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What exactly is awen?

The Irish have a similar concept, called Imbas - the 'fire in the head'.

I do have thinky thoughts about this topic - but I'm having a really hard time holding on to them long enough to express them. So bear with me, if this seems disconnected in places.

I chose, when I was still in university, a path in life that emphasized creating physical things and working with my hands over that of a path that was grounded in academia and living in my head.
I realized that my own personal happiness was not going to be found in a world that was all on paper or a screen - I have powerful creative urges that I do believe to be spiritual in nature, and to not let that creativity flow when it needed was like walking against the wind.

The concept of Imbas - the fire in the head - is something I've always held to be true. It relates originally and primarily to poetry - that poets were gifted with a type of clairvoyance from the Gods that granted them knowledge. Imbas is illumination. It is both inspiration, and enlightenment. It is a divine touch that sparks a flame that grows and reveals more as it strengthens.

I used to write more than I do now, but I still produce the occasional poem or song, and I write my own ritual pieces as needed. Often I am guided by the spirit or Deity I am writing for or about - they will provide me with some form of aid. The right turn of phrase can light me up, and sometimes a piece captures something just right - the expression of a Mystery or an experience that would otherwise be ineffable to others.

The majority of the physical objects I craft are either magical tools or ritual tools. It is what I have decided is my craft in this life, and I like to think I bring my experience, knowledge, and talents to bear on them in a positive way. Such crafting is inexorably linked to my spirituality and my religious practices. Often I will find myself working on something, and I will trance through the work, only to find myself sitting at my workspace with a finished object and no recollection of actually crafting it.
It was disconcerting at first, but I've gotten used to it. I tend not to 'charge' objects, preferring to leave that to their eventual owners. I do my best to use appropriate materials, though, and I will try to work to please both my client and a specific spirit or Deity if the item is requested so.

I think there is a connection for me. The time when I feel less creative I also feel less connected as well.
Like I have been lately.

Are there connections between your religion/spirituality and your creative endeavors?
Sometimes. I draw on the beauty of the goddesses Aphrodite, Artemis, and Bast. The ferocity and spirit of Sehkmet. etc.

Do you ask the aid of a god, spirit or muse?
No. I like my art to be my own, unless I am making something related to the deity.

What about concepts like awen?
Not really. I mostly draw on emotions.

btw I'm a painter(in college for it.)

My sources of inspiration can really be anything, and they just sort of appear randomly - a song that I've listened to a hundred times suddenly gives me an idea, a nice day after crappy weather, even just a stroll through a garden, the scent of certain things...
It's doesn't happen often sadly, and many times I'm ill-equipped to write down what I was thinking. Trying to recapture that moment is difficult, but I do love it when something comes to me.