Interesting topic. Since I’m a neuropsychiatrist, I thought it might be illuminating to think about this from the perspective of what’s happening in your brain. If you’re engaged in a creative process, whatever it is (a painting, novel, pottery piece or a plan for your business), it’s on your mind. It’s on your mind 24/7, day and night, awake and asleep, consciously and non-consciously. All that time your brain is working on the problem, whatever that “problem” might be. And at some point, it spits out “the answer” — the idea for a book cover, the solution to a math problem, the ideal come-back for your dialogue.
The famous mathematician, Henri Poincaré wrote about this very experience in the early 1900s. He had been working on a very difficult, unsolved problem (that I do not understand!), and then he took a break to go on vacation. While away he boarded a trolley, and he reports: "At the moment when I put my foot on the step the idea came to me, without anything in my former thoughts seeming to have paved the way for it..." He went on to write that breakthrough insights come after intense immersion and hard work. But they often arrive when your mind is on something else.
The creative result comes about because of the work of complex neural processing. My co-author, Elizabeth Roper Marcus, and I write about these sorts of ideas in our substack —“Two Friends Talk About Writing and the Brain.”
To circle back to the inspiration/procrastination question, it’s understandable that this would be the dilemma! You must be invested in the project and working on it. Your intense involvement means that you are setting the stage for new ideas to emerge from your creative brain and often when you think you’re procrastinating.
I love this topic. I do think inspiration is part of the process— and an important one. And it’s not necessarily “at the forefront” at every stage of the process, (which might be what Guiseppe was referring to). There’s lots of elbow grease and commitment (WORK) — no getting around it. But as in the example you gave above — the inspiration is the overarching “why”. The mysterious part that I want at my drawing table.
I find inspiration gets me vs me going to get it. And it “gets me” or plays with me more often, I believe, knowing that I’m a professional who will follow through with the work (as best I can, anyway). And there no museum trips required (tho’ l love museums). Wonder, curiosity, openness, and the willingness to engage (work on) the idea helps the flow.
Then the work phase. And this part can feel sometimes like dancing with but just as often, wrestling with, that inspiration! Sweat is involved turning it into form! 😅 And sometimes a break - a museum trip or time away IS required to keep up momentum.
Hey Kimberly, thanks for this comment. You'll get more chance 'cause I'm going to revisit it either this week or next. I've already changed my tune a bit on some of the stuff I was thinking on Friday! LOL. Sigh.
I just restacked this. I've been writing on the same subject. I don't know what I write about, but it has a light that dims or brightens as I work with the words.
Obviously the real lesson here is we should just have 8-year-olds settle all debates from the get-go. I really enjoyed listening to the podcast interview and this is a great companion piece.
I really enjoyed the podcast. For some reason in the last month, your name, books, and art keep showing up in my life. I Absolutely love your collage work. Your grasshopper ended up on a mood board I made for a story I'm working on illustrating. It reminds me to play and let go of realism. And it's just fun to look at.
Regarding inspiration, it dawned on me that Giuseppe's thoughts were about SEEKING inspiration. This made me think about seeking happiness. It seems to me the more you look for both, the more illusive they are. When you are an active participant in life and art making both happiness and Inspiration appear like gifts from the Universe. All we have to do is take notice.
I remembered this quote from Picasso. "Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working."
What is working? Is play a part of work? Is going for a walk in nature part of work? I believe it is.
I love the questions you posed to the kids, and their answers are brilliant. I hope those kids will always know these answers and continue to be inspired throughout their lives.
What a great little post here. Nice connection to the seeking of happiness. There are other things like that, that stay just on the periphery and play hard to get, aren't there?
Hi Brian, Well, you inspired me to write an article on inspiration on the Touchonian for my readers. I think it might be a week full of articles now that I am thinking about it. The first one is scheduled for Monday with a link over to this article. I think you are onto something with 'curiosity'. But there are a lot of different angles to contemplate. I am going to try to explore them. And of course there is 'work'. another important element.
On the subject of going to museums, When I go to one, I walk quickly through the whole thing just to take an inventory of what is showing then I mentally note which ones I want to actually look at. Then I go back and look at those specific works in more detail and absorb them. But a lot of the time I am looking at how different artists are solving problems that I might be thinking about in the studio and am wondering how other artists dealt with those particular problems. I might say to myself. "Oh yeah, that's a good idea. I'll try that." Sometimes I come across a surprise, something interesting. Whether it inspires action from me in my own work is another subject.
This is great! I noticed while I was writing yesterday that I was not writing something I believe to be true. But instead I was using the writing, this newsletter, to figure out what I believe and try to make sense of this. As a result, I’ve already thought other things. Another comment pointed out how ideas often just pop into one’s brain when one is doing laundry for example. Which is totally true. So how does that fit into my “sit down and do the work” hypotheses?
