199 – 5-Minute Mentoring: Cultivating Artistic Inspiration

Do you ever wonder how to keep the inspiration going when you are feeling just a little creatively dry?  Well, a lot of people struggle with that and I am going to dive into this subject and give you some real clear help on how to keep the inspiration flowing in my blog and in this episode of Five-Minute Mentoring. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Do you ever wonder how to keep the inspiration going when you're feeling just a little creatively dry? Well, a lot of people struggle with that. One of my listeners does too, and we're going to hear her question today, and I'm going to dive into this subject and give you some real clear help on how to keep the inspiration flowing today here on 5-Minute Mentoring.

UNKNOWN 0:19

5-Minute Mentoring

SPEAKER_01 0:20

Have you ever wanted to have someone in your life who you could ask real questions about your art, your business, and even your walk with the Lord? Well, that's exactly what we do every Friday here on Five Minute Mentoring, where I answer one question from one of my awesome podcast listeners in order to help you start really thriving as the artist you know God created you to be. Well, hey, my friend. I'm so glad that you're with me today here on 5-Minute Mentoring. You know, we've all been in this situation, right? You get into the studio and you're like, I got nothing. No inspiration. Nothing's flowing. You're like, what's going on? I'm an artist. I was supposed to be able to do this thing. And yet we find ourselves in that situation from time to time where there's no inspiration flowing. I don't know if you've been there. I've totally been there. My friend Peggy Lynn, who's one of our podcast listeners, she's been there as well. Here's her question.

SPEAKER_00 1:10

Hi, Matt. My name is Peggy Lynn. And I've been a thriving artist for the past 17 years, running a studio, teaching others how to draw and paint. I love it. And I'm filled with the spirit and joy helping others. And I really do feel this is my calling. I'm full of inspiration while I'm helping others. However, my inspiration feels drained out by the time I have free time to paint myself. I've tried different styles. I've tried different mediums. And I just can't get past this block. I prayed about it. And I don't know where to go from here. So Matt, any suggestions? I'd really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 1:48

Well, Peggy Lynn, thanks so much for listening to the podcast. And thanks so much for taking the time to submit a question. I really do appreciate it. Listen, I hear where you're coming from. You know, like I said earlier, we've all been there. The first thing I would want to say to you is this. First of all, congrats. I mean, you sound like you're living a great life right in the middle of what God's got for you, which is exactly what this podcast is all about and my heart for you. So big congrats on that. The first thing that I would say is realize that we all create from what I call your creative well. That is everything. Your creative well, I think of as this reservoir inside of you that has to be continually filled in order to be able to continue to flow in your life. So anytime, I just kind of think of that like a water table, you know, in a well. If it's going dry, that means that the flow has stopped internally. You know, there's not anything coming into it. Otherwise, you know, if the aquifer is not flowing from the bottom, the well's not going to be filled. filled up so that you can use that water. The first thing you got to realize is that you got to be as intentional about cultivating inspiration as you do about creating the expression of that inspiration. If you don't, and it sounds kind of like that's where you're at right now, where you're doing tons of teaching and all this kind of stuff, and you're like, go, go, go, do, do, do. And yet the inspiration side of things is getting dry. That's where I would encourage you to really focus. Focus on the refill part. Focus on making sure that you're in a place where you're receiving and cultivating inspiration in a really, really intentional way so that when you do get in the studio, you can release that. Now, the second thing I would say is, you know, that's hard sometimes for doers. I'm a doer. You know, I love to get out there and, you know, do, do, do and accomplish things and teach and be effective and all that. But realize that. you've got to prioritize you and your own personal creative journey. Why? Because the best teaching that you'll ever do is not just technique, it's not just the rudimentary things of art, it's the stuff that you're going to learn along your journey as an artist. And again, It's the nuance of how God speaks to you, how you feel your creative well, how you interpret those things through your life and through your art. Those are the things that people really want to know. And that's really when I believe your teaching and your mentoring of other artists really gets valuable. You know, one of the things I've really committed to in my own life as I've I had the great opportunity to mentor thousands of artists through our Created to Thrive Artist Mentoring Program and through the podcast, through conferences, books, all that kind of stuff. I never wanted to be the guy that was just talking about art. I wanted to be somebody that spoke out of the overflow of my life. And again, if I'm not making art, all right, and actively involved in art myself, then I'm really trying to speak into the lives of other peoples on yesterday's fumes. And I don't know about you, but I always want to be bringing fresh bread to the table for people, for my students, for those that are listening to me here, for those that are in the mentoring program. And I think that'll hold true for you as well, Peggy Lynn. And then the last thing I would say is this, you got to get back to the joy of just creating, you know, I was thinking about this the other day, and as many baskets as I've made in my life, and listen, I've made a lot. I've made a lot of baskets. I still love nothing better than to be out in my garden. I'm a big flower gardener. I love getting out in the flower garden, picking dead daylily foliage that's already spent and sitting down in the dirt or sitting down on my porch and just start weaving a basket. No technique, no tools, just having fun with materials. That is a huge rush to me. It's a joy. It's just a simple pleasure. And for me, if I lose that, then again, that comes through in my teaching and that comes through in my own intentional creative process and so Peggy Lynn I would say to you and anybody else that's struggling with this make sure that you're building intentional time in not only to prioritize you not only to you know develop inspiration but also just to play and get back to that real visceral place of loving loving loving what you do all right well hey thanks again Peggy Lynn for your question and thanks to all of you for listening uh you know I love you you know I'm always glad to get your questions and answers those. You can always go to matttommymentoring.com forward slash podcast. You can not only see great things that are going on in our world on that page, but you can also leave me a voicemail message. And if it's something I think would be really appropriate for our listeners, I will put it on the air just like I did hers today. All right. Well, listen, my friend, thanks again for listening. And remember, until next time, you were created to thrive. All right. Bye-bye.