Quote o' the Day

... So, when does inspiration strike and can we control it?

Gwen Stefani says it much more eloquently than I can:

“Sometimes it's so hard to find what it is I'm trying to say.  People might think you can turn creativity on and off, but it's not like that.  It just kind of comes out.  A mash up of all these things you collect in your mind.  You never know when it's gonna happen, but when it does...it's like magic.  It's just that simple and it's just that hard.”  -- Gwen Stefani

If what Gwen said above is true, and, in my experience, it is, then the answer is no - we can't control when inspiration strikes.  And that means that when it does, we must be prepared to drop our plans and follow it.

So let's summarize my hypothesis:

If, to maximize your chances of creating great art, you have to pursue inspiration every time it strikes and, if you never know when it's going to strike, then, to produce great work, you will, necessarily have to "blow off" some tasks if you want to take advantage of that inspiration.

So you tell me - when inspiration does strike, should you head to the studio and start creating or should you run errands?

And the funny thing is, the more you create, the more it happens.  It's a self-sustaining feedback loop.  ...

from:  Why Great Artists Should Procrastinate
              by Clint Watson

at:  http://faso.com/brushbuzz/links/4650    <-- a good read