Where do ideas come from?
It’s a question I’m often asked. And currently it is the subject of much of my studio work.
I’m developing a series of visual metaphors for creative thinking and where ideas come from. In this image, I think of the color swatches as data. In my journal entry below, you can see me thinking through some of my artistic influences. I adapted the idea for doodling my influences from Austin Kleon’s book maps and artistic family trees.
This painting is one of several different metaphors for generating creative ideas.
I’m a huge fan of Austin Kleon. He’s most well known for his trilogy of books on creativity, the first of which is “Steal Like and Artist”. Debbie Millman’s interview with him from “Design Matters” is a real gem.
Austin Kleon reminds me how important it is to be willing to be a beginner. (Ah, humility, my old friend!) And, he encourages people to explore their interests and curiosities, which is great. He also encourages explicitly looking for artistic influences. But the thing I am thinking about today is the post he wrote about mapping his reading. When he maps his reading, he can see how the books are talking to each other in his head. I think this metaphor can apply to artistic influences and other input as well.
My adapted version of mapping books.
A week or two after I made the painting above, I visited the Philip Guston show at the MFA Boston with some artist friends. It was inspiring to see the show with them, and through their eyes. Over lunch, I shared some of the ideas I’ve been having about mapping creative thought, and I showed them a photo of the painting above. Karen immediately related the funnel shape to a uterus. So obviously, I had to go home and incorporate that idea into the metaphor as well.
In the original image, I have partial swirl doodles which look like they’ve moved into the picture and positioned themselves above the funnel.
Reading and writing, looking and doodling, along with conversation, are some the best ways I’ve found for stimulating creative ideas. I’m actively looking for ways other people do this, so please send me a description of your methods and (if you have them) metaphors.
Here are my pals from the grad program at Mass Art. Karen Cass and Tom Hoffmann are two of my cherished longtime creative thought collaborators.