How to Find Inspiration in Strange Times
A newsletter about writing, art and living more creatively
Sometimes, because I like to focus on the positive, I am all "MAKE YOUR WORK, I LOVE YOUR ART, BE CREATIVE." But, LISTEN, I know it's freaking hard. It's been hard for a while now.
As someone who battles depression and anxiety on the regular, it's not always easy to show up — even for the smaller things. And these recent times have been stressful, scary and uncertain.
So, please don't think that it's bad if you haven't made anything lately, or if you can't seem to finish a book or if you feel guilty for not creating but also feel tired all the time. It's to be expected. We are only human!!
Beth Pickens put it best: you never know who your art will reach. There's a reason to believe in what you do — because you WANT to create, and because that song/book/artwork might reach someone when they need it most.
GIF by @rach-foster
BUT that doesn't mean you have to push yourself. We're only human.
2022 might bring new pressures/guilt as you hear people say "tackle your goals! set your intentions!" I love doing this every year, usually, mapping out each quarter based on a focus I want. This is a tip the amazing Glory Edim gave me: break up the year to focus on ONE or two things a quarter. Maybe the first quarter is travel, the next is submitting, the next is a mini apartment makeover.
The thing is, I didn't do that for 2022. I was partly sad but also partly tired. And also... partly, just, accepting. Accepting of the fact that things are not predictable. They never were, but they feel even less so now.
I'm learning to embrace that I can't plan things like I used to.
If you're starting the year with thoughts of "I need to make something" — whether for your own sanity, for your career goals or for others, I totally get it. It is, after all, something that we do because we don't know what else we'd do.
GIF by Gentefied
Lots of times the question is: how do I find inspiration? Especially now?
1. Don't be hard on yourself. I'm gonna give that annoying piece of advice: when you're REALLY wanting something, you have to forget about it. That important email isn't going to come through when you're checking your app every five minutes — it's gonna land there while you're busy living your life and you forget about. I know this from personal experience!! Inspiration is the same. Don't look too hard for it. It's a cute little street cat that doesn't like your squeals or your pspspsps entreaties — but it'll come up and snuggle against your leg when you stop paying attention to it.
2. Look outside your discipline. Not to sound like a broken record, but music and art are important to me not just on a writing level but on an inspiration one. I crave seeing a live performance or a stunning show. Because I can witness someone creating awesome work, without feeling super jealous since we're not in the same genre. Recently, this Song Exploder episode about Halsey was so cool because she talked about her songwriting practice. I've been listening to the album on repeat, studying how she made the concept so tight (plus how she collaborated with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, NBD).
GIF by Thoka Maer
3. Give the little ideas importance. I'm not the type of person to get up every day and write 500 words. But I try to honor the small ideas that float around my brain — and I write them down in a notebook or my notes app. Even if it's just one line or one question. Like: "research more about collage artists in the '70s." Or maybe: "what's the history of avocados?" Sometimes I think of a line, or I write down a dream I had. You can come back to these. Or not. But just because you don't have a HUGE idea, doesn't mean you're not thinking about important things that might feed your next project.
4. Get nerdy about your interests. This is kinda related but: what's been around you lately? Take inspiration from the materials you use or even just the plants outside. Read up on the flowers in your neighborhood. Go back and re-research the medium you use, or maybe a new one you're curious about. Ask yourself about your city, your favorite show, your favorite album — and go down a rabbit hole. You never know what might come up. For example, I once wrote an essay about the yellow trumpet flowers near our old apartment. I had a photo of them in my phone and asked a friend what they were. I did some research and then wrote an essay about home/LA/the myth of what spaces are "safe" or not. It all started with those flowers, which I saw on my morning walk.
And above all, take care of yourself! The art will be there when you get back.
What else do you want to hear about in 2022? How can I make this newsletter more helpful? Hit REPLY and let me know.
In my own work:
I wrote an essay about still life art, Clara Peeters, my family's food traditions and more and interviewed florist Shayai Lucero.
For Apeture, I contributed a short piece as part of the Latinx issue.
Your favorite small but feisty writer,
Eva
Banner design by Ludi Leiva ✨
Want to treat me to a ☕️ or 🍷 to help fuel this newsletter?
Venmo: @Eva-Recinos
Cash App: $evaeva33
Opportunities of the Month
Various job positions
LACMA (shared by my former colleagues!)
More info here
South Arts Southern Prize and State Fellowships
Applications due Jan 10
More info here
Barbara Hammer Lesbian Experimental
Filmmaking Grant
Applications due Jan 14
More info here
Writer’s Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices
Applications due Jan 14
More info here
Right of Return USA Fellowship
for formerly incarcerated artists
Applications due Jan 14
More info here
Sculpture Space Art Residency Program
Applications due Jan 15
More info here
2022 Anderson Center Deaf Artists Residency Program
Applications due Jan 15
More info here
Prospect Art NEW WORK Mini-Grant
Proposals due Jan 15
More info here
A Public Space Editorial Fellowship
Applications due Jan 15
More info here
Robert Giard Grant for Emerging
LGBTQ+ Photographers
Applications due Jan 17
More info here
Kresge Artist Fellowships
(Metro Detroit artists)
Applications due Jan 20
More info here
Delaware County Arts Grant
Applications due Jan 28
More info here
The Hurston/Wright College Award 2022
Applications due Jan 31
More info here
Center for Craft Curatorial Fellowship
Applications due Feb 14
More info here
Trans Justice Funding Project
(for organizations)
Applications due Feb 15
More info here
Furious Flower Poetry Prize 2022
Applications due Feb 15
More info here
Sustainable Arts Foundation Writing Awards
(for artist and writer parents w/kids under 18)
Applications due Feb 25
More info here
Red Hen Press Women's Prose Prize
Applications due Feb 28
More info here
Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA)
2020 Self-Publishing Literary Award
Applications due Feb 28
More info here
Little Tokyo Short Story Contest
Submissions due Feb 28
More info here