It's hard to find a good Muse these days. They tend to be fickle.
It's not that I have a lack of ideas (I have sketchbooks *full* to the brim of ideas of things I will eventually have time to paint or create) but occasionally people need or want things that result in me needing to find new ideas. My inhuman Muses tend to be things having to do with water. Several years ago I invested in a set of the children's shower soap crayons, since ideas tend to hit me while I'm showering, and if I don't write it down on the stile walls, I will be distracted by dog or human when leaving the bathroom, and risk forgetting the idea. I keep desktop fountains in my office, and run them when I'm feeling creative. I occasionally pop by Niagara Falls, just to hear the constant thunder of millions of gallons of water flowing over a cliff, (which is by the way, truly awesome in all senses of the word) and I have fantastic ideas while I'm there.
As far as the human Muses go... they're a whole other bundle of fun. I have a few I have named My Muses, as they tend to be the ones I spend a lot of time with either talking or socializing, and it's when we're talking that the creative juices start to flow. There's a group in Waterloo Ontario that tend to have that effect, though it happens more often after beer and vodka have been introduced. More than once I've walked away kicking myself for not having a digital recorder on me during the discussion.
Once of the difficult things I find in art is when someone I don't know tickles my Muse. It's hard to walk up to someone with a face full of character and say "I want to draw you", since I imagine it can either be very flattering, or sound VERY creepy. I have the advantage of being a harmless looking woman, so I can push that line a little bit, but I'm aware some folks tend to find it creepy regardless.
Recently I had someone ask me if listening to his music compositions would inspire or speak to me. I had to tell him honestly, no. Music rarely speaks to me in a way that I can translate into a visual image. There are a few pieces, but normally that's not where my inspiration comes from, and I almost feel like a freak among artists in that regard. Music will tickle my musicality, and I certainly can appreciate everything from an Aria to death metal/celtic fusion, I'm just not generally inclined to draw based on it. I'm more inclined to sing in that case.
It's not that I have a lack of ideas (I have sketchbooks *full* to the brim of ideas of things I will eventually have time to paint or create) but occasionally people need or want things that result in me needing to find new ideas. My inhuman Muses tend to be things having to do with water. Several years ago I invested in a set of the children's shower soap crayons, since ideas tend to hit me while I'm showering, and if I don't write it down on the stile walls, I will be distracted by dog or human when leaving the bathroom, and risk forgetting the idea. I keep desktop fountains in my office, and run them when I'm feeling creative. I occasionally pop by Niagara Falls, just to hear the constant thunder of millions of gallons of water flowing over a cliff, (which is by the way, truly awesome in all senses of the word) and I have fantastic ideas while I'm there.
As far as the human Muses go... they're a whole other bundle of fun. I have a few I have named My Muses, as they tend to be the ones I spend a lot of time with either talking or socializing, and it's when we're talking that the creative juices start to flow. There's a group in Waterloo Ontario that tend to have that effect, though it happens more often after beer and vodka have been introduced. More than once I've walked away kicking myself for not having a digital recorder on me during the discussion.
Once of the difficult things I find in art is when someone I don't know tickles my Muse. It's hard to walk up to someone with a face full of character and say "I want to draw you", since I imagine it can either be very flattering, or sound VERY creepy. I have the advantage of being a harmless looking woman, so I can push that line a little bit, but I'm aware some folks tend to find it creepy regardless.
Recently I had someone ask me if listening to his music compositions would inspire or speak to me. I had to tell him honestly, no. Music rarely speaks to me in a way that I can translate into a visual image. There are a few pieces, but normally that's not where my inspiration comes from, and I almost feel like a freak among artists in that regard. Music will tickle my musicality, and I certainly can appreciate everything from an Aria to death metal/celtic fusion, I'm just not generally inclined to draw based on it. I'm more inclined to sing in that case.
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