Have you ever been in a slump for inspiration? Or maybe you have a concept in mind, but you can't seem to kick your motivation into high gear? There's a syndrome amongst artists, when we get this occasional "fear of the blank canvas". It's similar to "writer's block". The empty page is just intimidating...the mind whirls into the overwhelming idea of needing to overflow with inspiration all immediately...there is anxiety from the expectation that we MUST fill the emptiness on that page. And because we are apprehensive of falling short of a perfectly completed work, we hesitate...we procrastinate...we wait for the FULL inspiration... I guess that's my problem sometimes, making me stir crazy... it's like all these partial ideas are in my head and the frustration of not being able to physically match all the pieces together. Oddly enough my best work is done, when I am pinched for a deadline... like when I was in school, I would only study the night before the exams... and I did better that way, rather than if I had studied for days ahead of time. I work well under pressure...and once I at least start on a project, my inspiration and enthusiasm usually comes... it's just a matter of getting started that's a struggle for me. Things happening in my environment easily distract my focus and concentration.

A colleague once told me, "Inspiration is for amateurs, now get to work!" That profound statement made so much sense, but at the same time I wondered how a person could remain in that steady flow of creativity ALL THE TIME? The word amateur implies that one is unskillful or treats their work as a pastime rather than having a professional approach. My ego was challenged! That phrase about amateurs registered within me as a call to arms for my sense of competition! If we want to be successful in the creative fields, we have to prove our competence over and over! I still have a lot to learn, but along the way I have found multiple methods to tap into an overflowing pipeline of inspiration! Do not depend on just one of these techniques to work for you. In my experience it is the application of every procedure working together to form a harmonious system! Keep a pad of paper and camera near you at all times possible. Ideas come to us more often that we realize. Thoughts are swarming constantly, as we receive information from our senses and as we emotionally respond to stimuli we encounter.

You must make an almost DAILY habit to art something, if you want to stay in the creative flow...I read or write or draw or toy with software EVERYDAY just to keep myself tuned into that spirit. Sometimes it is hardly qualified to be art, but it is productive. It is exercise...practice...rehearsal...not unlike athletic conditioning. You must make it a duty to employ your mind into a fitness program! The more you can exert mental energy; the stronger your mind will become! Immerse yourself in creativity...keep visuals in your daily sight... occasionally go thru old writings and pictures you've made...study the work of unfamiliar and new artists...surround yourself with the minds of others who's talent is more advanced than yours. Visit galleries, attend art shows, tour museums, and enroll in a workshop or class. Position yourself in a mode of perpetual education!

Make art that reflects your CURRENT life. When I was younger, my work was dark and spiritual, but now I am full of levity and spontaneous nonsense... my art has evolved into randomness. Remember that EVERYTHING begins in the mind. I did not suspect that I would switch from oil painting to photo editing to now making animation and web-design. Just explore and find what is FUN for you!

Whenever I am beginning a project, I gather as much material as I can find about the subject. I research extensively. At my desk I always keep a dictionary and a thesaurus. Taking a few words that describe the subject, I then look up their definitions. I take key words from those definitions and find their synonyms. After a few moments I have accumulated an excess of potential concepts and a better understanding of the subject's angles. Another great tool is the Internet. Plug a few of the key words into a search engine and you can find all sorts of images and superabundance of documents to trigger inspiration. Remember that an idea is dynamic. It is organic. An idea is living and growing, but it must be nourished with activity or else it will die! Once an idea reaches a certain time of maturation, it begins to reproduce more ideas. They spawn! So don't wait around for inspiration. Get to work! Make your own inspiration! The trick is to just get started! Get started on ANYTHING. It doesn't even have to be the project at hand. Commence sketching or writing whatever comes to mind! Once you can get your ideas to that level of reproducing themselves, then the faucet is on!

This is why I said to keep a pad of paper with you. Once the ideas start popping, you will need to write them down. Don't let any get away no matter how insignificant they seem at the moment. It is an idea's nature to breed. So do take care of the infantile ideas too! Let them incubate on your paper. Perhaps at a later time they will bring more meaning to a future project. If at anytime your creativity feels complacent, then switch mediums for a while. Finding new and refreshing resources will be healthy for your stimulation. A true artist doesn't narrow his or her activity, once their niche has run its course or burnt all their fuel. Go get more! Find other creative people to absorb energy from them. Take every opportunity to put yourself in interesting and unfamiliar settings. Being out of your comfort zone will stretch your imagination and thus your perspective will be transformed. This generates even more ideas. Insist yourself to become social and regularly make new acquaintances. Even if it seems that you do not benefit or gain from others, keep in mind that others may need inspiration FROM YOU. Networking is not always about what you can get for yourself. Go and give to others. Compliment them and sincerely praise their talents. By lifting up the spirit in other people causes the creative collective to flourish. No one can act alone. Creativity comes from the imagination and the imagination receives its input from multiple sources, so take kind regard to them. Whether your input makes you happy or sad, it is the expression of those feelings within your media of choice, which we learn about you and from you.
Now get to work!