Where to get creative inspiration

If this facade could speak, would it be cooing, swearing, silent, erudite? Keep practising scales. Architectural problems and propositions have many scales simultaneously — keep ranging across them. Gather inquisitive and reflective people around you. The rapid bouncing back and forth of an idea can generate compelling concepts at amazing speed. Once there's an idea, turn it upside down and take it seriously for a moment — even if it seems silly.

We all have a sense of the sublime — use it to test your propositions as rigorously as logic and functionality. If you have a good idea, stick to it. Especially if realising the project is a long and demanding process, try to keep true to the spirit of the initial idea.

Give yourself plenty of time to do nothing. Train journeys are good. Be open to your surroundings. I try to find inspiration in the character of the place I'm exhibiting in.

It helps me if I can respond to something that is already there. Always have something to write with. I seldom draw these days, but I need a pen in my hand to think. I like reading and watching movies, but mostly I find that it's things I have seen or read a long time ago that come back to me. The things that you found inspiring when you were starting out usually stay with you.

I love silence. I can't listen to music while I work and I need to be alone. I go through messy phases and tidy phases. Being messy during a tidy phase is never good, and vice versa.

Collaborate Go on a journey with someone who is as different to you as chalk and cheese. I am inspired by the dialogue between two different bodies, two different minds, two different ways of expressing a single idea. Observe I observe my surroundings acutely — an animal in the city streets, a man in the wilderness. Displace yourself I am always inspired by things that are placed in an unfamiliar territory.

Even after 37 years, I still feel displaced within my own body: I have never felt completely at ease with it. Find stories I am inspired by stories of people, of communities, of different cultures, of new history that we are writing or forming.

Mostly, I am inspired by children and their grandparents: the way their faces dance. Let go The subconscious part of myself creates far more interesting things than the conscious part can ever dream of.

Don't wait for a good idea to come to you. Start by realising an average idea — no one has to see it. If I hadn't made the works I'm ashamed of, the ones I'm proud of wouldn't exist. Leave the house. I did so partly to get out more, as I was spending too much time surrounded by the same objects, within the same walls. The sense of guilt I feel when my dogs are indoors forces me out at regular intervals.

One of my favourite new ideas came about when I stopped to examine a weed growing in the forest I walk in. Hard work isn't always productive. Your brain needs periods of inactivity. I think of it as a field lying fallow; keep harvesting and the crops won't mature.

Don't restrict yourself to your own medium. It is just as possible to be inspired by a film-maker, fashion designer, writer or friend than another artist.

Cross-pollination makes for an interesting outcome. Be brief, concise and direct. Anyone who over-complicates things is at best insecure and at worst stupid. Children speak the most sense and they haven't read Nietzsche.

Don't try to second-guess what people will want to buy. Successful artists have been so because they have shown people something they hadn't imagined. If buyers all knew what they wanted before it had been made, they could have made it themselves, or at least commissioned it. Don't be afraid to scrap all your hard work and planning and do it differently at the last minute.

It's easier to hold on to an idea because you're afraid to admit you were wrong than to let it go. Don't expect inspiration to happen when anyone else is watching.

It usually happens when you are on your own, and it's gone in a second. Inspiration on stage is a controlled version of what you might experience in the practice room. As opera singers, we are bound by many rules — musically, dramatically, interpretatively. When inspiration strikes, you have to hope that the other 10 people on stage will give you space to wallow in your "moment".

Try not to analyse other voices and interpretations too much. Of course we gain inspiration from the greats, but it is best found in the the opera's score or in the poetry. If this doesn't inspire you, then you are in the wrong job. Mistakes can be inspiring — allow yourself to take risks, and do what scares you.

People might remember the colour of your dress and what encore you sang, but no one will remember if you forgot a word or if your phrasing didn't go to plan. Remember that art is everywhere. It's amazing what you can find inspiring on the No bus from Peckham. Alcohol and singing are not a good combination — not in opera, anyway. The more you drink, the uglier you sound. Be kind to your voice.

If you want it to inspire you, you have to inspire it, with lots of rest, steam, sweets and a good talking to every now and again. Don't Google yourself or your reviews. It can only end in misery — you either believe the crap or the good, or none of it at all. Let the audience into your world and you are bound to receive inspiration from them.

