Creativity From Without

There are many artists that find inspiration from without rather than from within. Some of the many examples are fashion designers and one instance in particular are designers featured on the show Project Runway. In season one episode 8 titled "Inspiration" one of the assignments on the show was to come up with an outfit that was directly inspired by their environment. They were to go out into the streets of New York and take pictures of items in their surrounding and ultimately choose the picture which most inspired them. This is creativity from without because rather than having a personal influence upon an item, the designers were influenced by their environment.

 

Why is influence so important? Because we have to be stimulated in some way in order to create. If we are not influenced by one thing or another there is no direction. Although we were told to complete a project in Design 1 in which we designed something without any influence, the products in themselves were an influence. Also, the way in which they were able to be shaped was very important in the final construction of the product. Some may bring of improvisation as not being linked to influence, but that too carries influence. Improvisation in itself grabs from ideas that are available at the moment and depends on the mood and flow of the universe that the individual detects. Therefore, your surrounding are very important and should be utilized for influence.