People often ask me where I get my ideas for new pieces of jewelry or artwork. I tell them the truth, inspiration is an elusive, mystical connection between me and another realm where fairies, mermaids and elves whisper to me in my sleep…. Now before you think I’m completely crazy, I’m just kidding!!! But sometimes it does seem like the ideas just pop into my mind… you know, like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from the Ghost Buster’s movie. (I loved the part where everyone was ‘not thinking of anything’ and Dan Akroyd’s character says, “I couldn’t help it, it just popped in there!”) So this being the case, where ideas just arrive in my mind, you can imagine my panic when our local metal clay guild asked me to “submit an explanation of how I was motivated to create a piece and why I did what I did” for an upcoming publication. I’m sure I’m somewhat certain that my brain must go through some type of process. It transforms the things that I have seen, heard, read, dreamed in my sleep, etc. into design ideas. However, I don’t believe I want or need to know how it does it. I’ve said on several occasions that I’m not certain I even have a left brain, so I don’t want to dig too deeply into trying to dissect my creative process. I attribute my creativity and imagination to public education….enhanced by all that day dreaming in school when I was supposed to be learning math, history and other things I’ve managed to avoid my entire life. My creativity all boils down to this one simple concept: I expect that ideas will come to me freely and easily, and so they do <grin>! One of my favorite quotes is by Chuck Close, “Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself.”
Writers do this all the time. They set aside a number of hours they are going to write each day…sure sometimes they get writers block but eventually the story is told. That’s what happens when you begin to create a work of art…eventually the piece is finished and a story is told….sometimes the surprise endings even surprise me!
Copyright © Mary M. Ehlers, Good Muse Designs 2013. All rights reserved.
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That was very creative and insightful. Thanks for the ideas.
You’re welcome Steve. You already do this with your amazing magic…practice, practice, practice! (For those of you that don’t know Steve is an amazing close up magician.)
I get the same question Marnie about all my classes at The Creative Cottage–where does my creativity come from? Guam I think…or chocolate…or maybe, from all the wonderful women who come to The Cottage to play–they’re my constant inspiration! I’ve always “made stuff,’ written stories & poems, and loved living an eccentric, imaginative life. But, like you, inspiration is NOT my problem…TIME is. Just as soon as you invent a time expander, I’ll be the first buyer–I just need an additional ten hours a day please!
I’ll let you know when I get that prototype done!