A big part of making decisions is determining what our actions and choices have been inspired by. So we asked decision makers from the community to tell us about what they are inspired by.

AVM Hawkins | Contemporary Abstract Visual Artist

I am inspired by the infinite amount of impulses and desires driving me to create. I feel like there are so many ideas, techniques, mediums and designs that I want to explore through my art. All of these thoughts, images and ideas excite me. They fill me with so much energy and enthusiasm which keeps me always wanting to create more, explore new ideas, and grow as much as possible as an visual artist. I strongly believe that all of this joyful and passionate energy radiates from my fine art and in turn is received by the viewer. I love every second of being a full-time artist. Living my dream inspires me to create. Read more>>

Jena Blanck | Fine Artist & Designer

I am inspired by my surroundings. I find inspiration by sights and smells, by the people, the city or nature that surrounds me. I love fusing history and intention into each project I work on. Read more>>

Jon Read | Artist, Musician

Lately, the whole misuse of technology and appropriating things. Lately in my music Ive really been into old school germanium fuzz, how the instability of frequency ,first discovered by a malfunction, transformed the the instrument forever. Im my art I have been using animatronic toys I find on amazon and turn them into my own robotic life form. I want to create my entire universe of these moving sculptures. They are a manifestation of our collective horrible behavior the internet, a world resulting in our insecurities and secret desires. Beings looking to us, their creators, for wisdom and a moral guidance, unaware of our indifference. and how we are oblivious to what we made. I like mythology, fantasy, anything that offers a peek behind the current the confines of reality. Read more>>

Victoria Larson | Photographer

I’m inspired by music and architecture. Especially the way they interact with nature. Juxtaposition and duality are things that I love to explore through my art. Read more>>

Tassie Kalas | Humorist and Writer

I love a good story—especially a funny one! There’s no greater joy than running into a friend and reliving a happy memory, embellishing and exaggerating until you both have tears running down your cheeks. A well-told tale, like a photograph, preserves a moment in time, unites the past and the present, and brings people together like a warm hug. As a writer, I’m inspired by everyday humorous events. When embarrassing things happen to normal people, they cringe, blush, and hope no one finds out. When humiliating things happen to humor writers, they turn the whole sordid affair into a story, then twist it, type it, and tell it to the world. My family and friends never fail to provide me with material, whether they mean to, or not. The coming-of-(middle) age stories I write are inspired by real life, and the messy moments that exist on the other side of the welcome mat. Written in the spirit of Erma Bombeck and Dave Barry, they cover four generations of a traditional Greek family and one member’s modern day struggles as she grows up, grows older, and finally finds her voice—at the same time she’s losing her mind. Read more>>