Inspiration

I’d like to ask the question that I asked author Kim Harrison in a recent interview:

Where do you find inspiration?

I’ve mentioned in previous posts about the fact that I find inspiration for story ideas from my dreams, or to be more specific, my nightmares.  I am also inspired by my travels.  Seeing a new place, particularly one that stems from a long history, or experiencing the fresh perspective of a culture different from my own can create vivid images for settings and characters.  Reading sometimes helps waken my muse, and many of my characters are roughly drawn from mythology or fairy tales.  Even minor events that happen in my daily routine can be sources for new ideas, particularly when something goes awry.

What are some of the things that inspire you, emotionally or creatively?  Where do you get your ideas for stories, scenes or characters; for paintings, music, or sculpture?  What details about a particular scene captures your photographer’s eye?  Do you plant your garden for color or for function, and how do you decide what goes where?  How do you decide what to knit or crochet, and what colors to use?  When you are at a low point emotionally, what inspires you to move forward?

Creating Art

That’s a lofty title for such a simple post…

Yesterday, my four-year-old daughter watched with rapt interest a segment about Gustav Klimt that happened to be on TV.  Immediately afterwards, she eagerly asked if she could have some paper and crayons.  In her own words, she insisted, ”I need to make art.”

The day resulted in various sketches, crayon drawings, and paintings.  As I write this, she is working on making a personalized bookmark for her new book.

We have now begun reading a chapter from a book every night before bedtime, as opposed to the shorter children’s books that can be read in their entirety in a five or ten minute segment.  The book that we are reading now is The Robber Hotzenplotz by Ottfried Preubler, translated from German to English.  She goes to bed each night begging for more.

I love it that she has a creative spirit and loves reading so much.  She told me yesterday, “Mommy, I want to be a writer like you.”

When I asked her what she wanted to write about, she responded, “I’ll write about Harry Potter.”

Creativity as a Means of Communication

On the Creative Construction blog, several participants have casually mentioned that they practice multiple means of artistic expression.  James McBride, author of Song Yet Sung, one of the books that I am currently reading for review, is both a writer and a musician.

I can’t paint, draw, or play an instrument, but I suppose you could say that dance is another of my creative outlets.  I’ve written fiction and poetry since I was a child, but for most of my life, dance was the creative venue I felt better represented my true nature.  I’ve studied a variety of dance forms over the years, and I still find that in both my sleeping and waking state, my mind wanders to choreography as often as it does to writing.

Do creative people tend to express themselves in a variety of ways, or more commonly latch onto one definitive medium?  Perhaps there is a need to communicate something that burns inside of us that causes us to reach out through whatever mode of expression we can find.

Are you a photographer who also paints?  A dancer/musician?  A designer and a sculptor?  How many of you practice more than one form of art, even if it’s something you just consider a hobby or that you’ve rarely ever shared with anyone else?

Or, in contrast, have you have latched onto one creative outlet and stuck with it, to the exclusion of all others?  Are you obsessed with sewing, writing or sketching?  Did you ever dabble in anything else, even as a child?

I welcome your thoughts.