the world at large

Where else (excluding the specific world of visual art / design) do you draw inspiration from? Politics, Science, Culture, Religion, Psychology, etc.


Oh boy. Where don't I draw inspiration from? 


To be perfectly honest, I'd say that the vast majority of my inspiration comes from sources other than visual art and design. Sure, I have photographers and other graphic artists that I admire and may know by name, but I rarely (if ever) consult them for reference in the creation of my own work.


Instead, I look to writers, poets, activists, politicians, specific cultures, and the every day human being. Oh, and did I mention musicians? I don't believe I did. Allow me to do so now:


MUSIC, MUSIC, MUSIC. 


I could break it down into percentage of inspiration, but that'd be tedious for me and boring for you. Just know that music would be off the charts and visual artists would be barely perceptible. 


Being a photographer, I see. Every day sights morph into photographs for me. Constantly.


Being a writer, I think. Every day thoughts and events find themselves intertwined in some new vignette or story idea. Again, constantly. It does get exhausting, at times. Turning off your brain is harder than the anti-drug commercials make it seem.


And being an extreme music connoisseur, it's a rare occasion that I don't have some sort of music playing. Sometimes softer background songs, more often louder forefront tunage. In fact, as I typed in this sentence I recieved an email warning me of reaching my free Pandora listening limit. (Fffuuuuucckkkkk...!) 


Anyway, all of this noise - visial, audio, internal... ALL of it is then put forth into writings, ideas, photos, etc. It all swirls together and I pick out the pieces that would be best suited for a creative story or a weird poem or a staged photo. And when it gets to be too much I go out on a photo-loaded walk and blow off some steam. Sort things out.  Create my own therapy, and hopefully some interesting photographs while I'm at it. 


It's a process that's taken me a long time and a lot of pot to work out, but it's developing slowly but surely.