Brandon Stosuy - Stay Inspired: Cultivating Curiosity and Growing Your Ideas (A Self-Guide) Finding Motivation for Your Creative Work

Editor: Hayley Salmon

Freelance Editor: Karrie Witkin

Designers: Kristian Henson and Jenice Kim

Production Manager: Larry Pekarek

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020944921

ISBN: 978-1-4197-4652-9

eISBN: 978-1-64700-377-7

Text 2021 Brandon Stosuy

Cover 2021 Abrams

Published in 2021 by Abrams Image, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

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Theres a mythological artist that I sometimes wonder aboutsomeone who goes in and knows exactly what the work is and follows the formula and has it all figured out. That mythological life seems easier. Its also antithetical to all of my intereststhe creative process itself, play, discovery, and push/pull around the idea of too much.

Annie Bielski
(Visual artist, writer)

A line gets framed somehow, and whether Im watching a movie or outside or just woke up, I have to immediately write it down. Sometimes I can tell when Im going to write a poem, like Im in a state. But the only ritual for poetry is a kind of attentiveness, being aware of myself and not letting a line dissipate.

Eileen Myles
(Poet, writer, author of Chelsea Girls, Cool for You)

Theres a stereotypical notion of inspiration. In that scenario you may see a flash of light or some kind of mystical visitation; youre struck by an idea and creativity flows from you, uncontrollably, as if youre possessed. This has never happened to me. Inspiration is more complex and complicated than that, and usually not quite so dramatic. Which isnt to say its less magical: Finding an idea you want to keep and continue to grow is exciting.

The thunderbolt notion of inspiration, while poetically appealing, is a bit passive. The process of inspiration, which takes time and trial and error, is active. So lets begin by removing the idea of inspiration as something happening to you and reframe it as something you can make happen.

Real-life inspiration involves problem-solving, playing, researching, reworking, and engaging in a variety of ways. Consider it a kind of curiosity: Something piques your interest and you feel compelled to pursue it further, to understand it better. You try to be attentive to the everyday. You think about your past. You talk to friends. Sometimes, inspiration emerges via another person or many other people. When everythings working, its a state of creative flow or imaginative play.

When talking with writer Maggie Nelson for my website, The Creative Independent, she said to me: Its key to keep finding new things that inspire and not just melting into some broken record of how things went for you. Shes right.

Something Ive learned from personal experience is that when you do find your central concernsthe things that inspire youyou return to them over and over. But try not to get mired in them: Inspiration provides the fuel for pushing forward and finding newer pockets and outlets for your interests and concerns. Use the things that speak to you as signposts to help you figure out where to go next in life. If you keep following them, youll discover a larger world of like-minded people and creative possibilities beyond your imagination.

As a teenager, living in a small farming town in New Jersey, I felt isolated from any kind of creative outlet until I discovered punk. Even after finding it, I was removed from a scene. Then I spotted some graffiti on the side of a small building in my hometown: It was the mascot of the punk band the Misfits, and it became a sign and invocation to keep exploring punk and to find others who were into it, too. I started seeking out punk bands in the area and putting together shows in the field behind my house. I embarked on the kind of work that I continue to do in the present.

Thirty years later, while working on this book, I learned that Melissa Auf der Maurone of my long-standing collaboratorshad also been deeply inspired by the Misfits. Melissa and I have been producing a music and arts festival, Basilica Soundscape, together since 2011. Melissa played bass for Hole and Smashing Pumpkins, and at one point worked on a duet with Glenn Danzig, the Misfits lead singer. Somehow, I never knew about that. Learning this helped explain our immediate connection back when we first met. As kids, wed been attracted to a similar mythology and music, and I like to think that by following some of the same signs, our paths brought us to working together.

Ive spent the majority of my adult life in cities, but while writing this book, I ended up relocating to a farm in rural Pennsylvania for a few months. Watching my kids, whove lived their entire young lives in Brooklyn, get a version of my childhood experience was inspiring. It reopened a lot of things Id forgotten about and had me digging deep into my knowledge base for things I never had to teach them in Brooklyn: identifying poison ivy, the proper way to pick blueberries, how to remove a tick, why you shouldnt pick up a snapping turtle, and how to shoot a BB gun. Its been eye-opening to see that the kind of environment Id found stifling as a kid has been so enriching for them.

Its also been a reminder not to dismiss our own experiences, as small or boring as they may seem, and to also slow down and appreciate what you have on hand, right there around you. What may seem obvious or quotidian to you is new and unfamiliar to someone else.

Stay Inspired offers a series of strategies for unblocking mental barriers and finding new ways to approach your creative work. When Im inspired, I feel a genuine connection to something. I want to explore it more. Its an instinctively generative feeling. I think of being inspired as a sense of momentum, of moving forward and building on experiences, and forging my own path in life. It goes beyond making art.

What is your own relationship to inspiration right now? Maybe you have too many ideas and are having trouble following through on any of them. Maybe you havent experienced a state of creative flow in a while and worry that youre running out of ideas. Are you bored? Unchallenged? Or is this a particularly challenging time? If youve been disrupted or need to make a change, being inspired is the perfect state of mind for problem-solving and figuring out where to go next.

Before we go further, lets begin with a few questions to define your entry point in this process: