One way of fueling your own creativity is to actively seek out and absorb creative content. Nowadays, I have found it is very easy to scroll through social media occasionally interacting with something pretty or eye-catching. This is kind of not enough for me, and so, without venturing past my keyboard, I have attempted to do something a bit more involved. I have aimed to seek out and to understand better why particular artists are creating what they are.
Personally, I’ve never really rated the online community features of Redbubble before (‘Bubblemail’ seemed particularly quiet, and its own forums are currently in October 2018 being reformed due to heavy spamming). However, I have recently been perusing the artworks of others and looking up their individual websites and have found there are some very talented individuals using the platform.
What I found through RedBubble
I’ll start off with the Paper Crane which is one of my stand out favourites. His illustration work is so clever, well thought out and expertly designed. The about page on his website gave me a good understanding of what inspires his creativity. This seems to be someone who genuinely cares about the environment, and is creating content to further messages of the ever-pressing need for sustainability.
Rebbeca Rees Art – I found Rebecca’s site through the now-abandoned oriental artwork group on RedBubble. Her Shop on Etsy showcases a range of artworks inspired by the orient or animal kingdom or both. She states she is ‘inspired by the elegance and simplicity of Japanese sumi-e’. This is a practice of attempting to capture the essence of something with as few brush strokes as possible, and I think this notion translates nicely into her other works.
Whilst looking at other creators of abstract artworks I came across Fractalitious which is some kind of registered trademark or company that exists relating to an artist with quite a moving story. She has triumphed against adversity by overcoming disability. She has become a successful digital artist, creating fractal artworks and touring the US promoting her organisation.
I have also discovered the work of another established artist chimes with me as most of it is just, for want of a better word, cute – Nic Squirrell‘s work is aesthetically pleasing, youthful in style and fun. He produces many patterns and clever designs which I appreciate. Without reading too much into a bio since I couldn’t find one, I think his inspiration comes from nature, the towns and cities he visits and perhaps his ‘freeloading’ cats.
Reflections
By delving into the work of other people and their motivations it has given me a reason to reflect on my own attempts to bring more creativity and colour into the world around me. I currently create abstract shapes and mandalas, usually with central Chinese characters or esoteric symbols, at a rate of one or two a day.
To say they are all heavily laden with meaning and symbolic importance would be somewhat untrue… I think they are mostly decorative, and that I am creating them for the fun of it.
If you run a blog or just post on a content platform or social media, it may be worth creating a summary of other artistic creators who you admire and exploring the reasons for this. Digging deep into what gets your creative energy flowing can have a catalytic effect on inspiration.
