Any good artist, architect, writer or performer will likely say the same thing about their craft; the best work is inspiration followed by great effort to bring the vision into being. The task may be difficult and halting, or graceful and almost trancelike, but the vision begins as a notion, idea, or object brought into form through endeavor. The instant of insight is often a key element to creation. There are artists that have ceremonies to help induce the inspired moment; sitting at Drafting Tables, in comfortable Drafting Chairs, or standing on a stage, or sitting on a particular bench in a park. It’s not the bench, the tables, or the stage that creates inspiration and inspiration sometimes feels like nothing more then an inclination. Inspiration may be nothing more then a vague desire to make a box not ugly, or it might be a vision that makes the heart weep. Regardless of the magnitude, inspiration comes from somewhere, from the void comes an idea, then there was motivation to bring something into the physical world.

One of the most difficult aspects of the creative arts is spending time with unshaped and unformed ideas. It is the place where the artist has a vague sense of an idea or concept, maybe a blank canvas, or an open dance floor, but hasn’t found the thread that will begin to connect the spaces or themes. It is a critical time for any artist and often many succumb to the desire to bring order to the vision too quickly. It is a bit like pulling a butterfly out of the cocoon before it is ready. In the middle of the chaos, ideas and thoughts are flying around and need time to bump and mingle until they begin to find a natural place to rest in the artists head.

Even something like painting a landscape requires far more then just plopping an easel down in the road and picking up the paints. There is the question of where to set the easel and what to focus on. Is it the sun washing over the alfalfa that caught the artists attention, or the reflection of the clouds in the marsh? Even an artist that plans to set up in a random spot, open their eyes and paint what is in front of them, has taken the time to be inspired by the possibility of randomness and finding the form in an arbitrary spot.

Taking the time to be still, to vision, feel, see, hear or even taste, provides a fertile ground where great visions are born. It is allowing the body to experience the world, imagined or real, that gives it the freedom to come into form. An architect will examine structures, walk through them, discover the texture of the wall with his hand and allow this to feed the brewing idea. A dancer will walk to a place on the stage, feel the music or urge to move and explore it.

Taking the time to live in the unknown is an important part of any creative vision. The vision will emerge out of the chaos and likely change dramatically as it is brought into form.