Staying Inspired Through the New Year

0 CommentsWednesday • December 5, 2012 • by Imei

How do you stay inspired when it comes to being artistic and creating good stuff? And how do you do this through the hustle and bustle of the end of the year?

Well…

Don’t passively watch the news: it’s geared to share more about what isn’t working than what is.

Don’t simply copy and imitate: you might nab a few goodies here and there, but you’ll have to sort through a lot of repetition and the same old tired ideas.

Don’t just rack your brain and pray for a ‘spark of genius’: most creatives will tell you  those ideas that come during the shower are fewer than you think.

 

So how DO you stay inspired?

1. DO put in your time. Actually sitting at that computer, practicing drills for dance, going over lines for a play, and messing around with the tools of your trade put your hands and all your senses in touch – literally! – with what it is you’re focusing on. Don’t just think about your idea. Take out pen and paper. Draw. Talk out loud. Put in your time.

 

2. DO attend shows, lectures, films, and community gatherings around the things you are most interested in. Dohee Lee, a San Francisco based artist, can often be seen attending art galleries showing art she isn’t performing in or with.

 

3. DO get together with like-minded people, talk about making art, and better yet — actually do your art together! I’ve gathered my own little dance collective to bounce off new ideas, innovate and finesse old ones, and challenge myself to learn dance through the eyes of those I admire in a safe and collaborative format.

 

4. DO ask others for help. We all get bored, lose our way, lose our momentum, lose…. something. Loss is a part of the process. Having stuff break, fall apart, and come back together is also a part of the process. I was reading how Donald Byrd’s (of Spectrum Dance) style of choreography often burns out or turns off dancers initially, pushing them to their utmost emotional, psychological, and physical limits. After you cease being angry for something that didn’t “work”, you can often come back to it and try it again, yet with perspective, and often with more help from those who understand the losses and gains that come with challenge.

 

I haven’t posted new material to my blog for over a month because I’ve simply been too busy to tell my readers what I’ve been up to. It’s a horrible, rotten excuse for not blogging, but it’s the truth — I’ve been so busy DOING art, I haven’t had as much time to WRITE about it. But here’s what I’ve been up to:

 

November 2012 — bellydancing, forming a new dance group, trying to organize a fun event (delayed to early 2013), training for a 1/2 marathon, writing my book.

December 2012 – bellydancing, creating a film and dance interactive experience for the BEASTS show for Tin Can Studio (Dec 1), preparing for a fashion show, “Flutter” (Dec. 13), bellydancing gig (new choreo), meeting with new dance group, teaching bellydance, photography and film for my office and new Associates, training for 1/2 marathon, writing my book, and attending Patrick Snow’s Book Publishing Institute (final day, presentations!).

This just in — I’ll “bellydance bomb” [that's like photobombing, but with bellydance!] your gay wedding at the King County Courthouse between Dec. 6  -Dec. 22, 2012]. By invitation only [just contact me offline at info@hipsforhire dot com], in celebration of marriage equality in Washington State].

In between all that, I try to find the time to attend one art-related show or movie per week and practice dance. With as many “ins” to art as I can find, there are multiple streams of inspiration to pull from.

As has become my tradition with the website, my first blog of 2013 will contain an overview of everything I attended art-wise in 2012, including the FAILs and the WINs, as we lead up to Macworld|iWorld2013 Jan 31, 2013, covering the best and worst that the world of Apple has to offer as it relates to making creative things. It’s going to be a fabulous year of art, don’t you think?