Roxborough Arts Council

Everyone has their own ritual - something that gets them inspired to go create!

For me:
Exercise (granted, I have to motivate myself!) - exercise means increased blood flow, which means more oxygen to your brain, which means clearer thinking ... I have an exercise bike that faces a wall. It's the most dull setting you can imagine, but once I get going and my eyes aren't distracted by things around me, I'm bombarded with ideas.

Culture - my husband travels to other countries frequently, and luckily for me, is excited to take pictures and share his experiences. He'll come home and make a dinner he tried and liked, or we'll go through the pictures. We'll watch a foreign movie/anime or look up different music... other cultures offer different perspectives and viewpoints - and the more I absorb perspectives and experiences that are totally foreign to me, the more my own creative stores are expanded.

Music - new music ...new viewpoints...new things that "move" me. I have rapidly changing music tastes and am always seeking something new - new things to mix it up so that I don't overplay & burn out on what moved me last week/month/year.

Books - once and a while I'll be so wrapped up in a story I'll want to go create something of my own, whether written or visual. It's not so much WHAT I create, but that I'm creating SOMEthing. I read a book a couple years ago that I enjoyed so much I sat down and wrote out 19 chapters of a story that had been growing dusty on my hard drive. That story, while incomplete, is inspiration for other things.

Dream Journal - my dreams are all surreal and vivid, so I write many of them down to go back to later for inspiration for drawings. Even the nightmares.

Everquest II/RPGs - they give you the character, you can build it up as much as you like. It's a springboard for all sorts of creativity - both in the theatrical roleplaying sense, but also in the story and art corner.


Share your own! What do you do to get out of a rut? Take a walk? Go see a show? Meet with people? Try a new wine? Change a daily routine? What works for you? What inspires you!

I haven't found the secret yet. When I'm relaxed, I can just close my eyes and color combinations and designs just come to me. Now, I just need to find a way to relax!! Of course, getting away from this computer might help!!

I always seem to have more ideas when I have other things I need to work on. In college, I'd sit in the required courses I needed to take and sketch or write poetry in the back of class. So bad, isn't it? I guess the little kid "I'm getting away with something!" gene is still alive and kicking!