How to get inspiration to come to you

Hi I’m Penny, creative coach and maker. I want to help you make the most of your creativity, whether that’s just for fun, or to make a living.

A creative magazine (Uppercase) that I read has just put out a call for submissions on the subject of inspiration.

They have asked for a map or diagram to show where inspiration comes from.

So of course I started thinking about where inspiration comes from for me.

I think most of mine start with the questions ‘what if…?’ or ‘can I…?’

I often see something someone else has done and wonder if I could do something similar. And while this starts as copying, it is also about problem solving as I try to work out how they did something.

And as I play it evolves so it never ends up looking like the starting point anyway.

What if…? tends to come in as I’m working on a project. What if I did this in blue? What if I changed this bit here? What if I try adding copper wire?

For me, inspiration very much comes from working on an idea and seeing where it takes me.

It means collecting ideas as they come to me (sketchbook/notebook at the ready), and then not holding them too tight as I work on them so I can be flexible and let them evolve.

But the other important part is making sure I actually go to my studio at a set time each week.

I try not to wait for inspiration to find me, or to feel in ‘the right mood’.

Your mind needs to be open for inspiration to be accepted and I find the best place to do that is in the studio, although it will come up in other places too (like the shower, where I don’t have a pen to write the idea down!).

It is only when I have works in progress that these questions pop up.

Scrolling on your phone or watching netflix isn’t going to help. It blocks your mind from making connections and makes you passive.

Yes I sometimes see things on Instagram that make me wonder how they did it. But I’d much rather see works in real life in galleries, museums, makers markets.

So where does your inspiration come from? And can you expand this list, or create a schedule to encourage inspiration, rather than just waiting for it to come to you?

Three questions to ask yourself now:

• Where do you find inspiration?

• How can you make your mind more open to it?

• Do you have a set creative routine?

If those feel too hard to answer on your own, but you feel like an answer is important, then that’s when a creative coach can come in. Contact me!