Inspiration: The Notorious Epiphany

You ever have that moment when you have an innate moment of realization that just completely, for lack of a better phrase, blows your mind? Some may recognize this as the renowned instant of inspiration that the creatively inclined desire for in order to influence their work to make it great--the epiphany.

This is a rare occurrence (I mean, if it were an everyday thing, it wouldn't have such a renowned reputation), and thus is to be grasped and held onto upon inception. I myself can remember one time when one came upon me. I was so excited that I simply had to tell someone about it. The only one in the room was my mother, so I attempted to explain the great moment of transcendence which had struck my brain. For those of you who have experienced the epiphany, you'll know what I'm talking about when I say that it makes a lot more sense in my head as opposed to on my tongue. I found myself stumbling over my words, trying desperately to make her understand just how magnificent this thought was--to no avail. All I received was a blank stare as it failed to offer the same effect.

Inspiration is a funny thing. There have been countless books, articles, and speeches written on this subject on how to gain this kind of revelation. Is this really something that is able to be attained by following a set of steps? How exactly does one acquire this state of mind? When I show people my art, one of the first things they ask me is "what was your inspiration?" Unable to answer them right away, I had to take a moment to really think about it. How was I inspired? It's not really something I think about when I'm actually painting or drawing; some things I create simply because I personally think it would look cool. Does personal taste count as inspiration? Perhaps not, but I am still able to function with it all the same. Why do we need this great moment of clarity then? It is then that I am able to think of the projects when I did have this marvelous feeling. I think the best way to describe it, is that it just makes things easier. With its presence, the process suddenly seems simple in all of it's complexity. A newly found joy is present, and the creativity just flows in a way that doesn't seem like the tedious work it feels like other days. The epiphany just adds to this and lasts a little bit longer--it is why it is so coveted.

Now I know that some of you may be wondering, what exactly was my astounding epiphany? Well, even though I hate it when people do this and I apologize accordingly, my lips are sealed on that subject. I already tried to explain it once and failed, so I would be doing you a disservice to set it up to fail again. It's like when someone builds something up so much, greatness is the only thing expected. Then once the content of their tall tales is revealed, if it isn't described properly to match the built up assumption, disappointment is then quick to follow. I believe that an epiphany should be a closely guarded secret; something to tap into from your own personal reservoir of inspiration so to say for those times when none of your creativity seems to sound amazing enough. If this secret was divulged, a little piece of something special would be lost in the inability to explain it. Inspiration is not always around, but when it is, it's imperative

that we make the best of its presence and hold on to what we can to save for future bland moments--and therein lies the key to the creative process. 

[These are a couple of my art pieces; the one of the left is one I completed with Inspiration on my side; the one on the right was done because it was assigned--notice any differences?]