Inspiration

Nor have I, Cav. and that bit of yours about the man who was fired, was exactly what I meant by artists who buck the system.

I hear exactly what you are saying; it is a bit annoying that the people who can afford to have a really elaborate kitchen designed, often with only for a 'Marie Antoinette" clone from the dark ages of design.

But when a customer who really likes to cook, has a taste for the wonders of invention, is living in the present, and has the cash to pay for a really inventive , and creative 'oeuvre', comes along, i have the perfect customer.
[and a new friend!]

albeit the guy who was fired, now has his pick of which network he would like to work with, and we all know who it probably won't be.
[i think its called 'landing on your feet'!]

[inspiration is a many splendoured thing]

It is indeed. I've been invited to audition for a new pilot on the Food Network Canada, btw, sort of out of the blue. It should be sometime in February. I think they are down to about 25-50 candidates now.

Hi Tarah, haven't seen you hear for awhile

That's great news Cav; I wish you luck!
Keep us posted on how it goes.

Thanks Colorbook. I'm enjoying myself so much on the site right now that I have no intentions of going AWOL again.

Cav, I wish you every success and I'm in total agreement that the greatest gift you can give any project is ENTHUSIASM. Perhaps we'll catch you in the UK on satellite .... fingers crossed.

I suppose regarding inspiration, one of the oldest poetic concepts is that the poet him/herself isn't speaking, but is acting as the mouthpiece for some external spiritual power, usually seen as divine in some way.  This appears in the first line in the oldest surviving verse work in Europe (perhaps 750 BCE, but with older elements).  In other words, the power "breathes in" its message to the poet.  In Latin, that's in+spirare.  As you know, spirare means "breathe".  That's why the reverse is "expire", or occasionally "expiry".  It's when breath finally leaves the body. 
 
What I find fascinating is that knowing what the Latin is, yet the Greek for "Inspired" is empsychos which means to do with the soul or the mind. Funny how the Greeks have the same root word for "soul" and "mind" (and I'm not going to ask what soul and mind mean - although I'm sorely tempted). :wink:

Interesting talk, folks. To me, inspiration is a mysterious thing. The word calls to mind "spirit" (having to do with breath, as Bo notes, and life itself). Socrates referred to his "daemon", Garcia Lorca, the artist's "duende", and we often talk about the muse as the source of our artistic inspiration. In my painting and musical efforts I sense inspiration not so much before the act of painting or playing but only afterwards, when I see that I am working with ease, when I feel one with the process, and amazed that it happens essentially without my complete and conscious control, I say I was inspired (or in the proper mood). In other words, I usually see "inspiration" as something after the fact. A parallel might be found in the notion of motivation. Motivational psychologists talk about what drives, or motivates, us to behave in certain ways. Some behavioral theorists, however, focus on what one theorist calls "motivation talk", focusing on the motivations people claim for their actions. So, it seems that there is what drives us and what justifies us--or our work.
I want to comment on the observation about musicians not showing inspiration while playing. One has to close his eyes and listen to the music to know if it is being played with inspiration. It is easy to be taken in by the dramatic gestures of the musician. I have the problem that when playing alone or with a quartet or orchestra of being so moved by the music that I'm in danger of losing my place. The musician has the task of inspiring the audience and this sometimes requires that he keep in control of his performance. As such, he might look "uninspired".

Good morning, Tarah and all.

There are two things that I have rethought about inspiration and performance. When an individual is paid to entertain and the audience is not enthusiastic, that something that enables us to become exuberant with sharing our talent may suddenly stop and the entire situation is altered. On this aspect, I totally agree with Cav and Bo.

JL, You have an interesting take on this subject, because you paint AND perform. I totally understand what you mean when you express the idea of "losing your place" because of intensity. Our pianist, Paul, had the ability to be totally blah and then that "something" would invade his hands and everything but his music ceased to exist. I recall one particular incident when I simply stopped singing to listen to him.

When I read colorbook's tribute to the tsunami victims, I drank the words.