Monday, April 26, 2010

Other Sources of Inspiration

I took last night off from working on my final projects to go see a performance by Richie Havens at the Tupelo Music Hall in Londonderry.
To be honest, I had mixed feelings about doing so...since I'm in the midst of final projects right now with two weeks left of this semester to go. I have a TON of work to get done, and not much time left in which to do it. Every minute is valuable right now. But my husband and I bought tickets ages ago, so I went.
To my surprise, it was actually a benefit to my work that I took time away from my Mac. I've been stuck for ideas on one of my projects for the past week. Sitting there in the dark letting the music flow around me (and not thinking about anything) somehow loosened up my brain. By the time we left, I had a few new ideas for layouts.
Music has always been an inspiration to me, but so has diving into all kinds of books and reading. What I'd like to know is what types of non-visual arts inspire your artwork? Obviously as artists we are inspired by other illustrators and painters, but there is so much else out there in the world to move you. I'd like to hear what gets the creative juices of other artists flowing. Please share! (o:

6 comments:

  1. This is an interesting topic, Nicole. I'm glad to hear that you allowed for that time to fill the void. I believe we all need to do that from time to time. For some of my personal work, dreams have been a powerful source of inspiration.

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  2. I like to take a walk and mull over ideas. Sometimes an image just pops into my mind's eye and I know exactly what to draw. I must confess I like to doodle during a meeting or at church while I'm listening to someone talk, I often go back to those scribbles and find some gems there.

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  3. Some people claim they get ideas in the shower - but for me its while walking the dog. Its peaceful and quiet and I just let my mind wander, and out of nowhere, ideas and plans come!

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  4. I am one of those people who gets ideas in the shower. It is one of the few times when no one is asking me for anything and the water noise and only having the stall and water to look at leaves my mind free to roam.

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  5. I get them from the kids. They crack me up! They pull wonderfully expressive faces that I can't help but use them when drawing.

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  6. Love all of these! (o:
    I think I should start carrying my sketchbook around more often. I find that I'll be struck with an idea at an odd time and have nowhere to write it down.

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