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 standing on a stage, or sitting on a particular bench in a park. It’s not the bench, the tables, or the stage that creates inspiration and inspiration might not feel inspired. Inspiration may be nothing more then a vague desire to make a box not ugly, or it might be a vision that shakes the heart and soul. No matter how big or how small the vision, inspiration comes from somewhere, from the void comes an idea, then there was motivation to bring something into the physical world.
One of the most difficult aspects of the creative arts is spending time with unshaped and unformed ideas. It is the place where the artist has a loose sense or feeling, 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 a cake out of the oven before it is ready. In the middle of the chaos, ideas and thoughts are flying around and need time to bump and mingle 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 plopping an easel down in the road and picking up the paints. An artist decides where to place the easel and what to focus on. Is it the sun washing over the alfalfa that caught the artists attention, or the reflection of the clouds in the marsh? Even an artist that intends to plop their easel down in a blind spot, open their eyes and paint what is in front of them, has taken the time to be inspired by the possibility of randomness and finding the form in an arbitrary spot.
Creating the space to be still, to vision, feel, see, hear or even taste, is often the place where great visions are born. It is tuning the senses to experience the world, imagined or real, that gives it the freedom to come into form. An architect will study buildings, 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 change dramatically as it is brought into form.