CHALLENGE 10 
Developing your curiosity
NOW THAT YOU HAVE YOUR IDEA BOX, IT IS TIME TO DEVELOP YOUR CURIOSITY ALL THE WAY TO 100 PERCENT! THAT WILL MAKE YOU MORE RECEPTIVE TO INSPIRATION AND WILL ENLARGE YOUR FIELD OF POSSIBILITIES. THIS CHALLENGE CONSISTS OF CHOOSING A SUBJECT AND ASKING YOURSELF AS MUCH ABOUT IT AS YOU CAN, USING THE EXERCISES SUGGESTED HERE. YOU WILL BE SURPRISED BY HOW MANY CREATIVE PATHS YOU DISCOVER THIS WAY.
Being curious before being inspired
In her book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, Elizabeth Gilbert notes that we are not gripped by passion every day, but that we can all be curious. How can we exercise our curiosity? All you have to do is ask yourself questions and look for information about a topic that excites your interest:
“How does it work?”
“Where does it come from?”
“Where did it take shape?”
“What does it mean?”
These questions are all paths that will facilitate the emergence of ideas that may turn into things that you make. And because curiosity never runs out, it is an excellent remedy against the problem of the blank page, and you don’t have to worry about using it in moderation!
I develop my curiosity using a subject that I adore: peonies.
Practical exercises
Complete the following exercises to develop your curiosity.
Ask yourself about your tastes and interests: What are the subjects that you’re passionate about? Gardening? Vikings? Oceans? It doesn’t matter whether it has any relationship to art or creativity. Just learn as much as you can about the subject.
Ask yourself random questions: If there is no particular theme that you want to concentrate on, type the first word that comes into your mind into an online search engine, or else open a book up to any old page. That will take you to another subject, another place, or another person. Stop when you have found a subject that tickles your interest and start again, asking yourself questions and collecting information.
Find out about the work of another artist: Start the same exercise over again, using the work of an artist that you find attractive. How did that person learn? How did they achieve the effects that you see? Dig further into this analysis using the suggestions in challenge 14.
Ask yourself questions about the things that you see: Open your eyes to your surroundings and start finding things out. What surprises you, what intrigues you, what catches your attention? Why do you possess this object? Where did this element in the street come from?
Your Turn 
Do one of the following exercises.
- 1. Create a digital or hard-copy folder to collect the information you’ve found. Don’t ask yourself how you are going to use this material. Just dive into your research and welcome the inspiration that follows from it.
- 2. In your idea box, write down at least one path you want to follow for a future creative project.