Putting Inspiration In Its Place
One thing the internet delivers to us woodworkers in nearly infinite supply is inspiration—indeed, more than we could possibly use in several lifetime careers—but what can be meant to elevate our craft can do just the opposite if we’re not careful, leaving us uninspired, bitter and crippled by comparison.
Woodworking-specific inspiration is all around us. In just a short scroll down our Instagram or YouTube feeds or perusal of our Pinterest boards (I love me some Pinterest), we can instantly be inundated with incredible design. YouTube and Instagram are now the platforms of choice for career-celebrity-woodworkers, pushing out seemingly endless content that keeps us hooked, excited, and hopefully, inspired.
We see impeccable craftsmanship, elegant designs, and custom creations we can’t get enough of until we are lost in an endless parade of views and likes and pins and open tabs on our browser. As of writing, I’m looking at at least 56 right now. Just me?
All this inspiration can be great for us, in three ways:
Vision: Sometimes, just good old fashioned vision is what we need, and we collect designs and ideas to help us ‘see’ what could be. Maybe it’s a new joint we want to try out, or a material or technique we want to add to our next job. Maybe we’re even just following a top-notch plan made by another woodworker! Vision is great because without it, we’re in the dark.
Aspiration: Whether we’re just starting out or are seasoned professionals, there is always someone or something to aspire to. Maybe its a favorite YouTube star (Ishitani Furniture, anyone?) we dream of being like or a design rockstar we look up to (like Vladimir Kagan or George Nakashima, for me). We watch, read, and absorb their content and work, lining the walls of our proverbial rooms (or workshops) with their posters, thinking ‘When I grow up, I want to be just like them.’
Encouragement: Other times, we are just plain stuck and need encouragement. Woodworking is hard, tedious, and long-winded, and we get confused or annoyed or tired. That’s when some great work comes along to put wind in our sails to keep us going.
Inspiration should leave us with vision, a goal to aspire to, and encouragement to keep going; isn’t that kinda the point? So why do we find ourselves buried in so much perfect woodworking that we feel, well, stuck, trapped in inaction and comparison?
It’s because we don’t put it in its proper place.
This is the shift we have to make: The place inspiration belongs is not an end, it’s a beginning.
Think of it like the diving board, not the pool. We don’t stay on that thing forever, and neither should we stop at being inspired. The diving board is simply a fun vehicle to get you to your end goal–the pool. Inspiration is the same: its end goal is to push you to jump into the work you’re doing that requires it!
The hard part is, there’s just so dang much of it. How many times have we started a table, for instance, and before long found ourselves swimming in so many perfect examples of one that we can’t begin to decide on a design or an approach. Or you made a deep dive into dovetails for an upcoming box build and you’ve gone crosseyed from learning all the ways and methods there are to cutting them (and believe me, there are a lot). We’re inspiring ourselves to death!
When I get stuck with too much inspiration, it can even make me bitter; bitter that I’m not as good as so-and-so or not getting the kinds of commissions they are or that my projects never end up looking as crisp as the ones in my social feeds (or even that my shop will never be as organized as the ones I see online! Seriously, do they even work in some of those things?). Not only am I stuck, but I’m a stick in the mud to boot. That’s when I’m letting inspiration keep me on the diving board.
Our reliance on too much inspiration has got us trapped on the diving board. We should only consume it insofar as it propels us forward into action. When we find that we are getting stuck, it’s time to put it away and jump.
So how do you get unstuck and put inspiration in its place? Keep it simple with three tips:
Vision: Collect just enough to see your next step forward.
Aspiration: Gaze at just enough to find the spark to get you started.
Encouragement: Linger on just enough to stay motivated and then get back at it.
Don’t serve inspiration, let it serve you! Keep your diet of inspiration slim. After all, isn’t it it's namesake, to inspire you to action? When I worked in advertising, we didn’t call it ‘inspiration’, we called it ‘swipe’. Swiftness was the idea of ‘swipe,’ and we’d only collect just enough of it to help us wrap our head around the concept we were designing. After that, the real work–the original concept and design–was up to us. So should it be with us woodworkers. The real work is the work we do with our own two hands.
Consider this post a friendly shove off that board (for me if for no one else).
You’ve got work to do and only you can do it, so stay inspired and work fervently!