When my creativity hits a wall, I look for inspiration in the work of the artists I love. For years, every time I see something that grabs my attention online, I right-click on the image and "Save As" into an ever-growing folder titled INSPIRATION. Now, as a means of keeping all of our creative juices flowing, I will randomly select ten images from my folder every week and share them here with you. I encourage you to follow the links to see more of each artist's work - there is always much more inspiration to be discovered!
Polyester foam
^ Etienne Gros ^
Stainless steel and wood | 2017
^ Youngmin Kang ^
Carved book | 2016-2017
^ Guy Laramee ^
Oil on mylar | 2017
^ Mike Lee ^
Oil on canvas | 1959
^ René Magritte ^
Charcoal, pastel and pencil on paper | 2017
^ Toyin Ojih Odutola ^
Graphic design
^ Alice Pesenti ^
Painting | 2017
^ Ana Popescu ^
Polished stainless steel posts | 2016
^ Phillip K. Smith III ^
Ceramic | 2016
^ Johnson Tsang ^
To "Save" a file implies keeping it as you found it. To "Save As" is to change it, to re-make it, to find something new that wasn't there before. There is an important distinction between plagiarizing someone else's work, and using it to unlock something in your own mind. In this section I will use the above images to unlock my creativity and see what comes out.
Every week, I will challenge myself to fill an entire page of my sketchbook with stream-of-consciousness ideas inspired by the images above. I challenge you to do the same! Feel free to share your thoughts and sketches in the comments below. My sketches will be quick and messy, and mostly futile, but every once in a while I hope a new and exciting idea finds its way onto the page.
This week I was most inspired by the Oddly Bookshelf by Youngmin Kang. His clever and playful bookshelf design reminded me of a playground seesaw, which lead me down the path of designing some new forms for the common seesaw.
If there's an artist/architect/designer whose work you find particularly inspiring, feel free to share their work in the comments below for consideration in future posts. Please do not share your own work, only the work of people who inspire you. Thanks for reading this edition of Save/As! Please resteem to share this resource with your fellow creative Steemians.
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