Creativity’s Core

Posted by Amanda Tyler in Campus

Whether it be a book or song, or even the landscape in front of you, an idea for a work of art can appear out of almost anything. Three students were asked about their own creative processes. More specifically, what they think about and what inspires them as they create their own work. The answers vary as much as the departments these students come from, and it is clear from their answers that creativity can stem from anywhere.

For DeAndre Montoya, a film student, stories are inspired primarily by music. “What inspires me is music, various types…If I hear a certain song or something, it usually creates an idea and through that I can create a concept for a story.” Aside from musical inspiration, Montoya produces new ideas by taking in scenes from all that’s going on in the world, from his point of view. “What else inspires me is the world around me. Just looking at certain things will kinda click, and also looking at things in a different way or a different perspective will create an idea that I never thought about before.”

DeAndre Montoya smiles as he recollects inspiration for previous pieces.

As a studio arts major, Justice Levine is often inspired by other artwork that she has seen. “I guess probably the biggest source of inspiration is better artists who make better work. What I think about most when I make stuff is trying to make work at their level and improve so I can achieve the same quality of work that they manage to make.” When asked who specifically she looks up to, Levine answers with “anybody, really” before taking a moment to refine her reply. “I like Vincent VanGogh, even though he’s dead. My work is nothing like his but he’s just one of those people that I feel like I wanna live up to…Donna Ruff, one of the teachers here, her work always inspires me.” Levine also cites nameless artists that she has found online as work that she keeps in mind when she is creating.

Justice Levine poses next to her work hung in Thaw.

When asked what she keeps in mind while working, Victoria Dailey, a creative writer, had multiple answers in mind. Everything from her family to giving subjects a universal meaning apply to her creative process. However, when digging into deeper topics, Dailey has found varying genres of writing to give her newfound inspiration. “A lot of what I’ve written are subjects and just, stylistically, things that I normally wouldn’t. So I really stepped outside of any comfort zone that I’ve ever formulated. And decided to kinda challenge my own comfortability, intellect and skill. And I’ve been branching out into other genres outside of fiction, nonfiction. One of the most prevalent genres has been poetry.” Dailey gives credit for this exploration of genres to the knowledge provided in classes here at SFUAD. “Something that has been really inspiring to me is the poetry class that I’ve been in this semester. And a lot of Allen Ginsberg and Sylvia Plath, and a lot of poets like that have been really inspiring because of their own honesty in their writing.”

“I guess this semester I’ve been trying to be incredibly honest with myself. And that’s really become reflected in my work.” – Victoria Dailey

When it comes to creativity during the production of work, inspiration can appear anywhere. Whether it be a song you hear on the radio, an image online, or even something a classmate says, the creative process has unlimited possibilities.