- Inspiring
- Imagining
- Planning
- Experimenting
- Producing
- Revising
- Presenting
- Reflecting
Inspiring
Finding inspiration may be one of the most difficult steps for an artist, yet it is step one! It may be daunting to look at a blank canvas or piece of paper. If only your goal was to paint a polar bear in a white-out! Artists find inspiration in many ways. Let's try to detail a few means of finding inspiration to get you started.
Kim Lucian, a professional photographer writing for apartmenttherapy.com, came up with these five helpful steps:
1. Step outside your comfort zone. Trying something new or, even better yet, something that makes you a little nervous. This is a great way to step outside of your usual frame of mind and find a new perspective. For example, if you never set foot outside the city, a hike in the woods might be just what you need.
2. Visit something familiar with a new perspective. Finding a new way to approach the familiar is a great driving factor in the creative process. If you normally take a walk in the morning, try visiting that same place in the evening; it's amazing how different things can look in another light.
3. Find inspiration in the everyday. Being mindful of everyday objects and moments that surround us is a great way to find inspiration, from a casual conversation (like the one that sparked this post) to the things that make your neighborhood unique.
4. Look to other fields. When I'm putting together a trend forecast for the site the first place I usually look is to fashion, as trends tend to have their origins there. Art by its very nature is also always a great place to look for inspiration.
5. Change the format. If you're constantly surfing the internet for inspiration, try picking up a book or magazine instead. Instead of clicking around without really looking, or getting distracted by something else, these formats encourage us to linger a bit longer and really consider what is in front of us.
Kim's advice is universally applicable, whether for home design or painting your masterpiece, thinking outside the box and seeking new perspectives is essential.
In a fantastic blog post on this subject entitled, "To be creative, do what creatives do" by Tanner Christensen, the author has the following to say about inspiration:
"If you intend to be a painter, then paint. Or if a writer, then write.
Do so vigorously and because you see colors and brushstrokes or stories and sentences in your mind.
And when the critics come – and they always come saying “who are you to be a painter or a writer?” don’t listen to them. If you listen to everyone who criticizes you, you’ll have no choice but to doubt yourself. Doubting yourself is the quickest way to prove the critics right, but not giving yourself a chance. Not giving yourself a chance is why you stop creating, sometimes momentarily but all-too-often permanently.
However, if you persist, if you paint or write even when people question what you’re doing, eventually those who ridiculed you will see that you have become that thing that you set out to become.
Because what is a painter but someone who paints? Or a writer someone who writes?
I feel that we often forget such simple “ bit vital ” wisdom. We feel that we’re not an artists, writer, musician, entrepreneur, scientist, or anything else because we’re not that type of person now. But to become those things typically the only thing standing in our way is to do the work that those people do: to paint, to write, play music, start a business, experiment.
Whatever creative thing it is you want to do, go do that thing. That’s the only way to go, as far as I can tell."
Ask yourself what inspires you and surround yourself with it!
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