Staying Inspired: The 10 Things Most Artists Should Know

How to get a grip on the artists’ worst fickle lover: INSPIRATION

Inspiration can be so fickle sometimes. Staying inspired seems like such an unforgiving task for the artist. Even more so for the artist that decides to create art as a career, converting a passion into a job. And jobs are meant to be done everyday, but that doesn’t mean we’ll always be inspired when we need to be. 

These ten things to know about staying inspired, so you can create better, and feel better while doing it: 

Use visual references 

Things to ignite your visual instincts, like: 

• Going to the museum (paintings, photographs, sculptures, etc.)

• Pinterest boards

• Magazines (ideally a physical copy)

Architecture around your city or neighboring cities.

 Imagine the bursts of inspiration you can get from looking at this lamp and seeing the setting to your next story or shapes for your next painting?

Expand your artistic palette 

This means picking up a new artistic medium. If you’re a filmmaker, try your hand at sculpting or pottery. If you’re a singer, try to write a poem. If you’re a painter, try to dance. Expanding your modes of expression can prove useful to accessing parts of your psyche or inspiration that you felt “unreachable” before. 

Travel

Sometimes your mind needs to see something different, and it has been proven that when you go to new places, your brain will start making new connections. This is a prime time to be creating because time feels slower, allowing higher levels of focus and visual stimulation for the mind. Whether on vacation, day trip, or visiting someone, creating while away from home can be one of the most fruitful sessions you have. 

Self-Dates

It seems a bit odd, taking yourself out on a date. But sometimes it’s easy to forget how to treat ourselves the way we want to be treated, check in with ourselves, and relax. Take yourself out to your favorite restaurant, get yourself a spa treatment, or spend the day doing something you love. 

This can be a time to see what it is you yourself needs, not the artist part of you. And can be a time where you completely forget about your project, coming back fresh, and full of joy and inspiration.

Random Yet Meaningful Conversations With Strangers 

If we allow it, our lives can be on a fixed schedule. It’s only when we invite experiences with new people that our lives become varied in experience. Except what we cannot control, life can become monotonous, and that monotony can cause your creations to feel the same and uninspired. Try talking to someone organically: seeing something they’re wearing that you like, noticing something about them, or even on public transportation. One thing about this is that people have wildly different perspectives on the world, and that perspective could be exactly what your art needs. 

Adopt a hobby

Get a hobby outside of what you do creatively. It’s very important to give yourself these breaks just to have fun. Finding what you like (and don’t like) could be as simple as just signing up for something and seeing how it goes. 

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Complete Relaxation for a Day (or two) and a Bit of Spontaneity 

Not doing anything. No obligations, no work, no anything. Just letting the day flow as normal,  and doing anything that you feel compelled to do without being limited to routines, schedules, or artistic deadlines. This is a great way to get re-aligned with the flow of creativity. Creativity is a flow state that allows different states of consciousness to collide and let new ideas  that we haven’t seen yet form. When we stick too firmly to our schedules, we lose a bit of access to flowing in between what isn’t seen and what is, because we’re too focused on the physical. Let go, and follow your impulses for a day. 

Laughter

I don’t need to explain much here. Just allow yourself to laugh and feel the laugh deep inside of you. Sometimes that’s all you need; sometimes you’re being too serious. 

Taking a Step Into Nature

There really is nothing like being surrounded by calm nature. Listening to the sounds, observing the trees, the beautiful landscapes (if you’re high up), feeling the breeze, and remembering that there’s more to life than a creation. We are the creations. There was a time before us, and there will be a time after us. Nature also allows for better states of meditation if your own emotions are conflicting with your project. 

Sex / Masturbation 

Especially for women, this can be a game-changer for creating. Even with no orgasm, the energy is formed in your sacral chakra, which is connected to pleasure, sensuality, and creativity. Why is that? Because it is our joy, what allows us to move and create organically. You may have heard about sexual transmutation. Well, this is no different. You use the sexual energy to pour into your creation. And it’s just fun. Orgasm required*.

*just kidding.

~

Words to Leave With 

Ultimately, you just want to do something to get outside of yourself, and out of your head. Break routine, break the rules, and follow your impulses. This is critical for the artist, especially for inspiration.   

And when you’re upset or can’t articulate your feelings, create instead. Especially now in trying times, inspiration can be waning. Let’s not let the times bleed us dry when there can be other ways of healing the wounds.

“There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.

I know the world is bruised and bleeding, and though it is important not to ignore its pain, it is also critical to refuse to succumb to its malevolence. Like failure, chaos contains information that can lead to knowledge—even wisdom. Like art.” – Toni Morrison 

Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash

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