Author: User

FINDING IDEAS
I CAN FIND
IDEAS BY...

BRAINSTORMING

An idea for an artwork can come from any source. Your inspiration might come from a conversation with friends, a TV program, a video, an advertisement, a song lyric, a dream you had… anything!
Some artists focus their work on a BIG IDEA, such as love, hate, death, friendship, power, poverty, consumerism or racism. The challenge is to express the idea in a fresh and meaningful way. We all have these experiences in our lifetime—and most artists start with a personal experience related to a big idea.

FINDING IDEAS

Brainstorm a big idea to help you focus on your work. Start with an artist, style, theme, or object. Then, brainstorm words associated with this idea. Sometimes, working with a team to brainstorm will allow you to collect even more creative ideas, and you will find something unique to work with.
Let the medium and materials create random colours, patterns and shapes on their own—then step back and look for emerging connections and designs. Then begin to develop these patterns into a finished artwork.
Think about your beliefs and values and the important events and people in your life. How could you explore these in a work of art? Think about your childhood. Are there any family traditions or celebrations you could show in your art?
Write down what you remember about your dreams. Do not think about what you are writing, just let the words flow onto the page. Stare out the window and let your thoughts travel to other places. Daydreaming is a great way to get new ideas.
Find people involved in creating any kind of art and look at their work. Ask the artists questions to find out where they get ideas. Look at the work of other ‘famous’ artists and discover what influenced their work.
Look at art styles, themes and subjects from the past. Could you update them to create new meaning? Choose a piece of art from the past, and a current work of art based on the same theme or idea. Create a new work based on these two works.
Look for ideas in unusual places. Take an object or idea associated with one situation and place it in a different situation. Put two objects together that would normally not go together. Look at an ordinary object and distort, enlarge, reduce, transform, or change it to make it appear unique.