Originally the muses were deities that poets invoked to receive the gift of divine inspiration. The modern ones do not have to be splendid goddesses, but still have the undoubted ability to be a source of creative inspiration in order to stimulate the creation of original works. If you want to be a muse, make creativity and openness of mind your essential values.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Be a Source of Inspiration
Step 1. Spend your time with the artists
Not all artists need a muse, but over time many painters, photographers, writers, directors and choreographers have attributed their best work to a special person, often their partner, from whom they drew inspiration. Whether you are part of the art world or not, if your social circle is full of creative people, you can become someone's muse. Find out where writers, artists and musicians from your city meet and start hanging out.
For example, actress Edie Sedgwick spent a lot of time in Andy Warhol's studio, The Factory, and they became very close friends. Warhol was so impressed with her beauty and presence that he created a series of films in her honor and, in fact, dubbed her his "superstar"
Step 2. Discuss original ideas
While there are examples of muses whose beauty served as inspiration (for example Veemer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring"), muses are often as creative as the artists who are inspired by them. A muse engages the artist on an intellectual level, urging him to pursue creative ideas that someone else would not really be able to understand. To be a muse, you need to encourage the artist to explore more deeply rather than hold back. No topics of discussion should be prohibited.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono inspired each other because they were on the same line intellectually. They had the same political goals and believed that art was the best way to reach people and change the world. Their relationship has offered the world some of the most innovative forms of music and visual art ever seen
Step 3. Be uninhibited
Rules, restrictions and social norms can put a damper on creativity. It is impossible to think outside the box when you constantly stay within your limits. A muse helps the artist to think beyond the boundaries of everyday life. When an artist is with their muse, aspects like financial constraints and social obligations come out the door, because what matters is to create something new. If you want to be a muse, lighten the burden of the artist's human condition and explore another dimension with him.
Throughout history many muses have had a carefree and wild spirit that fascinated those around them. This was the case with Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe, another couple of "muses" who lived together in the East Village during the tumultuous 1970s. Smith's music and Mapplethorpe's photography radically changed the cultural horizons of the time
Step 4. Be sensual
While anyone can be a muse, the classic prototype is a sensual and feminine spirit with an insatiable sexual appetite. Sexual arousal can help stimulate creativity, as it lowers inhibitions and charges the body and brain with erotic energy. From Gala Dali to Georgia O'Keefe, countless muses have used the power of their sensuality to guide artists and stimulate some of their finest masterpieces. In many cases, the muse is much younger than the artist who is inspired by her.
Step 5. Try to have an original style
You can be a muse even without having a perfectly proportioned body and beautiful face. Emphasize whatever makes you different. The search for an artist is aimed at creating something the world has never seen, something truly original. An artist's muse is not just a model or a mannequin, but a true source of energy and life. For example, the numerous muses of Pablo Picasso, including Dora Maar and Marie-Therese Walter, allowed him to have another vision of the human body and to share it with the world.
Step 6. Create your art
If you want to create something, you need to know what it means to exploit an idea or a feeling and express it through painting, words, dance and so on. You have to understand the sense of emptiness that comes when there is a creative block and the release that occurs when it disappears, being able to create again thanks to the help of an external source of inspiration. Once you have gained an intimate familiarity with the way creativity comes and goes, you can help someone who has difficulty in the creative process.
August Rodin's celebrated muse, the sculptress Camille Claudel, inspired some of his best and most famous works. Camille's presence nourished Rodin's inspiration, who felt stimulated by their mutual passion. Unfortunately, Claudel did not achieve Rodin's fame and success
Method 2 of 2: Be a Muse for Yourself
Step 1. Unleash your fantasy
While having a muse can give you a new creative perspective, your art shouldn't depend on someone else's influence. You can be your inspiration if you unleash your imagination. What creative ideas can you find by simply exploring the depths of your mind? Do exercises that help unleash your creativity.
If you lack inspiration, turn your life upside down and try something completely new. Take a dance class or switch from painting to photography for a while. Sometimes expressing yourself in a different way can open up new spaces for creativity
Step 2. Follow an idea when it's original
Instead of conforming to other people's thinking or judging what you think and putting it aside, shape your art around original ideas. Do not be bound by the schemes imposed by the company or by the system in which you were born. Run after all your ideas, even the seemingly negative ones, to see where they take you. Be your own muse by letting yourself be involved in even the strangest concepts that go through your head.
Step 3. Explore your emotions more deeply
It is easy to stop creative impulses, preventing emotions from getting the better of us. However, the best works of art put the disturbances of the soul in the foreground. To connect with people in a new and creative way, you will need to bare the deepest feelings of your soul. Instead of trying to discipline your emotions to make them more manageable, try to feel them in their entirety. Try making art when you have a strong emotion and you will see how despair, anger or joy will affect your work.
Step 4. Try to have a free lifestyle
Thinking outside the box will help you feel more creative. If you stick to a strict daily schedule and your days are pretty predictable, when will you have time to be creative and free? Instead of always following the rules, give yourself more opportunities to feel the creative energies without inhibitions.
- If you can live on less money, consider giving up your eight-hour-a-day job for something that gives you more flexibility.
- Spend your time with people who value art and creativity as much as you do, so you don't feel like you are making a mistake by leading a life outside of social norms.
Step 5. Interpret your dreams
Do you pay attention to what you dream of? It is not possible to control dreams (unless you are able to have lucid dreams), but taking into account the dream scenarios that open up during sleep, you will be able to take advantage of the most free and creative regions of the brain.
- Try to write down what you dreamed of as soon as you wake up. This way you will remember it better and can use it as a material for your art.
- Connect what happens in dreams to the experiences and emotions that belong to daytime life and see what you can learn from what you dream.
Step 6. Use your experiences to create
Relationships, habits, encounters, reactions and observations can all appear in your artwork. Find original elements in your daily life. Explore memories and the past, your personality and preferences, and be inspired by the way you see the world. No one else in the world is like you. Tap into what makes you unique and become your own muse.
