Inspiration – In Good Company
Inspiration can come from just about anything and yet, artists spend a great deal of time searching and even waiting for that special spark. I am inspired all the time, seeing new patterns and designs in everything that surrounds me. The swirls in my morning cup of coffee or even the splotches on the ceiling of my bedroom inspire. Images suddenly come to mind when I hear certain phrases in conversation, especially since I am learning Italian and practically every word is a new discovery.
Being online for a large part of the day, I must also mention the many blogs out there that inspire with words and photos. You can see my blogroll on the sidebar, but there are many more in my trusty RSS reader. I’m always excited to see what others are up to and I think we fuel each other with our creativity. I also follow theme websites such as Illustration Friday and Inspire Me Thursday. They offer a weekly word or phrase to be interpreted in any way you see fit. There’s also Creative Every Day and Monday Art Day…what blogs and theme websites do you find inspiring?
All this inspiration can sometimes feel like information overload. Thankfully, we all have that trusty tool called a sketchbook. I have always found myself jotting down lists of ideas. Very stream of consciousness and seemingly random as my mind leaps around a lot. Unfortunately, inspiration isn’t executed upon all the time, maybe just a few here and there are followed through to the end. In reflecting on this, I realize that I’m an idea person. I just love brainstorming most of all. No limits, no boundaries, just spout out anything and everything.
I thought it was such a shame that my lists of ideas usually get left behind and forgotten. I’m already on to the next idea after all. But wouldn’t it be better if I shared my lists? No worries on how silly some might seem…I would rather give it a chance – for the possibility of promoting some creativity somewhere. I offer it all with no strings attached because it seems better that an idea can be nurtured rather than lost forever – effectively unused potential. Think of all the amazing things that could be created if the right idea was matched with the right person to execute it? It makes me happy just thinking about sharing ideas, so moving forward I will do just that along with posting the one idea I personally do follow through with. So here goes…
In Good Company is the theme this week at Inspire Me Thursday and honestly the first thing that came to mind was the movie, In Good Company. (Duh!) But from there my stream of consciousness went on…
- your hands gripped together, like in the movie during the speech by the big boss, good graphic poster
- something about people, family and friends together
- I like hugging, snuggling – even with your pets, kawaii!
- drinking wine and hanging out – the wine glass and bottle make me think of merry jolly times
- anything together especially in cold weather, seems like a good time to snuggle
- thinking of warm colors – tans, browns – earth colors – in the midst of the cold white snow
- roasting chestnuts over the fire, even smores over campfire
- camping, always good company around you, cozy
- animals in their burrows, very cozy together – babies with mommy in burrow smushed up together
- baby sleeping with teddy bear or hugging blankie or sibling babies cuddling
- babies in yin yang formation
- idea of fitting together perfectly
- ultimately the feeling of comfort, security and love with something else = in good company
- the holidays come to mind, xmas especially
I could go on, but I stopped on something I wanted to illustrate, fluffy birds snuggling together on a cold winter day! I decided to make it a repeating tile because patterns are just so darn cool.
You can find this design on fabric in my Spoonflower shop –>
It’s a cute little pair of birdies looking cozy for you. What do you think? I hope you feel in good company on my blog, because I do appreciate your support! Thanks for sticking around. Ciao ciao!
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Of course, here in Italy it is a pretty costly process. I can’t even mention how much because it’s pretty ridiculous, but I had gone ahead with it for the first time just to try it out at least once. There are other options online, but I seem to have problems receiving mail from outside Europe. I had made some orders from the USA in June and still haven’t received them – probably lost in customs or Italian mail limbo. Sigh.
I also thought of an embroidery design for a dress with a hole in it (behind one of those cream felt leaves) – courtesy of Romeo’s giant paw, our resident feisty Labrador who likes to jump all over me. Sticking on some type of applique or embroidery can help to salvage clothing with tiny holes or blemishes.
Then I finished off the entire afternoon painting the first few pieces of my Super Babies series for a future show at 
I’m thinking of doing some little baby girls to add to the series and diversify. I went to bed last night with a million other ideas swirling in my head and wishing I could hurry up and wake up already. I hope you can have a fabulous and productive day as I have…create, enjoy and be happy!
