So what’s the big idea…
“Nothing is more dangerous than an IDEA… when it is the only one you have” - Emile Chartier (1868 - 1951)
Artwork & content Copyright Jean Burman 2007
I awoke the other morning pondering the nature of ideas. I was struck by the rather odd realisation that the “idea” really is quite a wondrous thing! It fills the void where… in the moment before we had it (the idea… the epiphany)… there was nothing… absolutely nothing… then as if by magic… there was something… an “idea“.
The toughest question has always been… “How do you get your ideas?” How do you answer that? It’s like asking runners how they run, or singers how they sing. They just do it! - Lynn Johnston (1947 - ) from Lynn on Ideas
Ideas seem to come from nowhere.
They are sometimes triggered by sight, sound, smell, touch, or memory. Other times they just land there unannounced… or settle into our consciousness without our knowing… and manifest themselves by stealth into our current project!
When I am… as it were… completely myself… entirely alone and of good cheer - say travelling in a carriage, or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep - it is on such occasions that my ideas flow best and most abundantly. When and how they come, I know not, nor can I force them… - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
Ideas are often transient.
They may come… (and just as quickly go if we are not very careful). I can’t tell you the number of times I have arrogantly expected the momentary flash of an idea to remain suspended in time until I had the chance to record it… (such audacity!)
“But” I have argued in vain… “in that moment… the idea had such clarity and self assuredness! ”
But alas… in the dark of night (or sometime in the early hours)… I was lured into a sleepy complacency with assurances that the idea would never, ever be lost! But in the cold hard light of day this is rarely… if EVER… the case. How easily the idea is lost… along with the moment in which it was conceived… never to be recalled again with the same quintessence!
Every composer knows the anguish and despair occasioned by forgetting ideas which one had no time to write down - Hector Berlioz (1803 - 1869)
Surely we may take heart then… in the knowledge that others have walked this path before us. Though one can’t help but wonder with sadness what genius, masterpieces or manuscripts, have slipped surreptitiously from the minds of their creators soon after the moment of their conception… never to be seen or heard from again! - (grin)
Ideas should be authentic and original.
But how can we be sure that the ideas we have are really ours in the first place… and not derived from the unintentional influence of other people’s ideas?
Marie Antoinette probably had it in a nutshell when she remarked…”There is nothing new which has not been forgotten” - (1755 - 1793)
But does it really matter? Our ideas… once filtered through the fine seive of our own perception and subjected to our own unique interpretation are apt to have some aspect of originality in them… no matter how often the theme or concept has been repeated or re-worked.
And it may well be that in the re-working of an idea… the fundamental genius of another original idea or thought is exposed! The fact that an idea cannot be subjected to copyright seems to bear testament to this notion!
Dare to be different.
I said to myself… I have things in my head that are not like what anyone has taught me… shapes and ideas so near to me… so natural to my way of being and thinking that it hasn’t occurred to me to put them down. I decided to start anew… to strip away what I had been taught - Georgia O’Keefe (1887 - 1986
And so…having warmed to the idea… we must now gather the courage and strength we need to “turn our collar to the wind”… and bring our good ideas into action. But this may not be as simple as it sounds. Bringing our ideas to the table in the school of orthodox thought and conventional wisdom has never been an easy task. But a new idea… an audacious idea… an idea that simply refuses to accept the status quo and demands that we view it from a totally different perspective… is (historically) more often than not met with complete resistance.
I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I am frightened of the old ones - John Milton Cage Jr. (1912 - 1992)
Be not astonished at new ideas; for it is well known to you that a thing does not therefore cease to be true because it is not accepted by many - Benedictus de Spinoza (1632 - 1677)
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds - Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)
And so it would seem…we would be in very great company indeed… should we ever decide to break free from the shackles and fully investigate the good and authentic ideas that we have… exploiting them for all they are worth… and delivering them up to a savage (errr sorry… savouring) audience.
The rewards have been great for those who could stomach the resistance… and the acceptance has surely come… albeit posthumously… once they were all long dead and gone! (((chuckles)))
July 1st, 2007 at 2:16 pm
Procrastination and postulation make me grind my teeth! “I used to be undecided, but now I am not so sure!” Ideas…Ideas are wonderful things, I love them! I have a constant flow. Deciding which one is worthwhile is the trick. If an idea consistently meanders in my head - I have to do something about it. It is those “nagging” ideas that find reality. I find notes and lists all over the place in my home…on the fridge, in my handbag, beside my bed, scrawled all over my calendar - its not just a bad memory! Its a nudge, a visual flashback for an idea that I want to do, just couldn’t do it when I thought of it.lol! Great things come from small beginnings!
July 1st, 2007 at 3:59 pm
Good subject, Jean. To me the value of an idea lies entirely in what you are able to do with it. A diamond is just a piece of glinty rock until it is refined and shaped to take advantage of its inherent potential.
July 1st, 2007 at 9:15 pm
Good topic jean. i gave up having ideas a while back.lol now i just read and make pictures.
July 2nd, 2007 at 7:19 am
I think an idea comes from a need. When I get an idea, it is usually inspired by a lack of something. The work that I have done with children came from the fact that I noticed there was a void. If they were lucky enough to have an “arty” teacher, then they had the chance to try “artiness” themselves (no recrimination on teachers intended…their plate is full with teaching the three “r’s”!) then I would watch the children…interactions with others mostly, then they themselves would inspire me. Painting for gardens came from the fact that I had worked in many gardens which always had a “bald spot”, then I noticed that those bald spots could be modified or beautified quite easily. It became a snowball that just kept rolling along. Having also worked in promotion and advertising (8yrs!), where you are pushed to the limit to come up with something new, something bright and interesting, teaches you to explore and “play”. An idea comes from being aware and noticing what is there and what is not. It can slowly creep into your mind, or…it can slam in at a rate of knots! Ideas for paintings (for me)come from flowers….naturally, but the idea is about how I paint them. Am I painting them for colour, shape or am I painting them because I am thinking of a person. I find that my best paintings are the ones where the subject reminds me of a person - the shape, the colours, the way the flower grows and where it grows…or just simply that I know that person loves that flower. Ideas can link up to or from other peoples ideas….an infectious situation! Its great…I love ideas, good topic Jean!
