The Idea Catcher
I started keeping large sheets of paper on my work table for purely practical reasons.
They protect the surface while I’m painting or drawing, and they give me a place to swatch materials, test pens, and wipe excess paint off my brushes before cleaning them.
Over time, these sheets become layered with the residue of whatever I’ve been working on.
Once they’re full, I often use them as collage paper. They function much like ink or desk blotters did in the pre-digital age.
They’re also where I catch ideas.
When we paint, collage, or do any kind of visual making, working with images activates the imagination.
Thoughts move between past, present, and future, landing on seemingly unrelated topics without logic or sequence.
Rather than interrupting my creative flow to do something with those thoughts, I scribble them down on the same paper and keep working.
Not all—hardly any—of these notes are profound. Ideas surface for other work projects and classes I’m teaching. A line of dialogue from a book or movie comes to mind. Or a memory of an encounter with a friend.
Many are purely practical. More often than not, I jot down grocery items or reminders to call someone, answer an email, or pay a bill.
But having a large sheet of paper ready to receive whatever comes through has led to some of my clearest brainstorming.
I’m not trying to generate ideas here. Rather, I’m simply taking notes while my attention is engaged elsewhere—much like the way clarity arrives in the shower or while out on a walk.
This approach isn’t limited to visual work.
The same idea applies when working on a computer. Keeping a large piece of paper nearby, along with a pen or pencil, creates an analog place for thoughts to be noted without pulling you away from what you’re already doing.
Creative practice benefits from structures like this—places where ideas can land without needing to be understood, organized, or resolved right away.
A related creative practice for working with this is shared with paid subscribers in a separate post:
What a cool idea! I have (several) notebooks in which I scribble down ideas, but I like the feel of the accidental in this - especially the connections that could be made when paint blobs and words and all kinds of thoughts are jotted down in one place.