Don’t Throw out the Toilet Roll

The amount of times I have persistently nagged “throw the toilet roll out!”, I can’t quite grasp the fact my blog headline is contradictory to just that. Rest assured, this decision hasn’t been made lightly and shall tie in quite nicely to demonstrating the essence of this month’s topic on ‘Art’.

“What does art have to do with toilet rolls?…”

Let me begin by taking you on a journey back through my childhood. My fondest memories of ‘play’ wasn’t around the outfit and makeup of my Bratz Doll nor was it determining my finger pressure on a tablet in a game of Angry Birds. It revolved around basic household trash items – toilet rolls and cereal boxes. The multitude of cardboard dolls, masks, hats, motor vehicles, animals, characters and buildings my sister, brother and I crafted could create a city as long as the great wall of China!

I must admit, there were moments I felt deprived as a child and I don’t mean the malnourished kind. At birthday parties visiting friends, I could see the array of toys, gadgets and video games stacked up like mountain ranges in their playrooms. This made me envious at times and I’m sure I acted like a horror to my parents begging them for the latest craze! However, I think it’s time I thanked them for allowing me to develop my expression and articulate my thoughts, sensations, emotions and perceptions through imagination.

By its simplest definition, art expression is a form of non-verbal communication. It is one way to convey what may be difficult to express in words. For me this evolved into various forms of art, as art isn’t simply paint on a canvas. Art is an expression of the author’s imaginative or technical skill, whatever that may be.

I believe my passion for creative, craft, painting, music, marketing and even upcycling, all stems from… yes you guessed it, the white and brown, circular roll residing in the toilet. Sounds basic but it’s true. Going back to basics is the foundation for any creative.

In marketing, when presenting a strategy, showcasing a brand or revealing a concept, clients see the ‘icing on the donut’ or the ‘shiny wax coat on a car’. Rarely do the foundations of research, idea generation, design and concept testing are divulged. I can guarantee if you spend a week in the office you’ll catch Tony conducting a focus group, Dune doodling a sketch, Dan writing code and the rest of the team brainstorming through verbal diarrhea – oh! oh! We need the toilet rolls again!

As you can see, in all creative, art, music or however you perceive art to be, going back to basics is the foundation to success! With that, I leave you a quote from George Kneller, “To think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted.”

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