Written by Any great artist, architect, writer or performer will likely say the same thing about their craft; the best work is inspiration followed by great effort to bring the vision into being. The task may be difficult and halting, or graceful and almost trancelike, but the vision begins as a notion, idea, or object brought into form through endeavor. The instant of insight is often a key element to creation. There are artists that have ceremonies to help induce the inspired moment; sitting at Drafting Tables, in comfortable Drafting Chairs, or standing on a stage, or sitting on a particular bench in a park. It’s not the bench, the tables, or the stage that creates inspiration and inspiration might not feel inspired. Inspiration something as simple as a vague desire to make a box not ugly, or it might be a vision that makes the heart weep. Regardless of the magnitude, inspiration comes from somewhere, from the void comes an idea, then there was motivation to bring something into the physical world.
One of the most difficult aspects of the creative arts is living in the place of not knowing. It is the place where the artist has a loose sense or feeling, maybe a blank canvas, or an open dance floor, but hasn’t found the thread that will begin to connect the spaces or themes. It is a pivotal time for any artist and often many start organizing the vision too quickly. It is a bit like pulling a a cake out of the oven before it is ready. In the middle of the chaos, concepts and images are flying around and need time to bump and mingle until they begin to find a natural place to rest in the artists head.
Even the act of painting a landscape requires far more then just plopping an easel down in the road and picking up the paints. An artist decides where to place the easel and what to focus on. Is it the light hitting the barn that caught the artists attention, or the clouds blowing past the darkened woods beyond the silo? Even an artist that plans to set up in a random spot, open their eyes and capture whatever they see, has taken the time to be inspired by the possibility of randomness and finding the form in an arbitrary spot.
Taking the time to be still, to vision, feel, see, hear or even taste, provides a fertile ground where great visions are born. It is tuning the senses to experience the world, imagined or real, that allows it to take shape and come into form. An architect will examine structures, walk through them, discover the texture of the wall with his hand and allow this to feed the brewing idea. A dancer will walk to a place on the stage, sense a movement then try it and see to what it leads.
Allowing space for the unknown is an important part of any creative vision. The vision will emerge out of the chaos and likely change dramatically as it is brought into form.
