On Creativity

Food, friendships, nature, writing in cursive by hand…these are just a few of the things that inspire you to create.

This May we’ve been making a special effort to spotlight your creativity. We asked Getty visitors what keeps them going, shared a playlist of inspiring music, and posed the question on our social media channels to find out what gets your creativity flowing. And for most of you, creativity is an essential part of living.

“My farmer’s market and farm stands,” writes Joseph on Facebook. Making friends with the farmers over the years has yielded some special moments: a delicious slow-cooked beef dish with rice and turtle beans and leftovers to share! Combining ingredients is “not completely unlike the way painters mix paints or the way potters mix other materials with clay,” he writes. “Monet didn’t just plant flowers in his gardens and we know he poured over seed catalogs.

Some of you find inspiration in, well, everything, “I've even painted the laundry in the laundry machine,” says Bianca. “Old and rusty objects,” says Kate. Ukho Fab Peyi writes that they’re an artist inspired by the “socio-cultural issues concerning the AmaXhosa,” a tribe in South Africa. “Oh, and owls. I like to draw them,” says Alicia.

On Instagram, you all shared that simplicity, sketching, travel, and crafting were ways to feel engaged with the creative process.

And, of course, a visit to the museum! Just feast your eyes on these two incredible drawings from Getty Center visitors.