- The Weird Circular
- Posts
- Found Art and Serendipity
Found Art and Serendipity
Letting the Universe Lead You to Creation
Holly Lyn Walrath
September 04, 2026
In partnership with
Lately, I’ve been documenting what I call “Art Maxxing” on my social media accounts. It’s part gimmick to draw people in and part true experience. Art Maxxing is simply the act of spending a day focused on my creative passions—from taking a workshop to visiting a museum to making the active choice to work on something creative. This is essentially how I’ve always created: I do something that fuels my inner imaginative world, and then I devote time to my creativity.
But what has surprised me recently about this experience is how often serendipity plays a role. I’ve found that by putting yourself out there—attending a conference, visiting a new gallery in your city, going to a creative meetup—you also invite the universe to show you where your art is going next.
For example, I recently spent a day at the newly renovated Rothko Chapel. I’ve visited this place many times before. I wandered into the Chapel’s welcome center, and they happened to be giving away books from the archives. The first book I picked up was one of yogic principles. As someone who’s recently gotten into yoga as a physical practice, I’m still expanding my understanding of its philosophy. The book seemed primed for me personally—it was essentially a dictionary of interesting terms. I’ve also made a practice of erasing or creating blackout poems from old books, specifically encyclopedias.
I took the book with me to lunch and began making a playful poem out of it. The poem’s topic was “death”, which felt fitting because I’d just spent a day looking at Rothko’s art. Rothko’s work is often associated with death because of his suicide. On that day, I created three works of art inspired by Rothko and the yoga dictionary—a poem about Rothko’s paintings, a blackout poem, and a painting using the dictionary.
If I hadn’t visited these places, those works would have been impossible to make. Sometimes, it feels like the universe leads me to create through sheer serendipity.
Science is already very familiar with serendipity. A lot of major scientific discoveries are possible because of chance. Alexander Fleming discovered the world’s first antibiotic, penicillin, after a Petri dish was left out by accident. From the microwave oven to X-rays, science has been gifted by serendipity for ages.
Louis Pasteur, a scientist responsible for discovering vaccination, once said, “Fortune only favors the prepared mind.” A word I often find in serendipity research is “agency”. It’s not just that the imagination needs stimulus to operate—it also needs openness. There’s a conscious decision to notice, to be aware, that we can control. Serendipity relies on the human brain’s ability to make connections. The yoga book felt serendipitous to me, but if I hadn’t noticed it or taken the time to stop and read, I’d have missed the opportunity.
Art—writing, painting, photography, really any art—is driven by serendipity. So, how do you prepare your mind to take in what the universe is sending your way?
Enjoying this 100-percent-fresh-and-free post? Consider upgrading for just $25/year to help keep me in Coke Zero Zero
Here are a few tips on using serendipity for inspiration:
Let Serendipity Lead You to Surprise
Serendipity is at the heart of most innovation. For any creative person, being new and original is often the hardest part of creating. Everything’s been done before. But by letting serendipity lead your creative practice, you can invite surprise into your work.
You’ve probably heard the adage, “no surprise for the author, no surprise for the reader.” So the next time you feel stuck, put yourself into a mindset that allows you to invite serendipity.
Take Time to Goof Off
Scientists have given procrastination a beautiful title: Informality. An informal approach to research is one where you randomly research on Google, read a book, or browse related topics.
What if you took that approach to art? Instead of thinking of each story, each painting, each photograph as needing to be perfect, be open to serendipity. Goof off. Play around. Create imaginatively. Let yourself make mistakes. After all, isn’t that what serendipity is?
Pay Attention to the Nudges: What If?
Sometimes when I’m creating art, I get a little nudge. I think “What if this character suddenly did something unexpected?” or “What if this story started at the end, not the beginning of the situation?” or “What if this painting was upside down?”
When I follow those nudges, I often end up in a rabbit hole. But sometimes, that rabbit hole is a wonderland of ideas.