And you’re right about the way museums work. I was probably disingenuous about “I just like looking at art” because I do that too. I also do that while reading and looking at illustrated books, and even while scrolling instagram. “How did this artist do that and will that work for me?”
Looking forward to reading what you’ve got coming up, Cecil.
>>>Another comment pointed out how ideas often just pop into one’s brain when one is doing laundry for example. Which is totally true. So how does that fit into my “sit down and do the work” hypotheses?<<<
Yes I was thinking about that too in my article. I think things will pop into your head seemingly randomly but it is usually in the context of the general atmosphere of the creative at work. We are constantly tending a garden like Joan Miro says. That will be part of article #2
I enjoyed reading this very much Brian. I don’t know if I believe inspiration comes through the work though, for me, it arrives in the shower or folding the laundry, when I’m walking the dogs or doing the washing up, or any time when my mind is free to wander and connect the unconnected and do wild weird wonderful things… I think the ideas and inspiration develop with the ‘work’ but the birth of the idea is something else…! I wrote about it a while ago, just some simple thoughts of my own…https://open.substack.com/pub/whileiwasdrawing/p/where-does-inspiration-come-from?r=1l11kb&utm_medium=ios
You are of course 100% correct that inspiration definitely happens while you’re out doing something else. I thought about that a lot while I was writing this but it kept leading me astray and off the main point that I was trying to make. It’s a subtle difference to me and one needs the other. What I mean is that this lightning strike while I’m doing laundry, for example, doesn’t happen without my having sat down and got to work. It’s usually when I’ve hit some wall, or trying to solve some problem during the process that this sort of thing occurs. After a difficult session of writing, I like to go for a run or a bike ride. Things I didn’t see while I was writing are suddenly visible.
AND, yes, the true birth-out-of-thin-air of an idea probably doesn’t happen often while sitting at the word processor or drawing table. It can be anywhere. But it’s probably not while you’re at some art museum looking for it. So I suppose the curiosity part is more important than the work part, in that case. Thanks for the comment. I need to go for a run now and think about this.
Yes, indeed. Inspiration to draw a million things and write a million more only comes to me because drawing and writing are things that I love to and want to do, so in that way, I guess it must come through the work… if the work is something other, then the inspiration would be something other too… food for thought! Enjoy my your run 🏃
Interesting topic. Since I’m a neuropsychiatrist, I thought it might be illuminating to think about this from the perspective of what’s happening in your brain. If you’re engaged in a creative process, whatever it is (a painting, novel, pottery piece or a plan for your business), it’s on your mind. It’s on your mind 24/7, day and night, awake and asleep, consciously and non-consciously. All that time your brain is working on the problem, whatever that “problem” might be. And at some point, it spits out “the answer” — the idea for a book cover, the solution to a math problem, the ideal come-back for your dialogue.
The famous mathematician, Henri Poincaré wrote about this very experience in the early 1900s. He had been working on a very difficult, unsolved problem (that I do not understand!), and then he took a break to go on vacation. While away he boarded a trolley, and he reports: "At the moment when I put my foot on the step the idea came to me, without anything in my former thoughts seeming to have paved the way for it..." He went on to write that breakthrough insights come after intense immersion and hard work. But they often arrive when your mind is on something else.
The creative result comes about because of the work of complex neural processing. My co-author, Elizabeth Roper Marcus, and I write about these sorts of ideas in our substack —“Two Friends Talk About Writing and the Brain.”
To circle back to the inspiration/procrastination question, it’s understandable that this would be the dilemma! You must be invested in the project and working on it. Your intense involvement means that you are setting the stage for new ideas to emerge from your creative brain and often when you think you’re procrastinating.
This is excellent!
I’ve been planning to write more about this. I’m glad you left this comment. It very much fits into where I was going. Thank you.
Thank you! There is so much to write about in this realm. Wondering where you were thinking of taking it!
I love this topic. I do think inspiration is part of the process— and an important one. And it’s not necessarily “at the forefront” at every stage of the process, (which might be what Guiseppe was referring to). There’s lots of elbow grease and commitment (WORK) — no getting around it. But as in the example you gave above — the inspiration is the overarching “why”. The mysterious part that I want at my drawing table.
I find inspiration gets me vs me going to get it. And it “gets me” or plays with me more often, I believe, knowing that I’m a professional who will follow through with the work (as best I can, anyway). And there no museum trips required (tho’ l love museums). Wonder, curiosity, openness, and the willingness to engage (work on) the idea helps the flow.
Then the work phase. And this part can feel sometimes like dancing with but just as often, wrestling with, that inspiration! Sweat is involved turning it into form! 😅 And sometimes a break - a museum trip or time away IS required to keep up momentum.
Thanks for the opportunity to chat about this!
Hey Kimberly, thanks for this comment. You'll get more chance 'cause I'm going to revisit it either this week or next. I've already changed my tune a bit on some of the stuff I was thinking on Friday! LOL. Sigh.
