Are you lost on finding artistic inspiration?

There are definitely days where I feel like I am in a creative slump, I am not sure what I should be photographing, or creating to further my art and my career. I know I am not alone in this feeling. I am always hearing about how artists and especially photographers feel like they are in a dry spell of ideas or worse of motivation.

I have read many books on creativity and one thing I have learned is that it doesn’t just happen! You have to create the time and place for inspiration to come. You have to set aside time to look at creative works, find inspiration, learn, and to grow. For some this is a daily practice, for others it needs to be at least weekly, but for all creatives they need to set aside time on a regular basis to feed their creative soul.

This road trip was that for me. I went with the idea of getting to view the museum exhibit of incredible photographer Annie Leibovitz. I love her work! I had seen her images on the cover of so many magazines, but what made me fall in love with her art was when I got her book, A Photographer’s Life 1990-2005. Here I was able to see her personal photography right alongside her commercial magazine images. I read it as her life story with the ebb and flow as as artist creates. It spoke to me. So getting to see her work large and in print was a way to help feed my creative soul and provide some inspiration.

Find your muse~what inspires you! Make it a weekly practice to have creative time. This will look different for everyone, but it is needed to feed the soul. I have a friend who loves to watch movies to find her creativity. For me it looks like researching photographers and artists of the past or learning new techniques and practicing them until I feel I have perfected them. Don’t stop creating!