The Works of Mark EdgemonTHE ART OF INSPIRATION
The Works of Mark Edgemon from All-Creatures.org

Mark Edgemon has been writing for 30 years. He writes and publishes short stories, articles, poetry and scripts, as well as, produces audio comedy productions for over 700 radio stations nationwide.

Contact Mark through his website, Creator and the Catalyst.

THE ART OF INSPIRATION

The very essence of inspiration is art itself! It is art without form until a germination effect takes place, when a human spirit receives the inspiration and formally makes a commitment to a creative process that brings the inspiration to life. It is similar to the way a child is conceived and develops in the womb, until such a time that the child is ready to be born and presented to the world as new life.

Art has a life of it’s own when released to the world. If it is true art, it stimulates response from others, who are moved in some way and brings about the desire from the audience to show appreciation to the artist.

The enemies of inspiration are these three: doubt, anger and apathy. Any one of these mindsets can extinguish the effects of inspiration and either hinder or prevent art’s conception.

Doubt comes in the form of self-delusion, which is a mindset initiated by the artist, in order to prevent failure which would aggravate the artist’s pride. It is also used to save the energy that would be invested into the creative process to bring the inspiration to life. Finally, it is a form of justification for the artist, not to feel badly that they ignored the challenge of bringing the inspiration to fruition.

Failure is a valuable part of the creative process. Failure is inevitable for the artist for it takes countless failures to increase one’s skills and abilities to perfect the work they strive to do. When merged with self-determination, failure is a valued assistant to the artist.

Anger is the opposite mindset of creation. Internal anger steers the artist’s mind to destroy instead of to create. It blocks the essential receptors of the brain, necessary to motivate the artist and bring them joy through their work. Anger projects through the artist and sends an underlying message through the art that is picked up by the audience. Even if the anger is not evident in the image of the art, the motivation of the artist, projects through their art. It is a silent message.

Apathy is a mindset that occurs after the artist has suffered depression for an extensive period of time and has created the belief that no matter what is done by the artist…failure is inevitable. Well this is true; failure is apart of daily life. What is a misconception is that the artist cannot overcome the failures they are faced with each and every day.

In order to remove these obstacles, the artist must replace them with trusted allies. These allies are; joy, energy and hope. The artist is automatically faced with the enemies of the creative process when receiving inspiration and so the battle cannot be won without the artist’s allies.

Joy in one’s work and with their own life, stimulates one’s self-determination. It provides the artist with the fuel needed to overcome the failures that are apart of the perfecting of one’s art and the hindrances to bringing it to life. The artist cannot depend on the encouragement of others, for if they do, they are held hostage by the whims of others. Most people who are not artists do not understand the creative process and cannot help the artist with the needed encouragement to move the artist forward. This is why the artist must be self-determined and self-motivating and the only way to achieve that is through an abundant supply of joy.

This can be achieved through outside stimulus other than in the area of the artist’s craft. Allowing one’s mind to be stimulated by non art such as fresh air, good food, rest and so on as well as art and creativity that is outside of the artist’s area of interest, will bring about the needed supply of joy to help the artist advance his art until completion.

In Physics, energy is needed to change matter from one form to another. The physical body must have energy to function. So inspiration needs energy in order to be changed from thought into a physical form. Therefore, an artist’s health plays a major role in their ability to act on the inspiration they receive. On the other hand, it has been founded through scientific study that art and creativity enhances the function of a person’s aging brain. It has been discovered that creative activity can stimulate the brain and keep people healthy as they age. This conclusion has been substantiated by Dr. Gene Cohen of the Center on Aging, Health and Humanities at George Washington University.

Hope for the artist is that their art will have a lasting effect on those around them and their audience at large. That their art will inspire others and provide the artist with the positive feedback they need to continue creating.

There is a purpose for all artists and that purpose is to create, as they are inspired.

Inspiration does not have to be understood. The creative mind can be inspired without the understanding of what the inspiration means. Inspiration is an end unto itself. The sole purpose of inspiration is to be inspired. Inspiration speaks to the language of the spirit and many times the mind cannot comprehend the language.

But art speaks for itself. It moves the audience to appreciation for the art, the gratification of the art and the inspiration to create for themselves, as they too are inspired.

Copyright © 2008 Mark Edgemon

 

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