See how inspiration takes you on a curly path! 😅
I just restacked this. I've been writing on the same subject. I don't know what I write about, but it has a light that dims or brightens as I work with the words.
Obviously the real lesson here is we should just have 8-year-olds settle all debates from the get-go. I really enjoyed listening to the podcast interview and this is a great companion piece.
I really enjoyed the podcast. For some reason in the last month, your name, books, and art keep showing up in my life. I Absolutely love your collage work. Your grasshopper ended up on a mood board I made for a story I'm working on illustrating. It reminds me to play and let go of realism. And it's just fun to look at.
Regarding inspiration, it dawned on me that Giuseppe's thoughts were about SEEKING inspiration. This made me think about seeking happiness. It seems to me the more you look for both, the more illusive they are. When you are an active participant in life and art making both happiness and Inspiration appear like gifts from the Universe. All we have to do is take notice.
I remembered this quote from Picasso. "Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working."
What is working? Is play a part of work? Is going for a walk in nature part of work? I believe it is.
I love the questions you posed to the kids, and their answers are brilliant. I hope those kids will always know these answers and continue to be inspired throughout their lives.
Gosh Sarah!
What a great little post here. Nice connection to the seeking of happiness. There are other things like that, that stay just on the periphery and play hard to get, aren't there?
Hi Brian, Well, you inspired me to write an article on inspiration on the Touchonian for my readers. I think it might be a week full of articles now that I am thinking about it. The first one is scheduled for Monday with a link over to this article. I think you are onto something with 'curiosity'. But there are a lot of different angles to contemplate. I am going to try to explore them. And of course there is 'work'. another important element.
On the subject of going to museums, When I go to one, I walk quickly through the whole thing just to take an inventory of what is showing then I mentally note which ones I want to actually look at. Then I go back and look at those specific works in more detail and absorb them. But a lot of the time I am looking at how different artists are solving problems that I might be thinking about in the studio and am wondering how other artists dealt with those particular problems. I might say to myself. "Oh yeah, that's a good idea. I'll try that." Sometimes I come across a surprise, something interesting. Whether it inspires action from me in my own work is another subject.
This is great! I noticed while I was writing yesterday that I was not writing something I believe to be true. But instead I was using the writing, this newsletter, to figure out what I believe and try to make sense of this. As a result, I’ve already thought other things. Another comment pointed out how ideas often just pop into one’s brain when one is doing laundry for example. Which is totally true. So how does that fit into my “sit down and do the work” hypotheses?
And you’re right about the way museums work. I was probably disingenuous about “I just like looking at art” because I do that too. I also do that while reading and looking at illustrated books, and even while scrolling instagram. “How did this artist do that and will that work for me?”
Looking forward to reading what you’ve got coming up, Cecil.
>>>Another comment pointed out how ideas often just pop into one’s brain when one is doing laundry for example. Which is totally true. So how does that fit into my “sit down and do the work” hypotheses?<<<
Yes I was thinking about that too in my article. I think things will pop into your head seemingly randomly but it is usually in the context of the general atmosphere of the creative at work. We are constantly tending a garden like Joan Miro says. That will be part of article #2
From the mouth of babes...and whatnot
Y’all are so wise…fun fun fun thoughts! Now, why am i only inspired to fold laundry? ;)
I enjoyed reading this very much Brian. I don’t know if I believe inspiration comes through the work though, for me, it arrives in the shower or folding the laundry, when I’m walking the dogs or doing the washing up, or any time when my mind is free to wander and connect the unconnected and do wild weird wonderful things… I think the ideas and inspiration develop with the ‘work’ but the birth of the idea is something else…! I wrote about it a while ago, just some simple thoughts of my own…https://open.substack.com/pub/whileiwasdrawing/p/where-does-inspiration-come-from?r=1l11kb&utm_medium=ios
You are of course 100% correct that inspiration definitely happens while you’re out doing something else. I thought about that a lot while I was writing this but it kept leading me astray and off the main point that I was trying to make. It’s a subtle difference to me and one needs the other. What I mean is that this lightning strike while I’m doing laundry, for example, doesn’t happen without my having sat down and got to work. It’s usually when I’ve hit some wall, or trying to solve some problem during the process that this sort of thing occurs. After a difficult session of writing, I like to go for a run or a bike ride. Things I didn’t see while I was writing are suddenly visible.
AND, yes, the true birth-out-of-thin-air of an idea probably doesn’t happen often while sitting at the word processor or drawing table. It can be anywhere. But it’s probably not while you’re at some art museum looking for it. So I suppose the curiosity part is more important than the work part, in that case. Thanks for the comment. I need to go for a run now and think about this.
Yes, indeed. Inspiration to draw a million things and write a million more only comes to me because drawing and writing are things that I love to and want to do, so in that way, I guess it must come through the work… if the work is something other, then the inspiration would be something other too… food for thought! Enjoy my your run 🏃