People often ask me where I get my ideas from and how I start my creations. it seems to vary for me from waking up with an idea in my head or through a process of being interested in current affairs or spiritual matters my mind will wander in different tangents. I do tend to be very visual and so during meditation I may see visions, or flashes of inspiration that I just know I want to recreate in someway.
That probably doesn’t sound very tangible or helpful for anyone else to translate into their own inspiration, however there are also days I have no inspiration and feel a bit lost as to what I want to create. On those days I tend to start with a feeling, a mood or sense of where I’m at in the moment.
I try to get a sense of :
- What colours does it bring to mind
- What emotions or feelings am I having
- What images come to mind
- Is there a theme to it
For example I may start with a feeling of wanting to be in nature, the colours that come to mind will depend on the time of year or the weather that day. Do I feel happy, contemplative, energetic, discombobulated, lazy etc. What images come to mind that reflect the feelings/emotions I’m having? Sitting, walking, laying down, head up or down, head in hands etc. Then I piece it all together and come up with something that is in the present and unique to that moment.
For me my images are mostly inspired from within myself about myself and where I am at that moment so it makes sense that I am in the images. I act out my thoughts through self portraits and create something that represents whatever came up.
The image below came from being in confusion and feeling discombobulated and unsure about the situation we were entering into in March 2020 – Covid times…. I love how the visual representation tells a story in a deeper way than I could have expressed and the colours represent a sense of optimism and fear.
It’s almost a concealed panic attack and deep fear of the unknown being expressed for all to see. However, it is also a safe way to explore what was going on for me. Would you have guessed the inspiration and feelings behind this image without being told?
It doesn’t matter if you do or not. It is still art and creative photography giving me an expression that words would have made heavy and condensed. This helps me to free that through being creative about it and without it having to be too dark and dwelled upon.
You could have thoughts around a colour, a place, a theme, an object etc and design something from whatever comes to mind for you. Photo’s can be as literal or conceptual as you like. You’re the creator and designer of your work so it is always a representation and an expression of you and where you are.
There are no limits to creating and its so freeing to express yourself no matter how obvious or abstract it maybe. You can look at the image below and assume all kinds of things about it but I bet you would never have known where it came from and what it represents for me.
Hope that helps and inspires you to get creative.
