CAPTURING INSPIRATION…AND PUTTING IT INTO ACTION.

mood boardsvision boards

inspiration boardsand other vessels

slippery. messy. unsympathetic. inconvenient.

(INSPIRATION)

HOW DO WE KEEP IT FROM GETTING

AWAY?

Sketchbooks &journals are anotherholding form

… organized into fileswith tabs and folders?

….thrown intoboxes and bins?

Everyone has his or her own organizational system. Mine is a box, the kind you can buy at Office Depot for transferring files.

I start every dance with a box. I write the project name on the box, and as the piece progresses I fill it up with every item that went into the making of the dance. This means notebooks, news clippings, CDs, videotapes of me working alone in my studio, videos of the dancers rehearsing, books and photographs and pieces of art that may have inspired me.

The box documents active research on every project….There are separate boxes for everything I’ve ever done. If you want a glimpse into how I think and work, you could do worse than to start with my boxes.

The box makes me feel organized, that I have my act together even when I don’t know where I’m going yet. It also represents a commitment. The simple act of writing a project name on the box means I’ve started work. The box makes me feel connected to a project. It is my soil. I feel this even when I’ve back-burnered a project: I may have put the box away on a shelf, but I know it’s there. The project name on the box in bold black lettering is a constant reminder that I had an idea once and may come back to it very soon.

… perhaps you collectyour inspirations digitally.

Gathering and collectingthings that inspire us is anessential part of thecreative process.

USING THESE COLLECTIONS TO CREATE IS AN EXAMPLE OF SYNTHESIS.

• Boards may help you see connections in a scale you wouldn’t in individual works (or pages in a sketchbook)

• Seeing things in context prompts new thinking, and potentially new solutions

Here are a few types to consider…

VISION BOARDS – using visualization (frequently through collage)to contemplate, reflect, and see the big picture. Frequently used asmotivational tools to help you see, and begin acting on, your vision.

MOOD BOARDS are often used by designers to illustrate visually the direction of the style they are proposing or pursuing.

INSPIRATION BOARDS are evolving collections or displays to inspire plans and solutions to creative problems, with a particular focus on both process AND product.