Social Networks, Forums, and Open Projects for Creatives

If you're seeking interactive online venues for discussion and support for your artistic ventures and creative projects, then these community-oriented Web sites frequented by kindred creative spirits may be of interest to you.

Selected are sites and platforms catering specifically to the creative community in general and those that facilitate progressive discussion, photo & video (multimedia) sharing, and blogging.

Online Social Networks

CoachCreativeSpace.com
A virtual community of the "MySpace social network" kind established by creativity coach and Creativity Portal contributor Dan Goodwin. Join to create your own creative space, upload photos, blog, and get in on discussions with other creatives.

The Behance Network: A Platform for Creative Work
A platform for creative portfolios, projects, and collaborations. Leading illustrators, designers, and other creative professionals are using Behance to create professional portfolios, connect, share resources, find job opportunities, and efficiently disseminate their work for rapid exposure.

Creative Cafe Network: Create, Construct, Concoct, Chat
A social network run by volunteers with mental health and physical disabilities who say, "Don't let Disability Mean Inequality." Membership is free and open to everyone who can upload photos, videos, music, crafts, write blogs, join groups and discussions, chat and make friends with others. Members can also buy and sell art and handmade goods, equipment and supplies in the linked Salesrooms.

Create Magazine & The Create Network
The Create Network is the professional community to Create Magazine and offers members space for news releases, portfolios, videos, events, job boards, chats, and more.

Discussion Boards, Forums for Artists, Crafters, Writers, and Creatives

Found Art! Global Art Project
By Shari Vogt
Small things can bring joy an happiness to my day — seeing a child giggle with glee while riding the sky on a swing, being witness to a glorious sunset, surprising a friend with a small gesture of kindness. The latter I get to do more often these days and it isn't limited to just my circle of friends. I feel grateful to be part of a global project that inspires me to use my art to bring a smile to others while also bringing some joy into my own life. It's like being Santa Claus every day of the year.

Check it out for yourself at Found-Art.com. This site has thousands of members from around the globe — Malaysia to Australia, Canada to Africa. These members are committed to sharing their art with others in their community. They make small pieces of art and leave them at bus stops, in doctors' offices, on bulletin boards, on tables in restaurants, hanging from trees, and many other creative places. The person who finds the art gets to keep it. If the finder wants to, he or she can contact the artist via the Found-Art.com website. Members include stickers or notes on their art that tells the finder about the project and gives the finder the user name that can be used to contact them.

It's amazing what a small rock with some paint on it found in some unexpected place can do for someone's day. It's a thrill for the finder to happen upon something unexpected and given without strings attached. And it's a thrill for the artist who knows, no matter if they receive a response or not, that their art is making a difference.

These forums feature overlapping and all-inclusive topics. Communities geared toward a specific art, craft, or genre are included on those category resource pages (i.e. a forum for "gourders" is listed in the gourd art section).

BarbaraSher.com Discussion Board
Discuss your wishes, overcome obstacles, and support others working towards their creative goals and dreams.

AllCrafts.net Free Crafts Network
A forum for discussing dozens of specific craft topics, crafting resources and supplies, and general craft-related themes.

Craftster.org
"Crafty hipsters share clever ideas." Discuss project ideas, business ventures, house wares, clothing, purses and handbags, trinkets, books, journals, paper crafts, and city guides.

DoItYourself.com Community Forums
A forum for discussing all kinds of DIY topics related to home, cooking, gardening, autos, tools, and more.

Wet Canvas! Cyber Living for Artists
"WetCanvas! is an effort to bring information relevant to today's artist to an online format. It is part magazine, part virtual classroom, and part reference site. More importantly, it is all about community."

Absolute Write Water Cooler
An excellent resource for writers of all levels and types. Discusses every imaginable writing-related topic including self-publishing, scams, markets, mentoring, and prompts. Learn from the experience of others!

Open Collaborations and Projects for Artists and Writers

If you'd like to get involved with a community effort or participate in a project much bigger than yourself, then these open opportunities online and offline for artists, writers, and creativity enthusiasts to create, share, and collaborate with others may appeal to you.

Soul Food Cafe Team Blogs: Zen and the Art of Team Blogging
If you're interested in the deeply rewarding experience of creative community blogging, facilitated by a highly qualified and skilled teacher/moderator, the "entry point" at Soul Food Cafe is highly recommended. Subscribe at Soul Food Cafe to begin your journey.

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)
"A fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved."

A Lost and Found Art! Experience

By Chris Dunmire

Aligning itself with the simple principle of "Random acts of kindness," Found Art! is a global art project that "strives to make the world a better place right now by empowering people across to globe to share on a soul level." Featured in USA Today, Found Art's mission statement states:

"We believe in the power of art to communicate and heal. We believe all people are creative and that the expression of that creativity opens the heart of both the creator and the receiver. Open hearts communicate at a deeper level, are naturally more compassionate, and are more aware and concerned about our global family." 

How does this sharing happen? In a fun and giving way. You create a work of art, register it on the Found Art! Web site, tag it, and leave it somewhere for a stranger to find. Your recipient can then leave you feedback on the Found Art site in your own personal gallery by following the information on your tag.

Participating in Found Art's global project is a noble way to spread your kindness, thoughtfulness, and artistic expression with others. Recipient's are often surprised and amused to find art left behind for them, and are intrigued at what motivated someone else to simply brighten their day.

My Fun Found Art! Experiment

Read the detailed account of my first Found Art! experience (from registering my account on their Web site to receiving feedback from unknown strangers). I share what motivated me to participate, images of the art I created, and the entertaining story of how I "lost" all of my pieces on the shelves at a local library without being "booked" for littering.

Read about My Found Art! Experiment »