Sourcing Inspiration

Are you more likely to be inspired by:

The presence or absence of contentment?
Personal situations or social conditions?
Interactions with humans or non-humans?
Rest or fatigue?
Relaxation or pressure?
Sobriety or being high?
Joy or sorrow?
Culture or nature?
Familiarity or mystery?
Production or consumption?
The past or the present?
Facts or feelings?
Anger or pity?
Yourself or others?

A couple of these were difficult for me to answer. On the other hand, some of them I found to be very easy to answer. So first I will start with those.

Culture or nature?

Culture is what absolutely inspires me. Whether it be for the positive or the negative, the society we live in and the "culture" that is embedded in that society is integral to my work and my life. My own culture is also very inspirational to me. Growing up white and Roman Catholic in the suburbs of Detroit is something that has been definitive in my upbringing. It is part of who I am and the way I think is a result of that circumstance. As much as I like to pretend I am something else, it is what it is.

Familiarity or mystery?

Familiarity is something that I understand. Mystery is scary. While I like a healthy dose of mystery, I find that I work well when I am working with topics that I know well from a personal experience or viewpoint. I believe strongly in research, but unless I am personally invested in the subject matter, I find myself getting lost.

Facts or feelings?

Facts are important. I definitely believe in knowing and understanding facts. But I also am a strong feeler. I believed for a short period of time this summer that I was crazy. My sister told me, "You're not crazy, Jenna. You just feel things stronger than other people." I know, so deep you could drown. But seriously, I am very emotional and that is an important element in how I work and understand my work.


Now a couple that were difficult for me to answer:

Personal situations or social conditions?

Social conditions are extremely, extremely important to me and I find inspiration in that. However, I can only truly speak from my own personal experiences. I work best when I am able to relate my personal situations to social conditions.

Yourself or others?

This is similar to the last question. I am inspired by other people always. I am not the type of person who could lock herself in a studio for weeks and just come out with a ton of brilliant work that would change the world. I am a part of my community. I need to be talking and responding to other people. I get lost in my own head a lot, but I need to be grounded by those around me to stay sane.

Thank you, Linda Weintraub for that exercise.