INSPIRATION STATION//BAY AREA'S BEST DOG PHOTOGRAPHER JESSE FREIDIN
As an artist, it's inevitable that you'll hit a slump now and again. You don't realize it immediately. But then you do. And in a way, it's a real challenge to get through. Sort of like writer's block. Like someone put a paper grocery bag over your head and then asked you to make your art. Yeah, that sure makes it difficult. But for me, when I hit a creative slump I like to take it by the horns and kick it's butt. I crave inspiration and creative stimulation at all times, so pulling myself out of a slump is an opportunity to refresh my vision, inundate myself with images, music, words, smells- anything that inspires me- and jam pack it into my brain in order to start anew.
Years ago I took a few classes over at City College SF, just so I could get into their darkroom and expose myself to some new techniques. Every day after class I would go to their amazing library and take out a new photography book. Before my next class I would photocopy all my favorite images from that book, and plaster them around my entire apartment. Every step I took I was surrounded by inspirational images. While I was brushing my teeth, eating dinner, working on my portfolio. They seeped into my brain and forced me to push myself creatively. So, whenever I feel that slight dip in inspiration I go to the nearest copy shop and pump their color copier full of quarters- creating a kind of virtual tearsheet of inspiration. I go home, tape them all up, and feel so.much.better.
Who's inspiring me right now, you ask?