues than a paint chip display at a Home Depot.

If I had the time stuck in a traffic jam, I’d try to name the colors:

There’s Blah-Gray and Onion-White when the sun is lazy.
If it’s before a thunderstorm, the sky might look like a day-old bruise.
Other days, if you’re lucky, there might be hints of Piggy-Toe Pink or Yellow Snow or Bit Coin Gold.

If I’m stuck in a traffic jam in the city, the only sky I might see is what’s reflected in the high-rise building windows.

But that’s okay. I look anyways.

If I’m stuck in traffic in the suburbs, my sky painting is big enough to fit comfortably over a living room sofa.

Comic POV

Mike Lukas

The first thought I had reading Jenny-the-Artist describe how she creatively “looks up” while sitting in traffic was:

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!!!!

“Drive, lady! Stop staring at the sky and un-pause your sedan. Your cloud-dreaming is causing traffic-shock and making this worse. Dream on your own time, artist, before I use my piggy-toe pink to nudge your onion-white …”

For more on how I drive, click ROAD RAGE CHRONICLES: Impatient A-Hole Episode.

I’m a horribly impatient driver. When I’m stuck in traffic and someone fails to keep up, I take it personally like we’re a marching band and they’re the freshman tuba player who keeps stumbling.

“If you can’t play your instrument, then get off the field! You’re f-ing up our formation, frosh!”

I get frustrated when someone in front of me moves too slowly and leaves an empty three-car gap in front of them.

Same thing happens in line at the grocery store.

My greatest fear is that some idiot will use that gap to cut in, so I intercede like I’m middle-management because everyone else in the line suffers from patience and healthy priorities.

“Yo, move up, mind the chasm. For God’s sake, you’re leaving the rest of us vulnerable to line-cutters and passive-aggressive late-mergers!”

Never fails, someone always tries to shoot that gap.

Not on my watch.

“Line starts back there, pal.”

They always pretend they didn’t see the nine other vehicles lined up behind them.

“What? Oh, all you folks are waiting here, too? Sorry, I thought… Well, since I’m already in line, heh heh…”

For more on what follows, click ROAD RAGE CHRONICLES: Line Cutter Episode.

Actually, these days you can’t say a word about that guy cutting in line or he’ll call you a Karen.

“Line starts back there, pal.”

“What, you gonna go get the manager, Karen? Gonna call the cops on me, Karen? Gonna cancel me, Karen?”

“No, but I will upload this video and make you Facebook famous, Todd.”

There are good Karens and bad Karens. I get that, Karen.

No offense, but right now if my first name was Karen, I might think about changing it to a name with less baggage, like Adolf or Osama or Kanye.

Creative POV Tip 2:

Stuck in traffic?

Look around.

Artist POV

Jenny Whitehead

I find visual research in the graffiti on the buildings.

Since graffiti is often done by street artists, their painting technique is fueled by their passion for the subject matter. It may have been done quickly, before they were “caught” (say, under a bridge or in an alleyway) or in a style they didn’t need to learn in a formal art class. Or maybe it’s done by a professional artist hired by a restaurant or shop to add to the visual ambiance of a neighborhood. Either way, it’s free art for the eyes!

If I’m in the city, I look at store front displays.

People specialize in this kind of design. They are paid to evoke an emotion through color and theme.

Sometimes the look can be arbitrary and strange to intrigue the viewer to stop and come in. Or can be seductive (like delicious cakes in a bakery window).

I look at signage, noting the typography.

Everything in that window or on that sign is well-thought-out. Does it work? I can make that decision as I analyze it through my car window. Same with the images, slogans, type styles and ad concepts on billboard signs on a highway.

Or the art used on the different license plates. If I’m really bored, I might try to figure out what the letters on a personalized license plate mean.

Depending on whether I’m stuck in city traffic or highway traffic, I’d take a look at the people next to me.

I’d picture their silly sitting positions on upholstered chairs in the middle of the street inside their metal boxes. I’d try to determine where they were headed by looking at what they were hauling—kayaks? A turtle shell on top of the car? Hauling work supplies?

Would I like to trade places with them?

What do their bumper stickers tell me about them. ‘Free the whales’ and ‘What Global Warming?’ says two very different things about the driver.

I’d wave to kids on a school bus and chat with the toll operator (if there was one).

When looking through an artist’s lens, really look at the thing.

Don’t visually brush across whatever you’re looking at so it’s a blur. Stop and notice the details. As I do this, I’m building up a Rolodex of images in my mind so when I go to draw something I can picture what buses, cars, barns, traffic lights, delivery trucks, pick-up trucks, ice cream trucks and tow trucks look like.

