Music and the Creative Soul

     So I wanted to talk about something that is very close to my heart and that I feel is also a key aspect in my artistic process. But before hand I think it is important to get the proper mind set. When creating a piece of art we are not creating a series of colorful blots that appear in whatever out chosen medium is. We are communicating an idea, a thought, an image, an emotion, a feeling and many more things all simultaneously through the piece. It maybe hard for some of us to get in touch with this side of ourselves. It may be even harder to capture all of that in a single still image. There is no movement to catch the eye and throw the viewer into a feeling of speed, no sound to caress the mind into a state of lulled relaxation and there are no words to lead the mind into understanding. All there is in the image before you.


This is were I find music comes into play. I say music because it is what connects me to that side of myself. It is what leads me to those places where I can formulate charcters and worlds and entire stories that capture the emotion and feeling I want. The song "Aqueous Transmission" by Incubus connects me to a side that is easy and calm I can visualize scenes of youthful innocence and adventure. Characters that are so small in the scheme but also incredibly close to the heart.

     When I need songs that pull out the side of my creative mind that live in the dark corners of a city. Moving fast, leaping over buildings fighting in the dead of night I listen to songs like "Crash Thru Walls" by O.U.O..

     These are just a few songs that make me feel a certain way and inspire some of my works. I understand that not everyone is a musical person but there are other things that I pull inspiration from. Films are one of these things. I watch movies like Disney's "Treasure Planet" and get a rush of adrenaline as well as freedom when Jim is Solar-surfing. I look at the shapes used and the angles/perspectives and try and grab that emotion for an instant and hold on to it and use those things in my art.

What helps inspire you? What makes you more creative and helps you tap into areas of yourself that fuel your art work and makes it alive?