Finding Inspiration
Inspiration comes in a flash, striking with such ferocity it compels us to act. It is an incredible feeling to suddenly be so inspired you must drop what you are doing and go explore this new idea, letting your creativity flow, guiding you to draw, write, sculpt, create. It’s a powerful thing, inspiration, and it’s helped me create some of my finest work, but what causes the initial strike and, more importantly, how do we recreate the environment for a strike to happen?
There are three levels of creative energy derived from inspiration, and they are dependent on where the inspiration came from.
Requirements - You have a need to fill and constraints to follow, least amount of natural creative energy.
Mimicry - You see another’s work and see ways to improve or expand upon their idea. Moderate energy.
Epiphany - A sudden strike. Lightning bolt level energy.
Before we dive in, what I’m not going to discuss is how necessity breeds creativity and working within our limitations (a small shop, limited tools, etc.) forces us to think outside the box. I’ll leave that topic for a future post, so stay tuned.
Requirements
Often you receive requests with specific deliverables. Sometimes the requirements are loose enough you can flex your creative muscles and make it your own. Other times its prescribed. You are forced to stifle what you want to do so you can deliver what the client specified. This is forced inspiration. You have a project, you get to make it, but you don’t get a say in the output.
It’s not that you don’t want to do the work, you may very well enjoy it. When I receive an order to build something I’ve previously built I’m able to build it faster, make fewer mistakes, and innovate by creating jigs or processes that output a more consistent product. Plus I’ve already been creative, designed the original piece and now I get to focus on making instead of designing.
Mimicry
Those starting out in a craft will likely make many of their first items using mimicry. They’ll see someone else make an item and they will try to recreate it. Makers on the internet know this, that’s why they offer plans. They want to help you by providing plans, and for you to help them so they can continue to create unique items to inspire fellow crafts people to pick up their tools and build.
There’s nothing wrong with buying plans and building based on those. It’s how you learn to build, how to join, the elements of design, and more. They are a necessary step to sparking your imagination and being able to design your own builds and plans.
Mimicry is how I got into real woodworking. At first I built to fill a need, I had to replace the rotted roof on my shed, I built a trellis to replace a set of dead arborvitae. I made for function. It wasn’t until I made these tea boxes that I really got into woodworking. This is where I saw a project that inspired me to replicate it with the goal to build my skills. Thank you John Malecki for your video which set me on this journey.
The box that started it all.
All that to say, mimicry can provide incredible amounts inspirational, creative energy. As a beginner or a hobbyist, mimicry will be the best way to challenge yourself, to grow, and to become passionate enough to drive your need for more.
Epiphany
When you have one there’s no other feeling like it. It’s like being struck by lightning that fills you with this warm buzz of energy that flows into every fiber of your being. Back when you were in school and you were struggling with a concept, then suddenly, out of no where the puzzle pieces fell into place and you understood the problem and solved it. That’s the feeling I’m talking about. What once seemed impossible is possible.
That is what we strive for. To see in your mind exactly what you want to write, build, paint, or create. The trick is to teach yourself to hold onto it. Lightning is powerful, but fleeting. As quick as it comes it dissipates, and your job is to find out how to bottle it. To keep that feeling so it energizes you to overcome challenges.
The first step is to write down two things. One, your wonderful idea so you don’t forget and two, what caused the epiphany. You may not know the cause exactly, but write down the situation, what you saw, who you were talking to, what they said, what caught your attention out of the corner of your eye, any detail that stands out. It’s an odd step, but important for you to know what inspires you so you can look to those things in the future for epiphanies when inspiration isn’t coming.
Second step, keep the idea in your head, obsess over it. When I have a new design I draw it on paper to get the general concept. Then in my head I redraw and refine, refine, refine, adding details each time. Shaving off a corner here, rounding an edge, steepening angles, whatever it takes to challenge me as a designer and builder. Then I do the fun part. I figure out how I’ll build it which means I need to ask myself some questions.
What joinery do I use?
How do I assemble the piece with said joinery?
What’s the order of operations?
How do I cut the joinery? Do I have the capabilities?
Plus many, many more questions until I’ve exhausted my ability to think through potential issues and I have a perfect model in my mind which I’ve built so many times I can do it in my sleep. Then and only then does that design fade from the forefront of my mind and I can concentrate on other things. Sometimes this process takes hours, sometimes days or even weeks. That creative energy, the bottled lightning, it gives me energy to keep going and won’t let me stop until I’ve figured it all out and can confidently start the project.
To me, this is the best part of a project because I get to let my brain run wild. I get to create something that’s never been created before.
If that sounds inspiring to you but you are still building your skills and relying on mimicry, don’t be discouraged. Keep going and you’ll soon have an epiphany. Keep building and eventually you’ll have a project that you build all on your own, no plans, and mark that moment down because that’s the beginning of your next step.
Shameless plug, if you need inspiration, go check out and subscribe to my YouTube channel. I started making videos to give back, to inspire others like I was inspired, and to teach you how to build better furniture.