Is ‘inspiration’ becoming such a nauseatingly cliché word, that people now avoid using it at any and all costs? We see today’s artists visibly cringe and wince at the question; “What inspires you?” as though they’re being forced to divulge a raunchy, taboo fantasy to Joan Rivers on national TV.
To many, using the word in interviews or polite dinner conversation to describe one’s creative origins and preferences would be like hip-hop artist Flo Rida admitting to a penchant for Laura Ashley curtains and the soothing sounds of Zamphir’s pan flute. The word is just not cool anymore…
I guess after a while, we’ve grown so accustomed to ‘inspiration’ that we no longer care or attach meaning to the very essence of it. It just sounds over-used, that it frustrates me to no end because it’s such a big, lovely word and I miss it.
Inspiring quotes on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Images, Pinterest, etc., are flooding cyber-space like a saccharine plague of get-well cards being hurled at our foreheads like paper ninja stars with cool fonts printed on them. Is our faith in ourselves that far gone and sick that we have to be reminded on a minute-to-minute basis that everything will be all right if we just read one more proclamation of emotional encouragement?
Well my business here today is to bring inspiration back in a true and meaningful way. (Holding your breath yet?)
For all you artists and art lovers out there…rest easy, I have just the thing to help get your creative juices flowing; MORE INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES!!!!!!
I know, I know, you’re thinking; “Oh for the love of all that is holy …Is she high on paint fumes?”
No, I tell you…I am high on words. They mean something to me and as you scroll through them, read them carefully and attach meaning to them…ask yourself how they apply to you. Better yet, make them apply to you.
They are words that came from the minds of great creators, educators, thinkers and anonymous penners…meant for pause and reflection. The wacky part is that people just sit around all day, typing these quotes on funky, colorful and trendy backgrounds because somebody out there thinks the words alone are not enough to capture our attention and imagination.
Here is a random sample of stuff I came up with after digging deeper than the old religious ‘Jesus guides your paintbrush’ standards and the ‘be all that you can be, for that is all that you are meant to be’ junk-ola. Thank me later for weeding through the rubbish and dopey detrius of flowery sayings to bring to you sincere, intelligent, poignant and thought-provoking illuminations to read and re-read if you must;
So there you have it…not so bad, was it? Just some thoughts and philosophies to keep you going in the studio, at rehearsal, at the typewriter, on stage, behind the lens or even as you decide whether or not you are cut out for the life of an artist. They’re not there to insult your intelligence or try to make you ‘see the light’, either. Validation is huge for we artists, and we’ll take all we can get on bad days.
If you are not an artist, maybe you’ll gain a better understanding of the people who spend their lives endeavouring to bring beauty to your existence.
Maybe one of these little nuggets will help see the art-maker through financial struggles, rejection, frustration, self-doubt, roadblocks, or it could be that teeny-tiny whisper that leads to ultimate triumph.