In stand-still traffic (or on airplane or in a waiting room), I can study people sitting closer than normal, without them knowing—the profile of a truck driver, the Amish man’s clothing, the biker’s tattoos, the construction worker’s physique (very important!).

All in the name of artist’s research.

Comic POV

Mike Lukas

The comedic mind is always running, even if it’s stuck in traffic.

At the start of my comedy career, I was paid to drive to a new city every week and there was always traffic.

I used that lost time to look around and learn things about the people I’d be entertaining. Then I’d open my act that week with that material.

Here are a few zingers I’ve used:

“I’m not from here and I drove through your city today…

(small town) … great place to get away from it all. And I mean ALL. As in, every freakin’ thing. This town makes Mayberry look like Manhattan. You might want to rename Main Street to Minor Avenue before it gets sued for false advertisement. What’s your major crop, tumbleweed? Dust bunnies?”

(industrial town) … cough cough – a few of your factories were giving out free black lung today. I imagine you’re used to the smog by now, it’s like your sky was produced by Tim Burton. What do you do for fresh air around here, smoke cigars?

(college town) I’m not from here and I drove through your campus today … this looks like a party school – saw some hacky-sack majors and a lot of students studying open containers. Your campus quad looks like if a Phish concert and Comic-con decided to sell books. How many of you are here on a weed scholarship?

Those local bits deserve rimshots, it’s true, but they relate directly to that audience and their city, so delivered ironically they usually killed.

When you’re stuck in traffic, also look around for things to blame for when you inevitably show up late to wherever you’re going.

“Sorry I’m so late, but you wouldn’t believe the number of artists there are staring at clouds out there.”

“Sorry I’m so late, but I got stuck in the middle of a brake-tapping parade.”

“Sorry I’m so late, but I cut in line during a traffic jam and some Kanye called the cops on me.”

Creative POV Tip 3:

Stuck in traffic?

Draw in the sketchbook you keep in your car.

Artist POV

Jenny Whitehead

While I’m driving across town to see family, my mind is always thinking.

But because I’m driving, these ideas, thoughts, brainstorming efforts stay in my head (for safety-sake).

In a traffic jam, I’d get a few rare and precious moments to jot some of these down so I don’t forget them. Even one word can help me recall a great idea. And a fast sketch of anything can be refined later.

(That’s the beauty of a sketchbook—no one is grading it, judging it, looking at it. I’m free to draw as quickly and awful as necessary in order to capture the visual before it’s lost.)

Sometimes I’ll write or draw without looking at the paper at all. As long as that scribble helps me remember, it’s invaluable.

Comic POV

Mike Lukas

My writing mentor Steve says notebooks are “the best way in the world to immortalize bad ideas.”

Meaning, “good ideas are the ones that stay with you over time.”

Not as true for comedians since a notebook is the perfect way to scribble potential punchlines down and as a stoner or anyone not in their twenties it’s also a great way to not forget your thoughts.

Stuck in traffic?

Keep your notebook open on the seat next to you and start brainstorming funny thoughts. Jot them down whenever your car comes to a standstill.

Here are a few from my notebook:

Some drivers don’t like to be passed – they’ll block you like you’re in line on the jet bridge waiting to board the plane. (“None shall pass.”) But driving’s not first-come-first-serve like that. It’s more like dinnertime for kittens. Every cat for himself, runts and slow-pokes prepare to go last.

I heard a lot of Semi-truck drivers get hemorrhoids from sitting so much. That’s shocking given all the healthy fruits and fresh vegetables I see them eating at the truck stops. Assuming that’s what’s under all that gravy.

Are graffiti artists allowed to get angry when someone else spray-paints over their stuff?

Writing down ideas is a good way to free your mind from having to remember all your creative thoughts.

My brain only has so much RAM, so why use any of that precious storage space to keep track of these brilliant new traffic bits?

I wrote them down so now I can use whatever mental space that frees up for planning dinner and the slow death of my enemies.

One critical part to keeping good notes is having readable handwriting.

Unfortunately, my handwriting looks like a frightened parakeet tried to drink permanent ink.

My journals always end up looking like a series of prescriptions mixed with random autographs interspersed with parts of a four-year-old’s hastily scrawled manifesto.

Hope those give you some fun reasons to put down your screen and let the world of the highways and byways entertain you for a few minutes.

Next week, we’ll go over our Top-3 creative ways to enjoy standing in line at the grocery store.

See you then!

Jenny & Mike

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