Making Room For Inspiration

'What is this life, if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare'

                                                   W.H.Davies

I'm sure you're familiar with this quote; I know I am.  It was a feature of my childhood; my grandmother quoted it regularly.  However, until today, I had never seen it written down.  I thought the 'full of care' in the first line related to 'life', that our lives are full of care, and as a result, we're always busy, and don't take the time to look at things.  Now, though, I interpret it differently; that lovely comma after the if suggests that it is we, ourselves, who are full of care.  What's the difference?  I hear you holler.  Well... rather a lot, I think, when it comes down to it. 

Our lives are possibly full of 'care', demands on our time, on our energy, on our intellect.  If, however, we fill our selves, our heads and hearts, with cares, thinking about them endlessly, worrying about them, rehearsing different scenarios for resolving them, or just feeling sorry for ourselves, then in truth, it doesn't matter whether we stand and stare, or not: if we do, we won't actually see anything. 

To be creative, we need to be in the moment.  To be in the moment means actually paying attention to what is going on right now, the sounds, scents, sights that surround us.  Making ourselves focus on what is in front of us...and nothing else.  As I write, I can see out of the window to the garden.  I've just spent a few minutes looking out at the trees, especially the oak at the end of the garden.  It is a magnificent tree, and its leaves are just beginning to turn into their autumn colours.  Being in the moment is about watching the faint breeze stir the leaves, admiring the sky as it peeps through the foliage... it does not, however embrace thinking that I really must go and rake up the falling leaves, and the bit of branch that got blown off in the last storm...   Make room in your head for creativity.  It's a practice, just like turning up and making the work is a practice.  When you find you're thinking unrelated thoughts, kick them out of your head, and allow yourself to see what is really there...instead of worrying about it.

Perhaps the best way of being in the moment, for me, is to draw something.  Then, there is only room for me to look at a leaf, explore it with my senses, and put that information down on paper.  It doesn't really matter what the end result looks like; the important thing is really the looking, and the seeing, and the engagement with the leaf.  Try it.

Inspiration Journalling

  I've already talked about how important it is to journal; I'm now going to suggest that you keep an Inspiration Journal.  Keep this one in your studio, somewhere where it's EASY TO FIND!  This journal is intended as the one thing you pick up when you need anything from a gentle nudge, to a kick up the backside (to quote one of my creative friends...).  It will become your own personal creativity coach.  It will remind you of all the things you thought you really 'ought' to do one day.  It will have inspirational quotes, thoughts and statements, some of which you will find for yourself, some of which you will ask for, from your friends and fellow artists.  It will support you through good times, bad times and all the bits in between. 


Your inspiration journal needs to be large enough and strong enough for you to be able to write, draw and  paint in.  It needs to be able to cope with collage.  You should put pockets in the front and back, so that you can keep odd bits of  paper or clipped out articles in safety.  You could consider giving it its own box to live in, so that you can keep a number of pens and pencils beside it, for easy grabbing!  It could be an altered book, if you like.  If you're not overly concerned about aesthetics, you could use a spiral bound folder, with plastic see through envelopes to hold your journalling...actually, I like that idea.  I'm in bed with flu at the moment, but as soon as I'm well enough to get into the studio, I'm going to make one just like that.  If you'd like to make one with me, make sure you have a folder, glue, see through envelopes, and card or other material for making the pockets.