By Gemma O’Brien
As creators we go through many different processes in the chase to create something truly unique. We find our inspiration, we create the vision and we begin the journey. I’ve found that I turn to the outdoors for that inspiration, both at home in Sydney, and when I’m working abroad.
Here’s three reasons why my running shoes are always at the ready:
1. Fresh air frees the mind
If I’m stuck creatively I’ll go for a run, especially after a long day sitting in the studio painting, drawing and working on my computer for hours. I like to get outside and have a break. I turn to running because it is important to my entire process. I can find inspiration in the unlikeliest of places and go back to the studio feeling refreshed and having plenty of new ideas.
2. Pounding pavements gets you closer to a city’s culture
I never catch public transport when I’m in a new city. It’s the best way to get to discover the neighborhood you are staying in and see a side of a city that’s not always necessarily the side that’s presented in a tourist guide. It’s a way to feel like you live there. I’ll find a place, maybe it’s a café, a store or a gallery that I found online, and then wherever it goes on the map that’s where I’ll use as my end point.
3. Street art galleries are waiting to be discovered
It’s a treat running in New York and in LA. The street art I come across is awesome. I traveled to Venice Beach and I was doing a lot of runs along the boardwalk and I’d come back through laneways and see these beautiful murals that I wouldn’t have seen if I’d stuck to the boardwalk.
Even in Sydney where I live, I mix up my running routes and look up at the sides of the buildings where there’s old signage that may be faded away, letters from something that used to be there and that’s really cool and inspirational for what I do.
How does running boost your creativity?
