INSPIRATION

What inspires you? Do you wait for inspiration before you can bring yourself to act or do you begin your journey and become inspired along the way? What sparks your creativity?

"The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web." --Pablo Picasso

Everywhere we look we can find a means of inspiration. I live in one of the most beautiful places in this country. When I am fortunate enough to be at the beach to witness the beauty of the sun setting into the gulf, I feel as though I should be giving the sun a standing ovation. As it drops through the clouds, it turns the sky the most amazing colors of pink, purple, and orange. It is something that I will never tire of and an occurrence that is always inspiring. If I were a painter I would be out there with my easel and paints...but instead, I grab my camera and snap away, hoping to capture as much of this natural miracle as I can.

"The greatest inspiration is often born of desperation." --Comer Cotrell

This is so true for me, especially when song writing. It seems that when I am feeling sad and desperate, the lyrics just flow. I don't know that they're great lyrics, but they do seem to come so much easier than if I'm writing because I was "forced" to. I stay "in the zone" so much longer and seem to get much more accomplished. As for writing my novel, my very first pages were written out of desperation. A very bad day happened to be the catalyst that finally ignited my ever growing desire to write. After that though...

"When you do not know what you are doing and what you are doing is the best -- that is inspiration." --Robert Bresson

I didn't have a clue what I was doing when I started writing my novel. I just knew that I had something in me that I needed to get out. Don't get me wrong...I am an avid reader so I basically know how it all works. I know what I like anyway, so I guess I had some sort of starting point. But basically, I was driving blind. I sent a chapter or two to Barb and to my surprise, she thought they were great. Her very kind words warmed my heart and although she is my sister, I knew that she was being as honest as she could possibly be. I knew that if it was bad, she would tell me as subtly as possible, "Yo dude, that sucked. Not your thing." But she REALLY liked it and suggested I send it to Beth seeing how she is the one with numerous published books. I was nervous but sent it anyway. I knew if it was bad, she would tell me in her very sweet way, "It was pretty good, but how's the music business going?" But she also liked it and thought maybe I had something and offered some great advice. Their words inspired me to keep going. But...

"Write while the heat is in you. The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with. He cannot inflame the minds of his audience." --Henry David Thoreau

For a few weeks, I would write almost every night. It came so easily, like the flood gates had been opened and nothing could stop the rushing water. The ideas came to me while lying in bed at night and I would run the thoughts through my head all the next day until I could sit down and pour them into my pages. But then life happened and I got side-tracked. And even though I had the thoughts, I didn't take the time to write them down. I have tried to get back to my book, but I know that those words above are so true. If I force myself, it will not be as exciting as if I had penned them in the heat of inspiration. So I will wait...

"The torpid artist seeks inspiration at any cost, by virtue or by vice, by friend or by fiend, by prayer or by wine." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Did he write this about me? I'm sure we all feel this way sometimes. Waiting for something, someone, anything, anyone to inspire us. Have you ever listened to the lyrics of a song and thought, "What the hell were they smoking"? I know that I have looked at numerous paintings by Salvador Dali and wondered, "What was he on when he painted that?". When you have the desire or even the need to be creative and you can't seem to pull it out of yourself, how do you do it? The prayer and wine are looking pretty good to me.

"Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant, they is a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks." --Johann Gottfried Von Herder

Imagine a world with no art, no music, no literary works. Where would we all go to escape? What a dull, dull world it would be. My entire life has revolved around the arts in one way or another, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Inspiration. What a wonderful thing. What inspires you? Who inspires you? What or who is it that gets your creative juices flowing? I'd love to hear.

"Inspiration and genius--one and the same." -- Victor Hugo