“Where do you find your inspiration?”
I’ve been asked this question dozens of times and if you’re an artist I’m sure you have, too. Almost anytime an artist is interviewed this question comes up. But it shouldn’t. Asking an artist, “Where do you find your inspiration?” is a not a good question. It frames art making and creativity in a way that’s pretty flawed. I’d go so far as to say it undermines the true labor of creative work.
Here are five flaws I see in the question, “Where do you find your inspiration?”
1. It implies that there’s a recipe for making art.
In hearing or reading the answer to this question we hope to maybe reverse engineer it, reenact what she did, and figure out the trick to effortlessly make beautiful things. The thinking goes something like this: “If I look at what she looked at, visit the places she visited, live where she lives, had what she has, then I will have the manual. I’ll know how to do this.”
But the truth is there is no manual and no recipe. It isn’t a simple set of steps or a particular sketch pad or a mountaintop vista at sunset that you need. You already have everything you need inside of you, without this sort of handed down roadmap.
2. It refers to something passive that comes and goes at random.
“When inspiration strikes.” That’s a common phrase we’ve all heard. Inspiration is something that comes at you from somewhere else. You’re lucky when it hits because sometimes, or most of the time, it doesn’t, and then you’re stuck in limbo, waiting.
3. It denotes something that comes from elsewhere.
Things that come from elsewhere are out of our control. They’re elusive. We can’t replicate them and we can’t teach them to ourselves, or others. In fact, art making comes from inside. It’s intentional and we start and stop and start again when we choose to. We can train ourselves to work hard, and we can train others to do the same.
Chuck Close said it best.
“The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who’ll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. 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 idea for invention comes out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you’re sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that’s almost never the case.”
The more you work, the more ideas there are to work on. Sometimes that means the work is crap, but what’s important is that you’re working. You’ve got to make crappy stuff once in a while and throw it out because then you can react to that thing in the trashcan.
4. It doesn’t acknowledge hard work.
There is no pain in inspiration. No trudging through. No unpicking this seam for the fourth time and trying again. There are no long stretches of boring work, of painful revision, of self-doubt.
5. Waiting for it is an easy excuse.
“I can’t start now because I don’t feel inspired.” Maybe it’s the other way around. You don’t feel inspired because you haven’t started. Creative work is work like any other. Some days it flows and some days you have to give yourself a mighty kick in the pants. I can tell you one thing for sure: nothing happens if you never begin.
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The next time you’re interviewing an artist, or being interviewed, turn this question around. Ask, “Where do artists go when they’re out of ideas?” or, “Do you ever have days where you don’t feel like working? What do you do then?” If you want to get at who’s influencing their aesthetic right now, ask about that. You can most certainly come up with a better question than, “Where do you find your inspiration?”
Thomas Edison said it best, genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. You have to work hard at an idea (and be willing to revise it!) before it all comes together. I really do live for the high that comes from the “aha!” moment.
I think the better question to ask is “Who influences you?” Is it a love of Jim Henson’s approachable style? Is it Barbie’s glamor? Perhaps seeing the way your kids play? Or do you hate what’s out there and want to do it better?
I think finding out your current and past influences is a more interesting question and can lead to new discoveries for the reader.
This is very similar to when someone hears me play the piano and then asks how long I took lessons. The answer is 10 years, but I always feel slightly insulted by the question. Obviously, a decade of year-round piano lessons during my childhood gave me a good foundation, but the question devalues all the work that I have done during the 18 years since to continue to grow as a musician.
I find I love challenges while quilting or creating. In photography a constraint or challenge would be to confine the session to one place, or people or event. With quilting using certain colors or certain style for one project. I think that it frees up creative space and new ideas. I think I might answer that that my inspiration comes from a life long study of art, beauty and life. I that all that study is the work of inspiration.
Haha, I think it’s similar to the feeling I have when people say, wow that’s a beautiful photograph, you must have a nice camera. Yep, that’s it, that’s why! 🙂
Great post Abby, I have never thought about this question, I know I don’t like being asked it, I never really know how to answer.
When Tim was a toddler, I started a (distance ed) art course; up until that time I was a big believer in having to be in the ‘right mood’ to be creative, but having assignments and strict due dates very quickly taught me this wasn’t true at all. I was surprised to discover I could find the ‘right mood’ more effectively by sitting at my desk and working through the exercises and just getting on with it.