Sometimes even the man asleep at the back has inspired me to sing with a little more "edge". Get some perspective. I always thought I had to have music every second of every day, or I wouldn't survive. The truth is that when I step back from it and learn to enjoy the more mundane aspects of life, I appreciate my music so much more.

Hang on in there. Inspiration can come at any time, even after it feels like you haven't been getting anywhere. Keep your stamina up, don't force too hard, and trust that you will find your way. Try to create an atmosphere where people feel free to take risks. Fear can shut down creativity, as can the pressure to impress. Enable the power of the group, so that what can be collectively achieved transcends the pressure upon any single person. Trust the ingenuity and instinctiveness of actors.

Surround them with the right conditions and they'll teach you so much. You cannot overprepare. Enjoy being as searching and thorough as possible before you begin, so you can be as free as possible once you've started.

Questions often open the doors of the imagination, even if we feel we should provide answers. Embrace new challenges. When we're reaching for things, we tend to be more creative. In France, a craft brewery is coming to the rescue with its line of particularly aromatic beers. Released to accompany the track Always Together With You, the promo takes viewers on a journey through both the beauty and destruction we have created on Earth.

We catch up with him about capturing their unique vibe and on his wider creative process. The tongue-in-cheek campaign from Quality Meats highlights a specific danger for men who catch Covid in an ongoing effort to get people in the US jabbed.

Gem Fletcher profiles Brooklyn-based photographer Tonje Thilesen, whose image-making explores our precarious coexistence with the natural world, and spans fashion, portraiture, and observational photography. Focusing on an unlikely friendship that forms between a young boy and his new intergalactic companion, the spot is all about the little things that matter during the festive season. I love the simplicity of this blog and the things they share are very inspiring.

Abduzeedo : A successful and well-known popular blog about design, including plenty of inspiration and tutorials to support other creatives.

They curate the most inspirational works out there and share them through this collection of projects. Beautifully designed and always refreshing. Graphic Exchange : Fabien Barral is a happy graphic designer whose innovative and unique designs attract clients from around the world.

Design Week : Design news, inspiration and jobs, this is an essential read for any discerning graphic designer. Logo Design Love : Does exactly what it says on the tin, a blog that shares logo designs that we'll love. Published by AIGA, the professional association for design, the oldest and largest not-for-profit membership organization for design in the United States.

Feature Shoot : Feature Shoot is a photography magazine based on all kinds of genres — fine art, portraits, documentary, still life Expect tips, advice and inspiring work from some of the world's best photographers. Ain't Bad : Aint-Bad Magazine is a quarterly publication that promotes new photographic art. Founded in Savannah, Georgia by five emerging photographers. Bored Panda : Not just a website for fun, Bored Panda shares loads of inspiring work from artists, designers and, in this case, photographers.

Flickr Blog : The companion blog to Flickr, showcasing a huge range of photography from across the globe. PetaPixel : Established in May of , PetaPixel is a leading blog covering the wonderful world of photography with inspiration, tips and advice.

They are based in San Francisco and Los Angeles respectively. Guardian In Pictures : The Guardian's own popular 'news in pictures' section. And if you download the iPad app you'll be able to follow 'pro tips', learning how to take similar shots. Design Sponge : A daily website dedicated to home and product design run by Brooklyn-based writer, Grace Bonney. Poppytalk : Poppytalk is a Canadian design blog collecting inspiration and promoting emerging design talent. Apartment Therapy : An American blog that covers just about anything and everything to do with interior design.

Yes, it focuses on apartments and small living, but there is so much more to discover. Fabric of my Life : A London interior stylist shares interesting images for inspiration. A fascinating and inspiring site. Dezeen : The architecture and interior design bible, Dezeen brings you all the latest industry news, inspiration and insight. CocoCozy : A Los Angeles native, Coco leads a double life: an executive by day and an interior design blogger and home furnishings designer by night.

Join 30, creatives to enjoy a regular dose of inspiration and motivation, delivered to your inbox every Tuesday. Creative Boom celebrates, inspires and supports the creative community. Launched in , we explore the best in creativity and deliver news, inspiration, insight and advice to help you succeed. Written by: Katy Cowan 18 December