One of my main concerns (and troubles) in being an art student is remaining true to my own vision while also fulfilling academic requirements. There can be a lot of pressure to constantly produce even when it doesn't feel like the right moment or idea, leading to a kind of idle busyness. Is it best to develop a habit of regularly working in the studio on a daily basis? Or is it best to wait until it feels right--when you have "inspiration"?
While walking home one day last winter, I walked past the same row of dumpsters I regularly passed day after day in the back alley of my apartment building, and a scattered arrangement of lemon halves and broken glass pieces arrested my attention. A recent snowfall had just melted, and this is what remained on the damp ground:
While walking home one day last winter, I walked past the same row of dumpsters I regularly passed day after day in the back alley of my apartment building, and a scattered arrangement of lemon halves and broken glass pieces arrested my attention. A recent snowfall had just melted, and this is what remained on the damp ground:
At that moment, I felt "inspired." Excited, I ran to my apartment, grabbed my camera, and ran back to the spot so that I could record the beautiful composition created by chance. It's interesting how moments like this can suddenly interject themselves in our regular routines, reminding us again of a forgotten feeling of discovery amidst the day in and day out.
In a lecture to university art students, the artist Agnes Martin describes inspiration as, "That which takes us by surprise -- moments of happiness," and she goes on to write, "Many people as adults are so startled by inspiration which is different from daily care that they think they are unique in having had it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Inspiration is there all the time. For everyone whose mind is not clouded over with thoughts whether they realize it or not. Most people have no realization whatever of the moments in which they are inspired. Inspiration is pervasive but not a power. It's a peaceful thing. It is a consolation even to plants and animals. Do not think that it is unique. If it were unique no one would be able to respond to your work. Do not think it is reserved for a few or anything like that. It is an untroubled mind. Of course we know that an untroubled state of mind cannot last. So we say that inspiration comes and goes but really it is there all the time waiting for us to be untroubled again." (Excerpt from Agnes Martin's "Lecture at Cornell University" from her book Writings)
In a lecture to university art students, the artist Agnes Martin describes inspiration as, "That which takes us by surprise -- moments of happiness," and she goes on to write, "Many people as adults are so startled by inspiration which is different from daily care that they think they are unique in having had it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Inspiration is there all the time. For everyone whose mind is not clouded over with thoughts whether they realize it or not. Most people have no realization whatever of the moments in which they are inspired. Inspiration is pervasive but not a power. It's a peaceful thing. It is a consolation even to plants and animals. Do not think that it is unique. If it were unique no one would be able to respond to your work. Do not think it is reserved for a few or anything like that. It is an untroubled mind. Of course we know that an untroubled state of mind cannot last. So we say that inspiration comes and goes but really it is there all the time waiting for us to be untroubled again." (Excerpt from Agnes Martin's "Lecture at Cornell University" from her book Writings)
Perhaps I should not be worrying about whether I go in the studio regularly or whether I wait for a particular feeling, but perhaps I should just not be worrying at all.
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