I like Vanessa’s suggestion also, a better question would be ‘who or what influences you?’ This is a question I can more easily answer … Loony Toon cartoons, Dr Seuss and the Muppet’s … to name just a few ^_^
Sometimes, people who are not creative cannot fathom where creative people get their kids, skills, talent, etc. So, they ask dumb questions like “where did you get your inspiration.” They most likely don’t mean anything rude by it but they are just unsure how to talk about art. It’s like going to a museum, looking at the art, and asking “what does it mean?” Most people don’t understand that it really doesn’t matter what it means except what it means to you, the observer.
So, I would say that when someone asks you where you get your ideas or inspiration, talk to them about your process, materials, choices. I know when people ask me how I choose which pattern to sew or which fabrics to use, I brighten up at the attention they are giving me.
“I don’t, it finds me!”
I agree with Kathy, people who aren’t creative really don’t understand much about it and don’t know where to start asking about it. As a painter, I often get the remarks ‘you’re so clever, how do you do it?’ and I really can’t answer that as painting is to me the same as breathing, just something I do – it helps to practice a lot and work hard of course, but take away my art and you might as well chop my arm off, it is such a part of me. As far as crafting is concerned, I really do mean inspiration finds me rather than the other way round – usually when I am working on something else for someone else it will trigger an idea. I totally agree that sitting around waiting for inspiration achieves nothing, you have to start something, work at it and then the creative juices start flowing.
That Chuck Close quote is exactly what popped into my head when I saw your post topic! I have part of it on my bulletin board to keep me going on harder days. I think in a way saying that “Inspiration is for amateurs, the rest of us show up and get to work” is such a relief because it reminds you that you don’t have to wait for inspiration to do good work. But on the other hand it’s saying, just because your mind isn’t overflowing with amazing new ideas, you still have to show up and get to work. So on the other hand it’s a call to action, to just do the work already.
I also really like the point of the ideas coming to you WHILE you’re doing the work. That is so true. Sometimes I have to repeat to myself like a mantra “Just start.”
I never mind being asked where my inspiration comes from. But I agree with Vanessa above that asking what one’s influences are is a better question and produces a more accurate answer.
I think this question, and your points, Abby, are interesting because they illustrate how we tend to think of inspiration as a passive process. I’ve come to believe that it’s the opposite, that the very act of being inspired is an active process that takes it’s own type of work, be that working on other things, keeping your mind open to inspiration striking, or literally going out and *looking* for it. I think inspiration is simply a way of describing the apparently random connections that people make between different ideas, but you have to exercise in order to be able to make those connections in a regular and reliable way. Great discussion–thanks for getting it started!
I stopped art as a late teenager as I suffered terribly from not knowing what to create. I was very uninspired. I didn’t do any of the things suggested but just hung around with artists block for a huge amount of time, being entirely unproductive. The internet has changed this drastically for me as I get to look at so many things that others have made. That has made me see the possibilities and it is this that acts as inspiration for me. I never saw the endless possibilities before, and did not know what materials could do. I also found that when I stopped being lazy and used my own brain that I could think more things out for myself to make.
In the past as a teenager I made clothes because I wanted more of them than I could afford to buy. I was imaginative and inventive because as they do say ‘necessity is the mother of invention’. Then doubt got hold of me and I held back and got scared that I wouldn’t be able to do stuff and I lost some of the skills I used to have. I really do have to do some of those things that have been mentioned and just get on with it. Ideally I want (I tell myself I *need*) a block of time and feelings of sparking creativity. I can put off making anything until I get those, where I used to snatch the time after my daughter was in bed. That movement created a more constant hum of activity. I seem to want the perfect surroundings. I’m not going to get them.
Inspiration is a funny thing. I usually condense different things in my own mind and churn out something completely different from any of the things I have seen or looked at but I know that nevertheless I have been influenced. I am attracted to things I see for reasons sometimes detached from the original object. For instance I have a Japanese book of bag patterns in my etsy favourites, entirely because I love the fabric colours and pattern on the cover. They will pop up one day in my own similar fabric choices and then I will make something that is not a bag from them.
This quote by an unknown has been helpful to me when I really didn’t know how to get started but get started I must. “Start by doing the necessary, then do the possible and suddenly you are doing the impossible”.
Interesting post. Thank you for the perspective. It doesn’t bother me when people ask where the inspiration for something came from. I see it as perhaps a bit naive but nonetheless mostly coming from a place of admiration. I also feel it is a compliment in a way – suggesting whatever I have created is inspired! Of course it takes work to create but the effort, training and time doesn’t eradicate the inspiration nor does the inspiration eradicate the effort, training and time. They work together in most creative endeavors, at least in my humble experience.
That’s a great substitute question, Vanessa.
