Love affair with life

let's soak up all the inspiration

If you’re new here, welcome! If you wonder where your place is in this program, visit the Start Here post.

What inspires your artist? 

If you’re like me, the things you want to make reflect the things you love in life. My favorite illustrations are of flowers, plants in my garden, and coffee cups. My favorite stories take emotions seriously, and tackle subjects we often avoid. 

This week, we’ll inventory things you love. Chances are, your artist loves soaking up inspiration. Reading, watching films and TV, and seeing art all taps us into a lineage of other creatives. Inspiration for artists isn’t just passive entertainment. Our ideas coalesce when we see how others do it. Different mediums can have a big impact. 

What inspires your artist? It might not be the usual visits to art galleries or museums, bookstores, or libraries. You might find inspiration in nature. Elements of nature can inform our work. When I think about being in nature and how I carry it into my art, I think of pattern, repetition, light, texture, shapes, sound, color, and more. 

What lights up your artist self? Where do you get sparked to go back into your own creative zone? 

I love taking in movies, books, podcasts, art, and TV shows. I spend a lot of time consuming things, and I especially love hearing about how other people make things. 

And I always wonder: How does this podcast or movie or book impact my own creativity? It’s not always obvious. And I don’t always have to do a run-down. But sometimes I make notes in my artist manual. I’ll quickly jot down themes, patterns, and ideas. Reflecting on the list, I will see my values and themes as well as places I want to grow. A documentary about creative collaboration makes me think of a project I am collaborating on. Seeing the artists innovate stokes my own desire to take risks.

Caption: In City Park near my home, there is the most luscious lane of lilacs. LOOK at this one - it’s like a bunny pinata or something. I had to capture it waving in the wind.

My writer is always watching/listening with an eye to how the thing is made. I sniff out the skeleton of stories, relishing how they did the deft move of making me feel something new. I read to see how a writer pulls me into a new world. I’m not always consuming as a creator, but I do believe that the things we consume impact our own creativity. And, sometimes, it’s just time to chill and read or watch something for fun. 

I am not here to tell you what or how much to consume stuff. I do invite you to be mindful of what you take in and its impact on your art. 

Shining a spotlight on the things we love can help bring our artist to the foreground. 

At the very least, making an inventory of what you love can increase your appreciation of life and your understanding of yourself. Later, in Your Creative DNA, we will revisit this list to explore your style. 

INVITATION 

Take inventory of things you love. Make a mindmap or a list of all the things that inspire you and as Marie Kondo says, sparks joy. My list includes: 

• Colorful coffee cups

• My inexpensive fountain pen 

• My garden 

• City Park in Denver

• Cuddling with Steve

• Dogs! 

• Herbs

Affirmation: The things I love reflect my artist back to me. 

In the comments: Share one thing you love with us.