The artist's inspiration has been the object of wonder and misconception ever since early Man created the first painted images on the walls of his caves thousands of years ago. In truth, there is nothing mystical about creative thought; the average person uses it in his daily life to solve everyday problems, just as the engineer, scientist and architect employ it in their professions. And to expand the mind's ability to conjure new ideas can be accomplished by simply learning to break free of restrictive ways of thinking, and by exposure to new and stimulating experiences.
Everyone falls into a mental rut sometimes, where habit takes over. But habit is the enemy of creative thinking! You have to open your mind to new ways of experiencing and perceiving in order to gain fresh ideas. There are many established ways to improve your ability to think creativity. To begin with, you should always strive to avoid time-worn cliches; for the visual artist, this could mean taking a common subject, such as a still-life, and injecting some new element into it that normally wouldn't be associated with that subject. Consider my painting "Voodoo", found on my website. Instead of the usual flowers and vase, I have used an African ceremonial mask and a human skull, adding a darker twist to the traditional still-life genre.
Many innovative ideas originate in the subconscious mind. Therefore dreams have often been the source of new ideas for the artist, and for Surrealists such as Salvador Dali they were usually the main source of inspiration. Sometimes the mind can be stimulated simply by drawing or painting in a different location than usual. I often find walking or pacing helps me to think and sort out any confusion in my mind. Trying your hand at other fields of artistic expression, such as writing or music, can give you new perspectives. Literature and film can also be rich sources of ideas. I found that studying poetry helped me to draw more upon the subconscious, and to gain a greater appreciation of the principles that are common to all art forms.
One of the greatest obstacles to creativity is conformity. Don't allow yourself to be restricted by what is socially or culturally acceptable; society encourages uniformity of thought and attitude--this is the death of creative thought! Follow your own instincts, believe in your own view and perceptions; don't be afraid to be provocative if that is what your concept demands. Look at my works "The Lady Of Ill Repute" and "The Years"--certainly not everyone's idea of beauty. But beauty can be found in the truth expressed in these women's faces and in their lives, like the beauty found in the ruins of a forgotten temple. In these women one sees the scars of past experience and the price that time exacts from the human soul. In short, they tell a good story, something art should always strive to do.
It is a great mistake to think that every idea that you arrive at should be a good one. The creative process is by nature somewhat chaotic--this naturally means that some of your ideas, perhaps most of them, are simply bad. This is fine! Even a bad idea can be of value, as it may lead you to make an unconscious connection that eventually matures into something useful. In fact, sometimes deliberately coming up with a bad concept can open the mind to something better. It's all a matter of making unconscious associations.
I have come to believe that there is no truly original idea. Everyone builds upon the work of others. Consider Van Gogh's style: his use of color comes from the Impressionists; the hard outlines and flat forms from Japanese woodcuts; his everyday subject matter from earlier artists like Millet. Perhaps his fluid brushwork is his only personal contribution to his distinctive style. But by blending these different elements he came up with something totally unique and personal. This is an example of combining influences. And there are other approaches, such as modifying, maximizing, minimizing, substituting, rearranging, reversing, exaggerating and separating.
Inspiration is always an uncertain commodity; some people will always have the advantage over the rest of us when it comes to innovative thinking. But everyone can expand their capacity for creative thought by ridding themselves of old ways of thinking, and by exposure to new experiences. However, it isn't always necessary to be clever; the most important consideration for the artist is to have something to say, and to say it well. I hope that the methods discussed here will help you to do just that.
The Artist As A Young Man
Language is not logical, as even those behind the very best attempts at machine translation will happily attest to. Indeed, if I were to try and decode this article into German using something akin to Babel Fish, I'd end up with something closer to Fermat's Last Theorem than a guide on how to be a butt-kicking, name-taking freelance translator.
For prose in one language to reach another without it being cruelly and sometimes hilariously mangled, it needs that human touch. Many people understand translation is spending long hours burning the midnight oil with a dictionary in either hand, but that simply is not so. Being bi-lingual is one thing; being fluent and understanding the connotations and implications of prose in each language is an entirely different thing. And let's not forget about all that comes with working to be a skilled writer, as a complex and difficult personal enterprise.
Taking all of the above into account, as a freelance translator, your job will lie not in the hard, fast and loose distilling of basic meaning from one language to another, as in real-time verbal translation. No, instead you'll be faced with taking a written manuscript (be it technical or classical) and carefully translating it into the target language.
Sounds difficult? Certainly, but it's also rewarding! A writer who wants to rise to the top of his or her craft does well to take the time to not only write well, by the standards of their peers, but also to intimately comprehend the syntax and grammar of their chosen language.
One of the most oft-recommended pathways to marked improvement in an area like freelance translation is to dedicate yourself to intimately learning a second language beside your own mother-tongue. Besides the infinitely rewarding consequences (whether you're looking for new social connections, a complex intellectual challenge or simply a way to qualify for far-flung international work), it can also act as a doorway to lucrative employment. As with most things, the more work you do, the better you get, the more work you get to do.
Why? Not only are translators rare, but they act in themselves as gateways to new markets. Right now, you're reading this article in English. While the native audience for the language is huge, an even greater percentage of the literate world has no access to it for a lack of English-language skills. Unlocking that massive percentile can mean a vastly improved gross turnover for any organization with a significantly established interest.
So, if one presumes you've got a serious handle on at least two languages and an eye for the written word, how do you go about cultivating a successful career from such a useful skill? Firstly, you build up your portfolio, and you make a name for yourself. Find magazine or newspaper articles and translate them (with all original credit attached, of course), and then post them to a free blog you can set up through online services such as Google's Blogger and Wordpress' blogging platforms.
As a step up, translate book prose from small or local book and magazine publishers, and attempt to get in touch with the appropriate publishers about producing a translated work. Never underestimate the value of pro-bono work. If it comes to that, look for restaurants and businesses that deal or sell using your languages of choice, and offer to provide them with the appropriate alternate signage should they be lacking it, or, alternately, should you find it lacking.
Websites often will accept offers to translate their content into new languages to increase their appeal. Trawling the SourceForge or FreshMeat databases for projects to fan-translate older video games scripts or to produce official translated versions of open-source software can net you with impressive credentials when you look to accept contract work from larger organizations.
Don't forget to practice technical translation, since we all know how prolific those little user-instruction booklets bundled with your latest microwave or vacuum cleaner are. You know, the ones with the seventeen different sets of translated instructions?
It won't be unusual to discover your writing skills can be just as in demand as those that power your incredible translation abilities. Always keep your eyes peeled for opportunities to combine the skill-sets of a writer and translator, as one who not only writes the original material but then goes on to translate it!
Translators often have to actively sell their skills to the market through cold calling and constant inquisitiveness regarding any potential need to produce translated material. Always draw the line at begging; but by the same token, don't be afraid to go in for the hard sell when you think it's appropriate. Impress with your willingness to seek out work and to prove yourself, and you can often find yourself already in the door.
Both Charles Griffith & Brian Scott are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Charles Griffith has sinced written about articles on various topics from Arts, Family and Arts. The artwork of the author, Charles Griffith, can be found at charlesgriffith.tripod.com and he can be contacted at charles_griffith@lycos.com. Charles Griffith's i. Charles Griffith's top article generates over 22200 views. Bookmark Charles Griffith to your Favourites.
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