inspire others to find worthwhile things to create

Many people are still enamored with the idea of One Creator – a magical being who single-handedly created the entire universe.

From my study of the arts, I have found many individual creators I adore. And I’ve discovered that one of the things I like most about the arts is geting to see creations from vert different kinds of creators. The beauty comes from the diversity of creative sources – and not from the concept that the best creations come from a single artistic style, school, or individual creator.

My thoughts and preferences do nothing scientific to inform the debate on whether the universe was created by one single entity or by billions of different creative influences. But I like thinking out loud.

The goal is not to obtain or control uncommon beauty. A better goal is to work to find or to create uncommon beauty to share with others.

An implied question for the viewer when looking at an image is:

Do I wish I was seeing this from this point of view?

Because of this, I tend to have a personal preference for portraiture that is from eye level or below. I don’t wish to be in a position where I’m looking down at someone, where they must look up to me.

This is not to say that great portraits cannot come from higher points of view, but you may find many of your favorite portraits are from eye level, from a level of equal standing.

Be careful about looking to one person as a muse. If you make your creativity dependent on the feedback of one person, your creativity will likely be to susceptible to too few whims. When in doubt, don’t look to create art to please one person. Instead, seek to create art to please a culture forever.

I only want to write what I want to remember. This limits my writing tremendously.

Whether you’re trying to figure out what actions to take or what to create, consider asking yourself:

When others think of me, I want them to think of ____ (fill in the blank).

In those answers, you may find out more about yourself and you may find inspiration.

If you have an answer to the above question, you will likely have creative inspiration.

When you ask yourself the question: What do I want my life’s work to be? Whether the answer is a profession or a hobby. The time to begin doing more of your life’s work is now.

It’s not so important for me to aspire to create something worthwhile every day. It’s more important for me to find something someone else has created that is worthwhile and to encourage and compliment those creations and creators.

One of the secrets of literature is that it spends a great deal of time talking about the things few talk about but many think about often. Jane Austen’s stories are an archetypal example of this principle.