Creating does not happen devoid of experience, as experience often becomes that which moves the soul. It is a complexity of situations and deep emotional responses, born from events of which only a few of our own design, or desire. These elements work in concert with one another. They mesh, and meld, and circle around and spiral forth, divining which ever instrument we chose, or that choose us. Be it the keys of a piano, or a brush, a lens’ or a keyboard… they all are dependant on the muse that speaks, haunts and possess’ our soul.

For some, the act of expression is an obsession of sorts. Perhaps born of things that we have become entangled in, or through actions understood by only a few, often the artist is compelled towards situations and attractions beyond the pale cast of normalcy.

Sometimes, in a rare mix of time, experience and focus, and the inner spark of divinity we all carry is lit, and magic happens.

Magic is not common, nor average. A spell is cast, but often only for a select few – and that is sometimes at the very nature of words. Getting inside another’s thoughts, feelings, or experience, is rare. Not all things are meant for understanding by all people.

These thoughts were inspired from a comment made by a friend on a quote on Facebook from We Drink Because We’re Poets.

His thoughts were that “… and when the words used are beyond the average person the spell is lost“.

I disagree, and partly I suppose due to becoming absorbed in the biography of Tolkien. If there is anyone that would understand the possession that a rare, yet beautiful word can take of your soul, it is him. Words, their origins, meanings and the sound of them as they are spoke… all of these were of interest to Tolkien. The lyrical Nordic inspired language of Tolkien’s Elves would not have been born, if not for the experiences of the Author. AND, the beauty of the words is enhanced by the very mysterious world they conjure. Whether it be through sound, or meaning alone, words can indeed cast a spell.

Many may know him as merely the writer of Lord of the Rings, or The Hobbit, yet few understand the complex undercurrent of words and meanings that flow throughout Tolkien’s stories. The conjugation of ideas and places, prose and poetry, intermingle and give birth to his Middle-Earth.

One has to wonder though where did that come from? These ideas, characters and stories sprang forth from not just rare and lyrical words, but experiences and tangible life events that moved him to create a new world for those words to play.

Yet, when all the world is your stage, and when so many may access and possess the words, do they lose their magic? Perhaps not, since each of us takes something different with us when we read those words, or view that painting, or watch a play or film. For some, what they bring with them allows them to see it all from a unique perspective, and therefore they access the deeper meanings hidden within.

From an early age, Mom said I picked up a pencil as if it was a natural extension of my hand, and with a delicacy rare in one so young (she told me), I formed images and symbols upon a page. I never gripped it like a foreign object, but held the pencil as if it was something I had known from birth.

It goes against every fibre of my being to just acknowledge this spark of creation that rests inside me. It resides within and often sets me off on these wild, dynamic labyrinthine quests.

Today, as I sit wrapped in 3 layers of cloths, with icy fingertips I feel more inclined to write of frost bite than of creation. Yet, even so, the muse whispers and whilst waiting for my bus yesterday, to pass the time, I found inspiration.

We find what we need, and use that which is at hand. As experience and time sculpts the future, the act of creating surpasses time and, hopefully, gives us alittle something worth sharing.

What prompted this post initially was a simple evening spent with a friend. He too is a creator, and works in many mediums, constructing, re-imaging and recycling objects from one thing, into another. Inspiration for him comes from neo-surrealist art, and the Steampunk scene. Crafting the new into the old, and back again.

What inspires you? What moves you to create, write, draw or capture?