Create an Environment Primed for Serendipity
We use our minds best in certain environments. I find my best ideas in coffee shops, at art museums, or when talking with friends. Putting yourself in situations where you can encounter inspiration can help you be ready for the universe to throw ideas your way. This isn’t to say you shouldn’t work at home at your desk—just that when you need a bit of a spark, try getting out of your comfort zone.
While in a new environment, pay attention. Look at posters. Listen to conversations. Notice things. Be an observer. Have agency over what inspires you by paying attention to your world.
Make Obvious Art
The opposite often holds its own allure. Instead of trying to be original, try making your work the straightforward way first. For example, I’ll often make an abstract, plain painting first. But later, I go back and add text or something special to the piece. This obvious approach shows you the bare bones of an idea. But later, you can always break those bones apart and rearrange them.
Now: What is un-obvious? What’s a new approach to your art that you haven’t tried yet?
Notes
Some of the ideas for this blog were inspired by this research article on Serendipity: “Serendipity: A Way of Stimulating Researchers’ Creativity” by Kennedy et al, Journal of Creativity 32:1, 2022.
Upcoming Workshops from Your Host with the Most Writing Prompts, Holly Lyn Walrath
 Sip + Create Goth Night  Journaling for Writers  30 Genres in 30 Days Get ready to discover the magic of different genres in this fun and interactive 30-day workshop tailored for short story writers. Whether you’re into mystery, romance, horror, or science fiction, this workshop will help you grasp the unique elements and essentials of each genre. With 30 engaging prompts, you’ll master how to seamlessly blend popular genre traditions into your stories, no matter if you usually write microfiction, flash fiction, or short stories. This workshop is the perfect opportunity for fiction writers aiming to enhance their craft by gaining a deeper understanding of genres.  Grow with Van Gogh: A 30 Day Creative Challenge Secluded in a small village outside of Paris, the famous impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh spent the final 70 days of his life doing what he loved: painting every day. This remarkable period and astonishing burst of creativity inspires this unique workshop. Grow with Van Gogh is a 30-day challenge for writers, artists, and all creatives looking to generate new work and push their boundaries. This four-week workshop includes a daily prompt inspired by the life and work of Vincent van Gogh. Whether you're putting words on a page, paint on a canvas, or lens to the world, this challenge invites you to show up daily and create. Vincent van Gogh is one of the most prolific and famous artists of all time. He is also perhaps the most misunderstood. A tribute to Vincent’s relentless creative spirit, this workshop takes a close look at the artist while allowing participants to respond to and reflect on van Gogh’s life through their own creative voyage. |  Sip + Create Van Gogh's Sunflowers  Writing the Book-Length Poetry Collection This online poetry workshop is built for new and emerging poets ready to gather their work into a cohesive manuscript. Open to all levels and all genres of poetry, it's ideal for writers who have poems on the page but feel overwhelmed by the task of shaping them into a chapbook or full-length book. By the end of this online writing class, you'll have the skills to move from a folder of individual poems toward a publishable manuscript — and a clear understanding of how to submit and market your book of poetry.  Sip + Create Fifth Ward Art Walk  Sip + Create Holiday Cards Join us for a cozy holiday card-making sesh where you can explore your creative side and make your own poetry-themed holiday cards. In this creative session, we'll use books and texts from the December cultural holidays — Christmas, Bodhi Day, Hanukkah, Diwali, and Kwanzaa—to write poems and create our own holiday cards. Learn about the world's holidays, enjoy a cozy holiday beverage, and meet other creatives. |
Self-Paced Workshops (Sign Up Anytime!)
 Self-Paced Course: 30 Poems In 30 Days  Self-Paced Course: Journaling for Poets |  Self-Paced Course: Queer Poetics  Self-Paced Course: Writing Resistance Through Erasure, Found Text & Visual Poetry |
2 minutes. Your URL. A customer profile worth using.
Most founders can describe their product. They can't describe their customer. Not in a way that actually changes how they sell.
HubSpot for Startups built a free tool to fix that. Paste in your URL, answer a few quick questions, and it generates a structured profile of your best-fit customer. Firmographics, buying triggers, the works.
Takes 2 minutes. No spreadsheet required.
Reply