What inspires one to create art? It's a topic I love to delve into and it's inevitable that questions will be asked.... Where do you get your ideas from? Who inspires you? What possessed you to carve that totem .....or paint that abstract..... or write that haiku?
I wonder too about losing oneself in the process. Why do we forget about the world around us at certain times and not at others? What pushes us over that point of no return where nothing will get in the way of creating what we have set out to do. At times it's a struggle to get into the flow , then suddenly something changes.... like a dimmer switch phasing the world out. Hours will pass before the switch is turned up again.... bringing the world back into focus.
I'm excited by what it is exactly that stirs an artist to create specific artworks. Looking at the piece I've just completed I can see where some of my influences come from.
I wonder too about losing oneself in the process. Why do we forget about the world around us at certain times and not at others? What pushes us over that point of no return where nothing will get in the way of creating what we have set out to do. At times it's a struggle to get into the flow , then suddenly something changes.... like a dimmer switch phasing the world out. Hours will pass before the switch is turned up again.... bringing the world back into focus.
I'm excited by what it is exactly that stirs an artist to create specific artworks. Looking at the piece I've just completed I can see where some of my influences come from.
Aged weathered wood.....
Shell collections from decades of beach holidays....
Nigerian baskets covered in rows of stark white cowries...
Embellishments used in many African carvings....
Richard Shilling's glorious land art....
"It would be vain to try to put into words that immeasurable sense of bliss which comes over me directly (when) a new idea awakens in me and begins to assume a definite form. I forget everything and behave like a madman" - Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky
Detail from Cowrie Totem
38 comments:
You and Tchaikovsky put it so well!
I wonder if 'creating' is a primal instinct and the focus and exhilaration we feel is pure chemistry...
What a terrific post Robyn. I have always wondered what inspires artists and it is so interesting to read what inspires you through your words and pictures.
The quote at the end is good too. Worth collecting and keeping for mulling over.
Oh Robyn, this is inspiration for me. Your work and it's richness - resonating with the present, but filled with the depth of history and agelessness found in ancestral works, nature, ceremonial rhythms... beautiful post, beautiful work!
she is beautiful......so peaceful.
Another wonderful piece, Robyn. The shells are a delightful addition!
robyn,your work is an inspiration.!!! i love your new piece. seeing what you do with things of nature and of the past inspire me to keep trying. thank you lyle
I have no idea about the hows and whys but I am so in awe of how all your influences flow through you and come out in an amazing piece that is so definitely yours - beautiful Robyn!
Beverly, Tchaikovsky does describe the process well doesn't he..especially the madman part :-)
Thanks Priya, the whole creative process is so interesting. I never get tired of listening to or reading about artists and their influences or inspirations.
Karin, thanks so much!
Blu, thank you. I love that you find her peaceful.
Willow, I've avoided shells in my work for some reason but suddenly they've come into their own.
Lyle, glad to inspire....thank you!
Thanks Kendalee, it is mysterious how and why people create what they create. I've always found it rather magical.
Ah, Robyn, it has been too long since I've stopped by your blog (in a funk instead). You amaze me each time and I believe would be a wonderful teacher, talking about spirals and pods and shells and the like. Thanks for making me smile today!
PS - Send me your address girl! (I think you still have my email.) I have gifties from South America for you!
Robyn, I was so excited reading this post. How wonderful to be able to reflect on a piece and see where certain "inspirations" came from. Love your work here...she's at peace.
Heather, if I made you smile, you've made my day.
the other day, after reading your note, my first thought was "why do i think there is a King's Ransom reflecting through this soul" . I didn't write it to you and here i open this page and there is that same glow, that sense of metalics shimmering through your work... and the inner seeing woman... peace brought to the surface... and aren't shells a symbol of wealth. Given by grace?
Well, i also love the bottom quote, had some bliss like that this morning, almost frightening.
Peace over there. (it stretches like silly string) :) Thank you.
Very beautiful, as always. I read this quote somewhere about how a lot of the most moving pieces of art and music and writing were composed when the creator's mind was possessed by turmoil and intense painful emotions. And that we enjoy them, but seldom think about the state if mind of the creator. So true. Very interesting to see your creative process if only for this one piece.
Robyn your work is engaging, because it “speaks” to me. I love the perfect colors, the patina, the textures, and the essence. Your figures are peaceful.
Once again Robyn, wonderful.
For me inspirtion comes from nature, you can't beat it.So the wood, the shells especially are items I am always drawn to and keep nearby.
Robyn, you make the best lips - they are so expressive - I guess eyes are supposed to be expressive, but I think your totem's lips are - I loved this post - got to go on a journey through your creative process!
That Richard Shilling leaf piece is very arresting, Robyn.
