Inspiration from the Outside

I believe that a lot of times artists create their own masterpieces with little difficulty because they just think of a project they want to do and make it so that it is their own.  Simple enough right? Well, what if they need to create something entirely of their own imagination.  They have to design a project entirely from scratch.  What do they do then?  They can look for inspiration somewhere other than themselves.  An artist could just be doing anything on any particular day at any place when all of sudden, WHAP!  Inspiration smacks them in the face.  Another time an artist can find inspiration in places other than within himself or herself is when they hit a, well, a rut.  They can't think of anything to do for a project so they go out, and instead of waiting for art to find them, they seek out art.  They know that they need to look at the amazing world around them to find new inspiration for which they can draw from and use to create something unique.  They know that their fire for creativity needs a spark that can only be done by an element that is not found within themselves.