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  #1  
Old 07-17-2006, 07:46 PM
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what inspires?
I've been in a creative rut for years. I've played guitar and have loved it for more than half my life, but I've only ever written one song that I'm proud of. I know there's more in me but am not sure how to bring it out most times. Music does it for me, as does much art, especially photography and others of my own dorky eccentricities.
I know there are many artists, musicians and generally cool people here @ dirty so I was wondering;
what inspires you?
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  #2  
Old 07-17-2006, 08:06 PM
koisk
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Re: what inspires?
Whenever I'm messing with music or doodling it bascially feels like running through mud. I might have an idea of where I might like to end up, but it's not easy to find out where I'm going, how to get there, or make progress. Sometimes it helps if I just sit down and really meditate on the subject, othertimes, I just have to give up and come back to it tomorrow.

There was an interesting article in the last Wired about how some people peak creatively in thier early years (The Picassos) who make significant work but after a certain year nothing ever really matches that one masterstroke. Other people, the Frank Lloyd Wrights, slowly evolve and work until they reach thier genius at a much later age.

Just something to think about. Keep at it is the only thing I can say.
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  #3  
Old 07-18-2006, 09:35 AM
viddy
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Re: what inspires?
I find little bits of everything inspires my creativity. All of the various forms a art one way or another inspires me at some point. There's one really concrete example I can give.

I wasn't really into photography at all, never really thought about taking pictures either as art or just of friends for memories. I had a 1megapixel camera that drained batteries really quickly and had a really small memory card, therefore I never really thought to use it much. Then my friend Bryan became my muse when he started seeing this girl and he started taking tons of digital photos with her 5megapixel camera. Something in what he was doing really intrigued me. It stirred something up inside me, seeing both the artful pictures and the pictures he was taking with him and his girlfriend. Both the content of the pictures, and the visual quality of the camera he was using got my creative juices flowing like they hadn't been before when it came to the visual image. Needless to say I asked for a camera for Christmas and lived happily ever after. I got a 5mp camera that not only had an enourmous memory card and very long lasting batteries, but it also shot video. My creativity in static and moving images exploded. I literally have tens of thousands of pictures and video since then.

Here's an example of what I started to shoot: http://www.humanwire.net/pics/IMG_0879%232.jpg

Here are more: http://www.humanwire.net/pics

So in that case, I didn't know I loved photography, or taking night pictures in the city until I saw the output of my friend Bryan.

For me, it's really just experimenting all the time with both photos, video, music, sound effects, programming, storytelling etc etc that I end up with something that I made that inspires myself. Once in a while, all of those little experiements align in some magical way and I've created something I didn't know I could make. Just playing around, putting this video shot with this song, or this camera pan and dolly shot with this sound effect or what ever and just keep exploring and figuring out what works and what doesn't.
  #4  
Old 07-19-2006, 06:52 PM
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weekend blues
 
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Re: what inspires?
Thanks for the encouragement. I hope I still have more ahead of me, but
Quote:
Originally Posted by koisk
feels like running through mud
is about right. I intend to get more into photography when I come into a bit more money and can get a decent camera. Until then I've taken a note from Mr. Hyde and enjoy snapping photos with my phone. I'm honestly impressed how nice the photos turn out sometimes. But it's a hobby and probably always will be. Thanks for the links to your cool pics, Viddy. I liked them very much. What kind of camera do you use? It seems nice and versatile. On a side note, which burb are you living in? I'm looking at a transfer to the Chicagoland area in the future and will probably end up near Aurora.
As for music, it's something that was 'put off' until after college. I had a nice metal band and we had a blast with that, but then college happened. We all wanted to try that again, but i'm still away from home 7 years later. I did an acoustic thing with the singer of that band a few years back and that was great, but I just think I need someone else to work with musically to make anything worth anything.
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  #5  
Old 07-19-2006, 07:43 PM
adam
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Re: what inspires?
drugs. LSD, specifically.
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  #6  
Old 08-04-2006, 08:15 PM
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weekend blues
 
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Re: what inspires?
Quote:
Originally Posted by adam
drugs. LSD, specifically.
Good call, too bad I'm in a security- and safety-sensitive career and the drug tests won't allow. I've gone this long without drugs I think I'll wait it out. Could explain my case of the blah's though. Thanks?
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  #7  
Old 08-05-2006, 02:03 PM
crank
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Re: what inspires?
FYI: A "Better" camera doesn't yield GOOD or great pictures. It's now you see. and the light you are seeing in... you can take an amazing photograph with a plastic camera and a plastic lense (eg. Holga's)
cranK!
  #8  
Old 08-05-2006, 02:22 PM
Renze
mouseman
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
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Re: what inspires?
Hanging out with other creative people. That's a huge inspiration for me...
  #9  
Old 08-05-2006, 03:22 PM
Lou
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Re: what inspires?
[COLOR=DarkSlateGray]people
faces
beauty
bodies
flowers
insects
clouds
colors
light
artists
etc
look at anything, there's beauty everywhere
[/COLOR]
  #10  
Old 08-05-2006, 03:28 PM
adam
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Re: what inspires?
For me, inspiration comes from a few different directions (besides LSD).

1) I personally have to reduce all pleasant time-killers in my life as much as possible. Little to no TV, etc. This works wonders: an example being last Friday. Last Friday I got off work, and really, really, didn't want to work on music. I was in kind of a bad mood, and had been thinking about playing World of Warcraft again. Instead, I forced myself to work on music, and ended up coming up with something I really liked, which also lifted my bad mood. If I had started WoW again, I would have used the bad mood as an excuse for its escapism, turned it on, and, yes, probably have enjoyed myself (that's the whole appeal, innit?) but not anywhere close to level of satisfaction I achieved by forcing myself to be productive and subsequently making something I really liked. Also, it answered the question of whether or not I should start playing WoW again in a very clear manner.

2) If you absolutely can't work, try doing nothing instead of something else. That is, if you feel you can't come up with something, but you want to try, instead of giving in to your frustration and, say, making plans with friends, try just going for a walk or something. For me, it's going to the beach with a cup of tea and my ipod. That'll lift almost any bad mood and make me want to run back to my place and get to work.

3) Try working under different circumstances. Try working when you're really tired, or right when you get up in the morning. Change the circumstances under which you try and write. Try more caffeine. Try less caffeine. David Lynch, for years, was convinced that sugar was the most important fuel in the world: in a sugar rush, he was a creative whirlwind. Shouldn't cause problems with the drug test, either. Prefuse 73 feels the same about coffee.

4) If I have to resort to distraction, I have plenty of ones that I find inspirational, too. I can watch Blade Runner over and over, and that makes me want to work. Or some art books, I'll flip through my Escher book or a book I have on architecture. Try reading some art history, too; that can be hugely inspirational. Some fiction works for me, too: Salman Rushdie makes me want to create. John Zorn said he would practice for shows by watching cartoons.

5) Try and focus on process instead of product. I used to try and compose finished peices, which was perpetually unsatisfying. Now I just try and come up with 1-2 minute sketches, and I'm accumulating stuff like that faster than I know what to do with. This is crucial, because it's made the creative process rewarding, rather than punishing.

6) LSD.
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