Imagination Food

As an artist you hope for this, a bright light of inspiration over your head. You eagerly reach for it hoping you can recreate the vision as clear on canvas, sculpture etc. Sadly, many days there is no light. Just a lifeless bulb annoyingly positioned over your head. What do you do?

I don't have the answer to that, not yet anyway. Some artist have routines that they fall into when the bulb has been unlit for too many days. Maybe it's journaling or sketching. Maybe it's a tour of art galleries or the museum. That can sometimes work for me but often the brilliance of others makes me feel even more insecure and colorless. Journaling just becomes a rant of my inadequacies as an artist and sketching just reminds me of how lousy I really am.

Sometimes an idea comes but your can't seem to execute it. You draw and redraw. Yeah, that's it. Smile. You look longer....no, it's cheesy, cliche, been done many times before. The bulb goes out.

The challenge is to keep challenging yourself while still being true to your strengths. You want each show to impress those who are kind enough to travel to your opening. Yet repeat customers want to see a consistency of sorts. Where is that perfect idea that encompasses all three?

If I could just find that elusive light switch.