For all the artists out there, no matter what your medium(s), when do you feel most creative? When you are happy? When you are sad/depressed? When you are in love? etc...

For me, I think it's a balance of happy and depressed. I can be creative in different ways depending on the up or the down.

I've read of several artist who felt they were not at their best unless they were in a very blue mood. Carly Simon once said she could only write when she was depressed. Barbara Streisand said she was at her most creative in her career when she was pregnant with her son.

How about you?


(Kudos to Brandon, his siggie gave me the inspiration for this thread)

Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
True love will withstand ignorant eyes...

Space, the final frontier.
These are the voyages
of the Starship Enterprise...

When the deadline is tomorrow!

I'm truly at my best when I'm coming up from a sad moment in my life. You're at a middle point where you can see thing that you've never noticed before. It can almost feel surreal. Very inspiring - it takes you to a place you never imaged. Everything seems so vivid... ah the mind of an artist

Cheers

I'm most inspired after looking at the works of others, especially ones who's work I admire. It a great way to be motivated. I do it constantly to never lose the passion to be creative.

That's a great question. I've notice that when I'm depressed is when I'm at my peak creatively. Friends notice right away from my images. That's a great thing being that it gets me out of the hole. Negatively, when I've fallen for someone I spend too much time with or thinking of said person and lack the time and energy to devote to my craft. Hmm, someone break my heart. Kidding.

"For an artist to always evolve, they must wear their hearts on their sleeve and feel pain as much as they feel pleasure" A quote for my upcoming artwork.

Ok, I have to admit that most days, I don't feel inspired at all but then there are days when its like a creative streams comes out from my brain and flows through my hands. I design for a living so I create practically everyday and I love it. I wouldn't want it any other way. But it happens at odd hours, when I least expect it. I tend to be more inspired at night. Also who something has sparked my creative light, I start to design, take photos, write, whatever...

When am I happy? When am I sad/depressed? When am I in love? Hmmm... I think these apply to everyone, not just creative individuals but you always hear about musicians who feel that a difficult break up leads them to pour their heart out into a song so maybe some creative people, it helps to be sad, happy, what have you...

Ocean Beach.. taken 11/22/08

I agree with Leannada, it's all about the deadline that uncorks the creative juices. Asides from that, it's when I have a good cup of coffee and the caffeine flows through my system and I just BS on and on and on. There's always a gem within the BS that gets put in my "to make" sketchbook. Recently I've been obsessing over blacksmithing and ironwork, I've got some lamps and gates and lamp-gate combos I need to make.

Speaking of which, I have some projects due tomorrow morning. Oy. :p

when i have job to do.

for me, no job = no challenge = no creativity

Ditto for the deadlines. Creativity is something I just learned to turn on and off, like a light switch. It's not very often that I have something pop in my head and make me race off to the nearest piano any more.