Muse

robmoors

There are a lot of artistic people running around on these fora, if not professional or unprofessional.

Which makes me wonder, do you as an artist (or not) have a muse. A muse can be anything ranging from a record to a person. I experience a lack of motivation and inspiration from time to time. Which basically sucks because I am a Professional GA (Graphical Artist).

So my question is do you have a muse and in what form does it represent itself? Or don't you believe that such a thing exists at all? And as a side question how do you battle loss or lack of motivation and inspiration (let's call those a design block to make it easier )?

Jackson

I'm afraid I'm of the opinion that... well I wouldn't say there's no such thing, but I certainly don't have one or have never felt the need for one, either living or inanimate. I love my girlfriend dearly, but (as an architect) I never look at her and think "Aha! To the computer, post-haste, for now the electrical layout has all become clear to me!".

I'll fly my cynical flag high and go as far as saying that it's remarkable how often musicians, artists and designers "muses" also happen to be attractive, slightly crazy young girls who also happen to be ****ing the aforementioned artist at the time.

I think having creative, interesting people around you definitely stimulates your creativity, but the notion of gaining inspiration from some bimbo (or himbo) sitting around looking pretty is a bit laughable.

If my creative juices aren't flowing, I don't even bother trying- I do something useful, sort my flat out, edit my SU components library, etc.

If I really need to get some designing done good books almost always do it for me, either design related (pretty pictures), art/architecture history and theory or philosophical. Heidegger's "Building Dwelling Thinking" is a peach, gets me going every time. Dammit, does that mean HE is my muse? I should say that I definitely DON'T share his political views.

Cool thread BTW.

jeff jacobs

Yea, I have a muse. It's sitting in the fridge next to some limes.

alan wood

Hi Rob,
Since I read the book, Calm at Work by Paul Wilson, maybe a couple of days a year I suffer form lack of motivation.
Best 'self help book' I have every read.

I have met many inspirational people in my life. My grandmother was probably my first, followed by my mother and now my wife. There are many others all of whom on occasions I think about. Mark and Tim, amazingly calm and highly motivated of individuals. They were my mental visions that I would 'try to be' after first reading that book.

The Calm at work title does not do the book justice. Its about life, how to stay motivated doing the less interesting jobs, and 1000's of other goods bits of advise.

Best bit of advise. Buy the book, lock yourself away for a few days, it took me three days to read it from front to back. Bought it at the age of 48. Wish I had it from a very early age.

cheers
Alan.

robmoors

@ Jackson: I believe that those books are your muse, for me a muse is not a certain thing or something like that but more something that helps you with inspiration not something that when you look at and you go like hey idea. It's something that helps.

For me inspiration comes from the architecture now! books, also my girlfriend just motivates me in general which I really am going to rely on this year. Music just speeds up my working process and rarely gives me inspiration.

Censored to protect your privacy Alan: Ill be looking into that book sounds good thanks for the tip!

lewiswadsworth

I'm an architect and sometimes a sculptor...as far as I know (since I am or was in a small way a classical scholar), I don't get a muse.

(These being nine inspirational demi-goddesses, daughters of Apollo.)

Calliope (Chief of the muses and muse of epic or heroic poetry--this was Homer's muse. Orpheus was her son by Morpheus.)
Clio (muse of history)
Erato (muse of love or erotic poetry, lyrics, and marriage songs)
Euterpe (muse of music and lyric poetry)
Melpomene (muse of tragedy)
Polyhymnia or Polymnia (muse of sacred song, oratory, lyric, singing and rhetoric)
Terpsichore (muse of choral song and dance)
Thalia (muse of comedy and bucolic poetry)
Urania (muse of astronomy)

With my luck, I'll only ever get a lamia...similar function in a way, but they suck your blood while making you a wonderful artist. But in the meantime, I'll settle for caffeine and science fiction novels.

monsterzero

My muse is my audience. I have so many ideas in my head that I need to express, and the best reward of that is to see and hear people react to the things I do. It's not praise I look for, but the notion that something might spark or open up in the audience's mind. This is fuel for my fire.

Generally what I have shown on this forum and my blog is going towards a comic book. I assume most people on this forum do not read comics, but that doesn't matter to me - I like to see how ideas are viewed. Hopefully, each one of the WIP shows something towards the themes the finished work will express. For now they appear as a jumble of incomplete and incongruous models. But they will interact and it does mean something, honest.

(it's not just vanity)