Your work always looks inspired to me - I know what you mean about once the creative proces begins to work - but I think that only happens with people who create really good art - for the rest of us I think reality keeps trying to push in - when I am creating something I often have to work hard to keep reality out of the picture. The fact that you can "live" the piece you are working on suggests to me that you are a true artist.
I so love seeing your art work. Your carvings have such a unique spirit and feel to them... You are and amazing artist! Inspiration is such a mysterious thing... how it just appears and makes you lost in your art! Roxanne
Thanks Jo.
Mansuetude, I am enjoying the thought of peace stretching like silly string. Thank you!
Bindu, I'm at peace when I'm in the flow of creating something. The world is phased out :-)
Thanks so much Leslie. Your work has a similar effect on me.
Jude, there's nothing quite like nature to sooth and balance one. I imagine life in Greece is pretty soothing most of the time if the view in your photos is anything to go by.
Jeane, glad you like the lips :-)
Weaver, I think it's a matter of creating something that really grips you. If it's gripping enough it's easy to get into that flow state.
Roxanne, the mystery of it all has captivated me since the moment I opened my first box of wax crayons.....I imagine you have fond memories of that first box of crayons too. Bliss!
Geeze...I *just* read someting that explained one possibility about why/how we go into that mind-state. (scientifically, that is)
It was quite interesting! I'll have to see if I can figure out which book it was.
Interesting thoughts to ponder. Inspiration is such an experience so difficult to describe in words and yet it is so identifiable as a feeling.
Fascinating to see what inspires you. Such lovely things, so no wonder! Your finished piece is terrific.
Wonderful post. Thank you for sharing your influences. Each one makes it's subtle statement in your piece coming together to make this moving carving. You delight and amaze!
One day I so hope to see one of these in person.
Sending you my wish for a most Happy Easter! Full of joy and chocolate.
Inspiration?? I just soak up everything and see what happens!!
A spectacular piece, Robyn. You have such an amazing appreciation of the historical, spiritual and visual aspects of your home country. It really comes through in your art.
:-)
Shelly
The rows of gradient shells are perfection. What a beautiful sculpture- so peaceful. Reading about another artist's inspirational thrill always gets me going- or at least gives me a fuzzy, warm feeling :D
it really is quite an AWESOME topic, don't you think?
I am beginning to think that any/everything that allows us to tap into Universal truths is what really puts artists into their personal creative space - when we get out of our own way and simply create from the joy/inspiration/sorrow/despair/happiness/life moving through us ... the hard part is allowing the flow.
your newest piece is ... sublime.
Who inspires me? You do.
Lovely post, Ms. Beautiful, as always.
Love & Laughter,
DJ
Your work is such an inspiration to all of us, I think we all feed off each other. Thanks for your kind comment, you are in the draw.
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Hello Robyn
Thanks for your comment and yes, absolutely, pls do link to my talisman - I'm honoured!!
Hi Robyn,
Well this is a new experience for me. Not sure I have inspired anyone before.
I want you to know when I say I absolutely love your artwork that I am not being sychophantic at all. I mean what I say. Good art (or at least what I like - is that "good" - well I for one don't care!) needs to be more than the sum of its parts. It needs to cause a spark with me. How things do that I don't know. But when it does you just know, and yours does.
As for inspiration. As you know I am new to the world of art. It is commonly said that suffering produces good art. Well I don't know if that is true for all disciplines. I have a lot of fun making my sculptures and none are borne of angst. Instead I find peace there.
What astounds me more is not what inspires or even how but instead where do ideas actually come from? At the moment I don't try to plan I just go out and see what happens and let the ideas appear. It seems to work for me but I have no idea how. I fear that one day the tap will turn off and I will be void of ideas as, not knowing where they come from, how will I be able to fix the writers block?
Anyway, obviously I am mostly inspired by Goldsworthy. But more and more I am inspired by the natural world around me and whatever I find. Not angst or internal struggles or from a need to express my emotions. Instead it is simply being a kid at play. It comes naturally to them so why not us? We were all kids once.
Kind regards
Richard
Ps. sorry for the essay but I can't help myself! ;-)
I couldn't pick a favorite, although the weathered wood stood out as being the most beautiful photo of weathered wood that I have ever seen.
Stunning collection The first one is so exquisitely done. WOW.
I love the pattern and texture and repetition of this piece and gradation in color of the cowries. I find peace in the orderliness of the elements.
OMG - love your pieces always - the shells are amazing and those leaves at the end are amazing.
Your work is so beautiful Robyn. It has a wonderful stillness about it. You seem to be connected to the past when you create in the present. Wherever your inspiration comes from...keep it coming.
Really enjoyed the totems too. I particularly like the wooden ones and the moon spot totem is delightfully mysterious. Those colour graded leaves are quite wonderful.
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