What Inspires Me
I recently heard this question asked among a group of artists and it really stuck with me. I was glad to be a listener in that conversation and not the person expected to respond, as I did not have a canned answer. What inspires us can be a variety of things for many different reasons. I am inspired as a photographer, writer, husband, cook, social media guy and just plain-old human being. That’s a lot to chew on and it’s not a very comprehensive list.
I decided that I am going to start doing some posts about things and people who inspire me. I’d love to get your reaction and learn some of your inspirations as well. Here is my first list of five, in no particular order.
- People who keep trying, in spite of the struggle. My GED students were largely screw-ups from the word go, but they kept coming back to class and many of them got their certificates in spite of and because of themselves. Screwing up is natural and easy. We all do it to one degree or another. Trying again takes courage and determination. Teaching GED classes and working with those students, many of them gang members, drug addicts and other types of criminals, drove me nuts but in the end it was a great thing for me to do and taught me a lot about the nature of struggle and different people’s reactions to it.
- Chris Brogan. Chris is a very open, giving person. He is a recognized leader in the world of social media and marketing, yet is down-to-earth, only a phone call or email away and is helpful, with lots of great ideas. Somehow it seems like he is giving away the store, yet he still makes a living at selling it. I haven’t figured out that type of balance yet but I mean to someday.
- Edward Weston’s Pepper #30. Such beauty in nature’s fruits! Weston saw the complexity and beauty in a rather simple object. I was so fascinated by Weston’s peppers that I have done some of my own.
- Great modern painters and other painters who find them inspiring. Natasha Wescoat’s work is incredible. If you haven’t seen it, go check it out. I once mentioned to Kristin Bruch that some of her work reminds me of Wescoat’s and she said that she found Wescoat’s work inspiring as well. Small world!
- Geometry. Circles, triangles, shapes, proportions, relationships, angles, ratios, this inscribed in that, areas, perimeters and volumes. It’s the science of measurement of the world, in literal terms, and shows the true beauty and order found in nature. If ever there were proof of God’s existence or some larger force or plan of which I am a tiny part, geometry is that for me.
What do you find inspiring?
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November 6th, 2008 at 12:23 am
Thanks, Carl, and it’s a really great idea, writing this down. By the way, I really love Natasha’s art, too. And as for the GED folks, that’s just a beautiful sentiment.
Yes we can.