6 Ways to Find & Collect Inspiration

Inspiration is the force that drives you to the studio. It is a state of mind where everything is possible and everything is clear. Inspiration motivates you to keep working. For the most part inspiration flows, but on occasion, the white page can be nail biting. Gathering and recording ideas along the way is very handy for those nail-biting times. Having a pool of ideas means you can dip your hand in and pull out a starting point.

Every day we are surrounded by inspirational moments, moments that are often taken for granted. With trained eyes, these moments will seem different, as if you are seeing them for the first time. Step out of your own way, open your eyes and mind, and start seeing, gathering and recording ideas every day. Once you start you'll be surprised what catches your eye.

Everyday Objects - Often items that we take for granted can be a source of inspiration. While doing the dishes one morning, the sun glistening across the vintage bread knife sitting on the sink caught my eye. I used the camera, firstly in color then in monochrome to capture several aspect of the moment.

This captured moment later became the inspiration for "On the Edge". Take a walk around your house or garden, have a new look. Set the camera to monochrome or macro mode and snap a few of those everyday objects, be inspired by the new perspective.

Urban Surrounds - Beyond our house, we are surrounded by urban landscape. A landscape filled with natual and man-made objects. A great source of architecture, colour, interactions and smells. Even discarded items can be a source of inspiration. I was once a part of an exhibition where the curator chose 'Pallets' for the theme. All works selected to exhibit had to respond or reflect pallets.

Travel - When on holidays we are usually relaxed and ready to embrace the opportunity to observe and explore new landscape and architecture, see unfamiliar plants and animals, try a different cuisine, explore new cultures, and our camera or sketchbook is usually close to hand.

Sketchbook pages from a trip to Tasmania

Nature - the natural world is filled with some of the best starting points for creativity. Take a walk around your own garden, visit the local park or Botanical Gardens, stroll along the beach, close your eyes and listen to the sounds, go hiking and remember to enjoy the four seasons.

Clear Blue Sky – nature provides us with a canvass in the form of a clear blue sky. Looking up or positioning yourself so you can observe various objects or elements with the sky as the background is another source of inspiration. 

Inspiration behind "Dance through the Reeds"

The clarity of the blue sky is mesmerizing and a big source of inspiration for my creative practice.

News headlines – we are surrounded by many forms of media, presented in many forms. What we observe through the media often provokes a reaction. Take a moment to ask yourself why, and see where it goes. 

The world is full of inspirational moments and often those moments are closer than we think. Take action and begin to collect inspirational imagery, record thoughts, sketch or take photos, organize these together to create your own inspirational pool.

"Creativity is intelligence 

having fun"

Albert Einstein

Framed purse and floral beauty fabric

 Framed 4" purse featuring "floral Beauty" fabric inspired and designed during an artist-in-residence

For the 3" coin purse I combined "Floral Beauty" with "Progression" a fabric inspired by urban surrounds both fabrics available through Spoonflower.