Creativity breeds creativity. As a writer, I spend far too much time alone. I have a very comfortable writer’s den where hours pass quite joyfully. I schedule full days each week where I don’t have to leave my house or interact with people outside my immediate family. This is great!

However, it doesn’t lead to much inspiration. Sure, I have plenty of books on the to-read pile to take me through another’s perspective. I have playlists, both created by me and those by artificial intelligence. But to write of this world, one must be in the world at least once in a while. Since we cannot explore it all, we must rely on the presentations of other’s experiences.

Julia Cameron speaks of taking an artist date each week. This is something, I off and and on again partake in. I use the term “artist” loosely. Sometimes just browsing the library or shopping for decor. Last week there was an open mic, where I gleamed creative energy from the poets and authors sharing their words. Another day, I took in a performance by a local band where the sound took me back to the music of the 90s. Sometimes, I only follow visual artist’s work on Instagram. Other times I take advantage of the opportunity to see a concert, most recently a great one with the Indigo Girls performing with a symphony orchestra.

While in these moments, inspiration speaks. I hear the call to contribute my own expressions to the landscape of the humanities. Our local art museum currently is exhibiting “Shadows of Industrialization,” a multi-media project by Barbara J. Miner. The Milwaukee native was inspired by changes in her hometown after returning following a 20-year hiatus. The work explores the theme of the workforce in the post NAFTA era. The work celebrates the blue collar heroes who have survived the landscape that changed when the jobs moved to other nations. Remains of demolished, abandoned, and repurposed manufacturing spaces serve as the backdrop of photographs of the people whose livelihoods depended on manufacturing. The work captures the real emotions and strength of the diverse people who were affected.

I’m not sure that this will transfer to my own work, but it does serve to remind that all experiences have the potential to inspire art. Looking through the eyes of another artist grants permission to one’s own ability to create. Later this week, I’ll hit up a greenhouse and admire the beautiful blooms created at the hands of gardeners. Next week is book club where I can garner inspiration from the reactions of the woman who shared the same literature. Art is all around us when we make the intention to take it in and experience its value on our own creative journeys.