In the most satisfying creative phases of my life, I get to experience inspiration, ideally followed by creating, followed by work. This is when things flow. And sometimes I have to look for inspiration, which is often followed by experimenting with new materials, sketching, and waiting for something to make sense. In this waiting - there is nothing. That is where I am now.
In March of this year (2023), after several months of a satisfying creative flow, I packed up my Dallas space and left. I crave routine, but just as it peaks - I feel confined by it. I wanted an adventure in another world. I wanted inspiration and energy and new ways of thinking. I had no plans, other than a one-way ticket to the other side of the world. I started in Bali, then found my way to Malaysia, Thailand, and then Japan for a month, followed by Korea, and now I am in Berlin.
It was intense. I remained busy finding places to stay, booking plane tickets, train tickets, airbnbs and hotels, checking weather, entrance requirements, and exchange rates. I was inundated with new information - languages made with little drawings and unfamiliar sounds, new flavors, and new systems.
I packed myself full of new information, and was hoping new creative ideas would come raining down on me. But currently, it's still nothing. I have no idea what I will make next. I just have to trust that something will congeal into a new idea that I can dig into. This creative gap is both an exciting and unnerving place to be.
My dear reader, what do you do when you're in this place? Do you have any words of wisdom for me?
In the meantime, I'll head back to Dallas for two months and then ... I don't know. Well, stay tuned :)
Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand
