Art and Creativity: Inspiration from Within, Inspiration from Without

One of the fascinating things about art is the myriad places creativity and inspiration comes from. It's one of the great privileges of having a gallery that we get to take "a peek inside" the many paths that lead through the creative process.

What inspires you? What inspires anyone? 

I've previously explored some of the sources of creativity here in our blog — today, I wanted to touch a bit on "outer sourced" inspiration vs. "inner sourced" inspiration.

Where do you look?

I'll be the first to admit — as an artist — that it's unlikely that anyone derives all their inspiration purely from an inner or outer source; there is almost always a blend. But one tends to be dominant.

Quite a few of the Red Dragonfly's artists tell us they are often inspired by things like museum visits, or going on vacation, or even a "gallery walk" evening in their local town, where they are exposed to lots of other artists' work.

Some are inspired by nature and find that their creative juices start flowing as a result of camping or going on long hikes.

Some are inspired by reading books about art, and some even find their inspiration from taking art technique courses. At least one artist I know "takes a course" every time she feels her inspiration waning.

Personally, I tend to find most of my inspiration from one of my hobbies: macro photography. Nature is filled with patterns and I often end up taking photos of objects and plants with features not readily visible to the naked eye.

Of course, these are primarily external sources of inspiration.

Internal Sources of Inspiration

Although I just cited nature as a source of inspiration, my own primary sources tend to be internal.

This is where it gets a little more "woo-woo" to explain inspiration, as it does for quite a few artists and creatives. We feel how inspiration comes to us, but we can't necessarily explain it.

Quite a few of the geometric patterns I incorporate into my work are — for lack of a better phrase — "channeled information." Not only do I draw on patterns I remember from while I was dreaming, I can close my eyes and see something "in my mind's eye."

Now, these "visions" are not of something I likely have seen somewhere, they are more like a very focused version of the patterns you can "see" dancing around on the inside of your eyelids after you've rubbed your eyes. Sometimes I will even be sitting over something I am working on, and I will simply close my eyes so I can see the desired finished outcome "from the inside."

Some might call this "creative visualization."

I mentioned dreaming as another internal source of inspiration. At least two of the artists we work with tell us that much of their imagery is the result of dreams! For me, the biggest challenge with dreams is simply remembering what I dreamed. It can take a bit of practice to "learn to remember" your dreams, and I always recommend that you keep a journal and pen by your bed so you can write down any dreamscapes while you have them fresh in mind.

Why not just record your dreams on your phone? 

The act of writing longhand activates the same part of your brain as drawing or painting, so by writing out a dream you actually create a stronger imprint.

Why Does Knowing This Even Matter?

You might be wondering if there's a point to this article — and there is:

If you know — and understand — the root sources of what inspires you as an artist, it enables you to "immerse yourself" in specific activities or thoughts when you're running dry on inspiration or the muse seems to have abandoned you.

Although we can sometimes "overthink" artistic work, understanding your process can help you develop more of a "method" for your art. Maybe that sounds a bit mechanical, but a lot of full-time artists simply can't afford to sit around and wait for creativity to strike... they go out and MAKE creativity strike!

You can do the same thing! 

Thank you for reading! Red Dragonfly is a proud member of the @sndbox creative initiative.

The Red Dragonfly is an independent alternative art gallery located in Port Townsend, WA; showcasing edgy and unique contemporary art & handmade crafts by local and worldwide artists. All images are our own, unless otherwise credited. Where applicable, artist images used with permission.