Oh gosh, I think I’ve probably said that very thing!
I’m a huge fan of having an assignment and a curriculum to follow.
Just do the work already. That’s absolutely true.
It certainly isn’t meant to be a harmful or insulting question. It’s just an obvious question and I think perhaps it could rephrased to really get at what it’s like to be an artist.
Oh, Abby… you totally hit the nail on the head! I get asked this question all the time in interviews, and it drives me nuts!
The answer is either totally boring (I like looking at cartoon drawings) or almost too much to put into words (well, I like soft yarn, that is crocheted with this certain texture into 3-D geometric units. I like the head to be the same size as the body, and the eyes larger than usual… )
Also, when I’m asked it, I feel like the interviewer hasn’t done a lot of work. I mean, you could ask me, “What’s the influence of Japanese art on your work” or something… just a question that makes me feel like you’ve looked at what I’ve done…
You hear this question asked of every type of artist and I agree with those who said it doesn’t reach very deep. I like Vanessa’s response about asking “who or what influences you” – that’s a better question if you want to understand that artist’s process. I also like asking “what excites you into action?”. I agree with you, Abby, that non-creative people are usually trying to parse our response to jump start their own creative actions. To help them out I usually tell them to start a project just for fun (anything!) and see what happens.
Excellent article, Abby–this is all absolutely true…
and an inspiring reminder to all who create, as well…
waiting for this or that is lost time…
I loved your point about the chance to “react to that thing in the trashcan”
yes! this actually does happen!
someone once said that if you’re not making mistakes, you’re not working!
Thanks for this…I have an artist inside me that came out in a variety of creative ways. But I never felt like an artist because “I couldn’t draw” or other voices that were programmed into an insecure kid. Rather than paint, I crafted, sewed, quilted, but didn’t feel like I was creating art. I finally (in my 50’s) decided to challenge that – I’m just finishing up a 6-week sketching/watercolor class, I did well, and I intend to continue. What inspires me is that little part of me that NEEDS to do this. I may not be “great” at this point, maybe I never will be, but at least I am doing it. It’s not “inspired” to draw and paint your keys while sitting outside eating at an ice cream place – it’s just what I had on the table in front of me, lol.
I enjoyed reading your article and the comments. Usually when I am doing a show, I find that people who do not feel themselves to creative, will ask me “the question”. I am very careful to answer them with a positive response. I also ask them about their creativity. So often, I feel that many adults believe they have no “artistic skills”. Sharing my art and processes are my way to get others involved. These conversations usually leave me feeling good about myself and my art. I also usually work on something while at a show. I will let a person try their hand. I also recommend other local artists, such as knitters and crocheters that like to share. In this age of electronic constructiveness, IRL is so much better.
I in turn enjoy talking to other artists.
I really love your attitude, Michelle. You’re using their question to help inspire them (and yourself) to do more creative work. And I love that you let them try their hand at what you’re doing. What a great experience to provide! Thank you for sharing these ideas.
I totally know that feeling of starting kinda late, just because you need to do this, and seeing almost anything as your next project.
I have a shelf in my studio that we lovingly refer to as “the shelf of the damned.” Those toys have to exist in order for the good ones to come!
I agree that this is a pretty lazy question. I actually think Q&As are often kinda lazy. I would almost always prefer it if the author wrote an editorial-syle article that incorporates the answers of the interviewee.
I loved this post. While I have never asked this question out loud–I have wondered it a thousand times—certainly because I would love to be creative but doubt I have what it takes or could develop what it takes to become a “real” artisan or artist. Thanks for the great insights about the reality of the creative process.
Interesting post and comments! Like some responders, I feel neutral or even positive towards a question like “Where do you get inspiration?”. Although it may be a standard question to ask an artist, to me it means “I or my audience is really interested in you, and we’d like to know more about what makes you tick!”. I’d much prefer this kind of question to the one JEIFNER mentions above…the “Nice photo, what CAMERA are you using”. Now, that one really irritates me!!! Or the piano lessons question. Been there, too! Yuck! But if someone asks me “Where do you get your inspiration”….gosh, I’d be all smiles. To mean, that’s an invitation to tell the world about what I love or even just what is on my mind.
Lastly, if I said, “Every time I handle LUXURIOUS fabrics, yarns, ribbons, lace and savor dark chocolate or a fine wine…my creativity just soars!”….this would also give people a good hint as to what they might get me for a present 🙂
This article was a great read, and reminded me of your post! http://www.brainpickings.org/2014/11/21/ursula-k-le-guin-where-do-you-get-your-ideas/