Inspiration Out Of Emptiness: Giving Chaos Its Time



Any good artist, architect, writer or performer will likely say the same thing about their craft; the best work is inspiration followed by diligent endeavor to bring the vision into being. The task may be difficult and halting, or graceful and almost trancelike, but the vision starts as a concept, idea, or object brought into form through endeavor. The instant of insight is often an important element to creation. There are artists that have ceremonies to help induce the inspired moment; sitting at Drafting Tables, in comfortable Drafting Chairs, or listening to music, or sitting on a particular bench in a park. It’s not the bench, the tables, or the music that creates inspiration and inspiration sometimes feels like nothing more then an inclination. Inspiration something as simple as a vague desire to make a box not ugly, or it might be a vision that shakes the heart and soul. Regardless of the magnitude, inspiration comes from somewhere, a place where once there was nothing, then there was motivation to bring something into the physical world.

One of the greatest challenges of the creative arts is living in the place of not knowing. It is the place where the artist has a vague sense of an idea or concept, maybe a blank canvas, or an open dance floor, but hasn’t found the thread that will begin to connect the spaces or themes. It is a critical time for any artist and often many start organizing the vision too quickly. It is a bit like pulling a butterfly out of the cocoon before it is ready. In the middle of the chaos, ideas and thoughts are flying around and need time to tumble over each other until they begin to find a natural place to rest in the artists head.

Even something like painting a landscape requires far more then just setting up an easel in the road and picking up the paints. There is the question of where to set the easel and what to focus on. Is it the light hitting the barn that caught the artists attention, or the clouds blowing past the darkened woods beyond the silo? Even an artist that intends to plop their easel down in a blind spot, open their eyes and capture whatever they see, has taken the time to be inspired by the possibility of randomness and finding the form in an arbitrary spot.

Taking the time to be still, to vision, feel, see, hear or even taste, is often the place where great visions are born. It is allowing the body to experience the world, imagined or real, that gives it the freedom to come into form. An architect will examine structures, walk through them, feel the tile beneath their feet and allow this to feed the brewing idea. A dancer will stand quietly for a moment, sense a movement then try it and see to what it leads.

Allowing space for the unknown is an important part of any creative vision. The art will be born out of the chaos and likely shift and grow as it is brought into form.

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