"Spawning Ideas"

Trivia: This particular panel was originally doodled waaay back in August of 2022, then the ballpoint pen doodle done in the sketchbook was watercolored and then uploaded in a New Year’s post for 2023. Now two years later I finally got around to actually drawing the damn thing. Now it's my first-ever "printed canvas" piece, destined for the fall semester 2025 art department faculty exhibition.

This recalled a 2014 post on similar theme, specifically relating to fish and fishing-around-for-ideas metaphors (see David Lynch "Catching The Big Fish"). There are many other examples of creative folks when it comes to getting ideas, especially overcoming blockage. An excellent one comes from Carrie Brownstein (quoted here before) of the band Sleater-Kinney, who succinctly put one of the best pieces of advice ever to aspiring artists: "Don't be afraid to suck." Which brings to mind the "Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman" adage: "The first step to being good at something is being willing to suck at it."

While prepping for a summer workshop, I researched some interviews on the teacher, Hilary Price, and came across a great snippet:
"What have been some of the obstacles?"
"The deadline, seven comic strips a week. You have to build up your creative muscle to keep pumping them out. And when it becomes your vocation, versus your calling, gone are the days when creativity visits you. You have to actively visit it."

I frequently lecture my art classes about cultivating a disciplined approach to artwork, and relating to my years of experience as a graphic artist. I became trained to literally "clock in and be creative," which be an anathema to many a creative spirit, for whom it would be anathema to think you can just simply turn it on or off like throwing a switch. Beats who sit around waiting for inspiration to strike, or a visit from the muse.