inspiration

so, dear friends of inspiration: did you make the experiment to capture the moment when you are inspired? or did you realise at some point where your inspiration came from?  i will be excited to hear your stories and thoughts about it :)

a warm welcome to Pam, Ilya, Carien and Gianni. what are your experiences with inspiration?

my latest interesting experience was that me and Ilya created something with confetti more or less at the same time - without knowing that the other person was working with this material.

I move, the inspiration takes its chance: it happens when I hold a snippet of paper in my hand, looking for another thing in my studio. I grab something from down a pile of things (books, magazines, etc.) and there it is: the perfect place for my snippet!

Actually inspiration takes place in mysterious ways, and usually not when I sit still and wait for it. So I keep on going and ideas follow me, chase me, catch up with me. Fortunately I have a brain that likes to combine things. 

For me sometimes something will just pop in my head when I'm quiet, like driving alone in the car or sitting with my feet up listening to music, so I'll put it on paper, then it grows into what it's actually going to be from there.  Sometimes I wake up thinking about something so I'm guessing it was part of a dream I don't remember.  Sometimes something I see will trigger it, and I'll put it on paper, but it always ends up being something else by the time I'm done.

welcome to the group dear Kiki and thank you for your stories Carien and Pam! I loved to read them. Sometimes before I fall asleep I see a lot of pictures and colours in my mind's eye. As soon as I try to capture one of the images it vanishes or changes.

wow, the group is filling with members. How nice. :) Feel free to tell us about your special moments of inspiration if you like.

and a warm welcome to Maxima, Voula and Allison!

today I thought about different kinds of inspiration. (for me) there are lots of different kinds of inspiration.

e.g. the ones that come from the inside (like a feeling or by thinking) and from the outside (impressions etc)....sometimes it is strong and kind of demanding sometimes like a soft little river..sometimes suddenly....

I thought about inspiration vs. (unintentional) copy-cat-ing yesterday.

I was working with new big black bold markers and drew some cute heads with different kind of ears. (they are mailed out to some IUOMA members) Afterwards I told someone I have the feeling they were not my own idea...more that my brain made me draw something I have seen somewhere some time ago. He confirmed this: he saw similar drawings in streetart in Hamburg a few years ago...

and welcome to the group dear Dee Dee!

we already feared it could've been lost in the mail. but it arrived. a very creative and outstanding contribution to the mailartcall "inspiration" from Gianni.   The next contributor will receive it as a swap...

Hello again---feeling "stuck" the last week or so this article I discovered has YES--INSPIRED me!

How to Be Inspired by Other Artists Without Copying Them | Artwork ...

I have often wondered--very often wondered--how one develops their own style. A style so unique that others will immediately recognize the piece as one that you created.

The article attached to the link above offers several ways to achieve this!

Hope you find it as interesting as I have.

cheers 

DeeDee

Thank you for the invitation— I have really been in a slump so I am in need of some inspiration!

thank you Dee for posting the article. More on this topic can be find at Austin Kleon "steal like an artist".

Referring to the commet from Nirethakkatherine:

I know: inspiration is coming from every corner and can sometimes be even overwealming. But in moments of being stuck I often forget that I have my sketchbooks with all the ideas already in it :)

so you guys: where do you get your inspiration when you are stuck?