My Father's Garden from Mirko Faienza on Vimeo.
Mar 3, 2010
My Father's Garden
A friend shared this with me. Beautiful images, editing, timing, and sound. By Mirko Faienza.
Mar 2, 2010
Making Space for Inspiration
As I prepare to create and exhibit some new photographs in May for Madison's Gallery Night, I'm wanting some inspiration, and I'm finding it here and there but not with any predictability.
Inspiration is one of those elusive things that can be so hard to describe or understand. We know when it's absent, but not how to guarantee its presence.
As a writer, photographer, and visual artist, I'm intrigued and sometimes miffed by the randomness of inspiration. It seems to appear and disappear on its own whims and terms.
While inspiration has no on/off switch or valve to open or close at will, there are ways to facilitate inspiration, to make some inviting space for it, and foster conditions which are favorable.
In my experience, two of the primary things that produce inspiration are Story, and Light.
Story, as I'm using the word here, can be anything which presents words, actions, journey, context, relationships, value, adversity, surprise, risk, reward, cost, cause and effect, and implications for the human experience. Anything that happens and about which we care is Story.
Light, as I'm using the word here, can be anything which enlightens, explains, reveals, informs, expands on, shows the detailed shape and shadow of Story. The why and what-for and how-come. The counterpoint or question which takes us deeper into the Story and gives it more meaning.
To increase our encounters with inspiration, if we could do such a thing, the least we can do is create conditions that are favorable for us to hear some Story, and see some Light.
I rarely create in a void or vacuum. Most of the time when I create (with words, or images) I'm discovering something, reacting to something, or both.
If I live so that my chances of discovery are low, I'm far less likely to be inspired to create. If I live so that there's little new input, I won't have much to respond to, and I'm far less likely to be inspired to create.
But if I choose to converse with people who are different from me (and the best conversation involves more asking and listening than speaking) I am in a much better position to hear intriguing Story, see some interestingLight, then discover and react as I can create something new.
If I make choices that bring a stream of new ideas and perspectives into my path, I'll significantly increase the likelihood that inspiration will show up and be my friend.
The internet can be a friend or foe in all of this. Of course, there's a wealth of Story and Light to be encountered on the internet, in ways which might inspire me to discover, react, and create. There are billions of pages, stories, news articles, blogs, photos, videos, songs, and more, representing thousands of cultural perspectives. More importantly there are diverse people and communities on the internet, and ways to actually interact with them.
The danger with the internet is that there's so much, there's TOO much; and by necessity we now have tools to fine-tune the scope and focus according to our own preferences and biases. We friend, unfriend, follow, unfollow, subscribe, and unsubscribe. If we don't do this with care, we end up filtering out much of the Story and Light that would otherwise enter our journey and lead to inspired creativity.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. How do you make space for inspiration, inviting not too much and not too little story and light, so that you can be prompted to make something new?
Inspiration is one of those elusive things that can be so hard to describe or understand. We know when it's absent, but not how to guarantee its presence.
As a writer, photographer, and visual artist, I'm intrigued and sometimes miffed by the randomness of inspiration. It seems to appear and disappear on its own whims and terms.
While inspiration has no on/off switch or valve to open or close at will, there are ways to facilitate inspiration, to make some inviting space for it, and foster conditions which are favorable.
In my experience, two of the primary things that produce inspiration are Story, and Light.
Story, as I'm using the word here, can be anything which presents words, actions, journey, context, relationships, value, adversity, surprise, risk, reward, cost, cause and effect, and implications for the human experience. Anything that happens and about which we care is Story.
Light, as I'm using the word here, can be anything which enlightens, explains, reveals, informs, expands on, shows the detailed shape and shadow of Story. The why and what-for and how-come. The counterpoint or question which takes us deeper into the Story and gives it more meaning.
To increase our encounters with inspiration, if we could do such a thing, the least we can do is create conditions that are favorable for us to hear some Story, and see some Light.
I rarely create in a void or vacuum. Most of the time when I create (with words, or images) I'm discovering something, reacting to something, or both.
If I live so that my chances of discovery are low, I'm far less likely to be inspired to create. If I live so that there's little new input, I won't have much to respond to, and I'm far less likely to be inspired to create.
But if I choose to converse with people who are different from me (and the best conversation involves more asking and listening than speaking) I am in a much better position to hear intriguing Story, see some interestingLight, then discover and react as I can create something new.
If I make choices that bring a stream of new ideas and perspectives into my path, I'll significantly increase the likelihood that inspiration will show up and be my friend.
The internet can be a friend or foe in all of this. Of course, there's a wealth of Story and Light to be encountered on the internet, in ways which might inspire me to discover, react, and create. There are billions of pages, stories, news articles, blogs, photos, videos, songs, and more, representing thousands of cultural perspectives. More importantly there are diverse people and communities on the internet, and ways to actually interact with them.
The danger with the internet is that there's so much, there's TOO much; and by necessity we now have tools to fine-tune the scope and focus according to our own preferences and biases. We friend, unfriend, follow, unfollow, subscribe, and unsubscribe. If we don't do this with care, we end up filtering out much of the Story and Light that would otherwise enter our journey and lead to inspired creativity.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. How do you make space for inspiration, inviting not too much and not too little story and light, so that you can be prompted to make something new?
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