Inspiration is a fascinating concept to me . It is at once universal and very personal. A private reflection that occurs by an interaction with someone or thing. Inspiration is the same concept as pay it forward. It is meant to be shared and passed on to the next person that finds it inspiring while at least a piece of it remains with you. All while knowing that what inspires me might not inspire you. It is also not a possession of just the beautiful. The ugly and sad can also serve at the altar of inspiration. I have learned as much from the unpleasant as I have from the pleasant. Many of my favorite movies and art work are things that I have but never watch or look at. The viewing of them was so unpleasant but powerful that I don’t and often can’t see them again . Once was enough to forever add them to my repertoire of inspirations. Same has often help true with the intensely beautiful. I have experienced art work of various mediums that is so beautiful , I physically can hardly stand the experience. Mostly, though, I am in the safe place of observing and feeding my imagination and art work.
I seem to find inspiration everywhere without even knowing that I am doing it. My eyes and mind are constantly searching and engaging. Viewing to me is the process of taking in the whole concept and then digging into the detailed layers that make the whole. I never tire of looking.. My eyes act as the utensils to the ravenous hunger of my mind. I find it in the everyday things that I do such as the books I see and page through, the plants I grow, the changing sky, the pattern of the shadow on my wall and the light sifting through my windows. It is why I love to travel… to see.
I recently went to spend some time with my biological family in Appleton Wisconsin and then to Door County to be with my found family. The trip started in the night and I enjoyed the drive under the stars with my iPod. I arrived at my mom’s in time to talk a little before bed time. Wherever she lives, there is the same sense of calm and hominess at my moms place. The quiet lighting and shabby chic decor erases the long day of working and then driving .
My mom, sisters and I did many things together one thing being a visit to a local historic home. I love history and architect. Historic tours is one of my favorite things to do. This house was one of the first homes to have electricity. The woodwork was hand done by a 19 year old and took him 3 years. The whole of it pulled me in but the details caused my own electric tingle. From the carpet to the ceiling , there was a feast for the eyes and soul. First I took in the whole when walking into a room and then peeling back the layers of detail. From the hinges of a shutter to the bold painting of a ceiling, I was reminded that the details are what give us the concept and feeling. My artwork is very layered and detailed. Just like I look at other art work, I see my artwork as a whole concept first which I draw the outline of and then get to work filling it in with details.
We left there , only to drive by a house with carvings of full scale people all around the outside of the house . A artistic mind of such great inspiration that the inside of the house couldn’t contain it all while sitting in a the middle of an unassuming neighborhood. I went shopping at a home goods store and found a cheap trivet. The shape and color immediately grabbed me as it sat quietly amongst its peers. I will definitely be using its patterns and colors in my art work. It is sitting propped up where I can see it from the space I work on my art. A trip to the one of the few book stores remaining in their age of extinction. The place I used to spend hours in before laptops, cell phones, digital books and amazon. Walking among the stacks of books and looking for that book you didn’t know existed and now need. The colors of all the covers and the different fonts and so many categories. Taking some of the antiquated treasures home and waiting for night when everyone went to bed. Bringing them out and getting lost in their pages until sleep reminds you of how late it has gotten.
I left Appleton and headed off to Door County where inspiration is so abundant it flows out into the Great Lake that it has as a partner. Going over large bridges, passing wintering orchards and vineyards, large expanses of fields and woods and the quaint villages and buildings built along the way. We visited old graveyards where the history of the county lies. Picturesque settings when first come upon. Absorbing the the whole of the space and then reading the details in the gravestones. Stories of people willing to go off to an unknown land and make a home for themselves and generations of people that continue to this day. We walked he property of my girlfriend’s new residence which includes a huge locked up old barn. It is still filled with the possessions of the people whose family farmed the land. It is a barn that the minute you see you know it has thousands of stories to tell. Texture of the old weathered barn wood was tantalizing along with the glass of the old sealed windows. The huge barn doors can almost be heard opening even though for now they remain padlocked. The old field grass around the barn wove in and around itself as if it was the beautiful curled tresses of the woods. The whole atmosphere and view inspired both the artistic eye and the questions of the imagination. The patterns of nature where detail is the foundation of its life. There was the beautiful ginger color of the feathers of another friends chickens. Seeing it rest quietly in my friend’s boy’s arms. Petting it and seeing while feeling the texture of its soft feathers compared to the texture of its tough legs.
I returned home with a full heart and brain. I now enjoy the task of processing and absorbing all that I experienced. It was a feast of inspiration and my brain was filled. I tuck the photos and feelings away in my brain and the hard copy on my phone. The view is taken in by my eyes, served to my brain and then my whole body is flooded with the nutrients of inspiration. It got me thinking about the idea of inspiration and what that idea means to me hope you in turn find inspiration in my shares and if you do remember to inspire it forward