July 2nd, 2007 at 9:50 am
QUOTE John: To me the value of an idea lies entirely in what you are able to do with it. A diamond is just a piece of glinty rock until it is refined and shaped to take advantage of its inherent potential.UNQUOTE
Thanks John
Ahhh yes… the latent potential of a diamond in the rough! But is there not beauty in it’s promise alone?
July 2nd, 2007 at 10:11 am
Thanks too Roger
You’re the most prolific sketcher I know Roger… don’t tell me you have given up on having ideas! LOL
July 2nd, 2007 at 10:15 am
QUOTE Jools: When I get an idea, it is usually inspired by a lack of something. UNQUOTE
Jools… like they say “necessity is the mother of invention”! There is no better time to have an idea as when a solution is required!
LOL
July 3rd, 2007 at 7:32 am
Jean…I have had one mother of an idea!!!! I went to see a guy who has just recently opened a winery. His building is in a hamlet, 10kms out of Orange on the main rd to Sydney. Anyway…he does have artists in a “gallery” there at the moment, but he is very disappointed with the standard of work and the artists committment to make it work. I originally went there to “check it out” as a possible venue for my spring show - instead of my backyard. The space is good. Very airy and bright, very large, ample parking and is linked to his cafe and wine tasting area and ofcourse has perfect access to the main road. All this place needs is someone with a bit of “grunt” to get it going…that someone is me!!!!!!!!! I could hang everything I have (including my furniture!!) and….have guest artists every couple of months. Whaddaya reckon?
July 3rd, 2007 at 7:33 am
Plus that the last private gallery in Orange closed a few months ago. This guy is focusing on his wine and (naturally) just wants people through the door - this gallery is what I have been looking for since I first began this “journey”!
July 3rd, 2007 at 8:17 am
Great idea Jools… go for it!
July 3rd, 2007 at 8:51 am
Yep…can’t stop thinking about it!!!!!!!
July 4th, 2007 at 6:44 am
JEAN: >>Thanks John Ahhh yes… the latent potential of a diamond in the rough! But is there not beauty in it’s promise alone?>>
No question. My point was that it’s fine to have ideas, but it takes elbow grease to turn them into something meaningful. I have an idea for a children’s book right now, great idea, but that’s all it is until I put butt in chair and pencil to paper.
Jools, sounds exciting! I hope you do it!
July 4th, 2007 at 7:27 am
I had an idea,
Counted my money,
Went to the bank,
Where they looked at me funny.
“Why laugh?” I asked.
“There’s nothing here,”
They said. “But there is,”
I replied, “it’s a great idea.
If I put in the work
To see it through,
There’s a very good chance
It’ll never come true.
It might actually fail.
I’m afraid I know it.
So I’ll deposit it now
Before I blow it.”
July 4th, 2007 at 8:42 am
Thanx John! I’m onto my proposal today - its perfect! I cannot believe that no one else is putting effort into this space. I am most excited about providing a space for other artists as well…..my town Orange, is starving for it, especially one as good as this! It will be so good to be “active” again and doing something for my community at the same time!
How many good ideas have been lost to the winds of insecurity, procrastination and lethargy….there is one hell of a pool somewhere out there in the universe (where all good, but unused ideas go! I have a few wafting around out there myself!)
Your poem sounds good - mixing fun with reality and a pinch of a lesson, is always a winner with kids.
July 4th, 2007 at 9:25 am
G-r-e-a-t poem John!
You are so right of course… without the cut and polish the diamond will never reach it’s dazzling potential. And despite our good intentions and grandiose ideas nothing will happen without the will to carry them through. Maybe that should be the next topic… finding the motivation? *wink* ((chuckles))
July 4th, 2007 at 9:28 am
Or maybe a list of retail outlets for “elbow grease” (((more chuckles)))
July 4th, 2007 at 9:32 am
Jools… you’ve got to do it! Funny how opportunities seem to come along at the precise moment that we need them. This one is a sitter… just waiting for you! Don’t hesitate… best of luck!
July 4th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Oh yes Jean…it has my name all over it!…Thanx for uploading my pics at the cafe. I may just slow down the old painting process for a while (have a rest for a few days…and more snow is on its way!!!) I do have one last pic…if you wouldn’t mind, to upload, titled “The Old Man”. I really do not know why I can’t do it….I can upload everywhere else! Anyway… must get this proposal organised, will let you know how it all pans out!
July 6th, 2007 at 7:59 am
Well….proposal is in! And….I have “caught up” with a couple of key players and dropped the “seed” of the idea! So…it’s more awaiting!
Its my Emilys birthday today! 16 years old!!!!! I have given her, her favourite painting (she has never swayed from her choice of it!) It is a painting of cherry blossoms, very pale pink blooms on a gold background. We - Emily, Claire, my mother, about 20 of her friends and I, shall be going out for dinner tonight. My baby is growing up!
July 6th, 2007 at 9:14 am
“Happy Happy Birthday Emily! May all your dreams come true!”
Enjoy tonight Jools… these are very special times!