Where do you find creative inspirations?

[StillettoDoll]

Everybody's creative process is different, what gets you inspired?
As a creative type I am always looking for someone or something to
fuel the fire. theres a saying" Fire dies without tinder" and "No one build a cabinet by bare hands alone". I often get creative block , I guess that the same as writers block?....
They tell me all the time that I am very creative person , but most of the time I really dont see it.
I am always looking for inspiration & freshness ,and my orginality.
What got your creative juices flowing today or anyday?

[katsarecool]

It doesn't take much for me anymore to be inspired. As a visual artist I am constantly looking for images that strike my fancy. Either in print form or plein aire. In fact, I do not have enough time to get everything on canvas or paper that pleases me. I think this is because for so many years (most of my life) I was raising children in combination with working and it left little time for daydreaming or creating either. Great topic by the way!

[asphaltcowboi]

in the garage with a welder/cutting torch and some scrap metal and old parts/nut bolts,whatever.

[little man]

i have a tendency to just stumble upon beautiful things. i shoot as i go.

for conceptual stuff, many/most ideas come from conversations with people. i tend to think in images anyway, and a phrase or idea will manifest in my head as an image. i have a ton of those right now...i'm only lacking models and locations. i do sometimes envy those of you who can draw. would be so much easier if i could just pull stuff from my head and put it on paper.

with the wood design and building, much of it is of necessity...i just make things i need.

great thread idea, stilletto!

[Gemme]

Looking at the past work of the penpal thread participants can jumpstart my creative juices. I'm a referential artist and often get inspiration from other artists' work.

[Miss Scarlett]

A little trick I learned several years ago (from someone far more talented than I will ever hope to be) is to walk away from whatever you are working on. He told me to go in as opposite a direction as possible. Look at what is around you. There's so much beauty and you only have one set of eyes so do more than just look - breathe it in, taste it, wrap yourself in it, feel it, let it speak to you.

Whether writing or drawing this process has yet to fail me.

[DomnNC]

Quite simply, life is my inspiration.

[afixer]

it happens outside

[Corkey]

From the simple beauty that is Nature.

[StillettoDoll]

I have in the pass , referred to alot of history books, mostly art books. I love to read art biographies. I actually get inspired by paper, perferbly handmade paper
Because I"m a soapmaker I read alot about the origins of scents, plants and flowers , perfume history, aromatherapy, ingredients, art style, .
My photography skills are not that great , I almost spend as much time trying to take pictures of them as I do making soap.
Going to post a picture in the gallery of a soap set I made awhile back , when i discovered the artist Mucha, he inspired me.
(I don't know how to post my pics on a thread)

Thanks everyone for your input.

[key]

I do art to impress the ladies. Well it is a blend of wooing a loved one and processing all the stuff that comes up for me in relationship. My work is emotion based. I want to be able to conjur up those inspirational emotions on my own. I think that would be a very good thing. Either that or date more often! I really want to start painting and writing again.

[Admin]

test test test

[Gemme]

Is that like practice, practice, practice or an actual test? Or are you secretly a mad scientist?

Curiosity reigns tonight.......

[sharkchomp]

I have to agree with Miss Scarlet. I have a story I've been working on for a long long time. I got writers block so bad. I would just sit and stare at the computer screen, sometimes for hours. It was so frustrating. So I just stopped. Cold. I left it for a long long time and then I reread what I had written and BAM! There was also a time where I had to bring it all together and figure out how I was going to write a segment that was fairly complex. I was over thinking it and I knew that was my problem so I kindly scraped all of those ideas and relaxed. Then BAM - it came to me and it practically wrote itself!

I think the key here is to relax and let the ideas come naturally. I don't think one can force an idea out of their brain. Breath, relax, focus on something far from whatever it is that you're doing and BAM! you'll be inspired.

Good luck!
~~~shark~~~~~~~~

[StillettoDoll]

I just wanted to mention...That there is a whole world of aromatheraphy of scents , that are great for creativity, I really like the Feng shui scents especially Feng shui water which is great for creativity . and yes I do make that soap,
Other scent that I have read that are great are Neroli , Jasmine, bergamot , frankincense, sandlewood , geranium .


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One of the most overlooked creativity building influences that we can control is, in my opinion and experience, the use of fragrance in the studio or beading area. Fragrance is a pathway to creativity, a subtle but very powerful mental stimulant, proven to help foster a sense of well being, energy and creativity. Adding fragrance to a room or area can help us in more ways than we may anticipate.

If that's not enough, take it from the experts. Baudelaire, the French writer, was passionate about essential oils and so was Leonardo da Vinci, who was famed for surrounding himself with perfumes, especially neroli. Even Shakespeare's father was a glover who used excessive amounts of essential oils. Could this have been the contributing factor to the creation of 39 plays, 154 sonnets and countless poems?


Read more at Suite101: Essential oils to increase your creativity http://www.suite101.com/content/boost-your-creativity-with-essential-oils-a287503#ixzz1BrAZUFUB

[StillettoDoll]

Just wanted to share My thoughts on a play I saw over the weekend which was called A weekend with Pablo Picasso. If you artist people ever get a chance to see it , please do , It was soooo loaded with creative inspirations , I was like taking a art and art philosophy class with Pablo! I went away from this performance ready to create , understand why I need to create. It was very good.


Two scenes from the play

[blackboot]

Some of my most vivid creativity comes to me in dreams.

[weatherboi]

i find creative inspiration from a good ole charlie sheen quote!!! cause that shit is funny!!!!!

[Passionaria]

Laughing, I'm sure this is no surprise, but from my emotions and feelings. I have a big imagination, and when you combine feelings and imagination the river spills forth. Especially when it comes to writing.

[EnderD_503]

I'm usually inspired by artwork that is surreal either in a horrific or fantastic way. For example, the cover art from H.P. Lovecraft's Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre, graphics from the most recent Alice in Wonderland film, or the Cirque du Soleil's Journey of Man.

I think its more the effects of writing, artwork or film that provides some kind of sublimity, a peek into something that stretches belief and the imagination.

I get that same feeling when reading Lovecraft's short stories, or Clive Barker's novels, Guy Gavriel Kay's Tigana, Brian Lumley's Necroscope and others in the fantasy, sci-fi, horror vein.

Others are films that have some surreal feel to them, like the aforementioned Alice in Wonderland, as well as Finding Neverland, Pan's Labyrinth, Dead Poet's Society etc.

Basically anything that uses surreal, otherworldly or colourful use of language, images and ideas.