Studio Friday : Inspiration.

Ah, inspiration.

I try really hard to live my life with my eyes wide open. Always on the lookout for something with the power to touch me, to light my fire, to make me want to write, create, record, photograph, laugh, cry, tell a story, etc.

Products (especially new ones) and everyday stuff definitely have the power to inspire me, but they also have the power to overwhelm. There is a fine balance between the two. I think that is why I cleaned off my board the other night - needing a fresh, clean slate and a bit of space between one thing and the next. The layers were getting to me.

Books are also big on my inspiration list. Right now I am just starting to read two books: The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp and Drawing From Life: The Journal as Art by Jennifer New. I like reading books about creativity, about new ways to think about life and the world. They have the power to get me seriously fired up. So much so that sometimes I can't let myself read before bed. I am also browsing through Alphabetica by Lynne Perrella. During my last trip I read The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion - interesting autobiographical look at a very hard time in her life.

I am inspired by laughter. By giggles. By sunlight. By words. By the feeling of paint on my fingertips. By looking through the lens.

As for holding on to inspiration once I find it, I try not to hold on too tight. I ride the wave. I take full advantage of the feeling, of the sensation; I revel in it. And when it is gone I don't hold my breath. I take a break. I breathe. I know it will come again. I am alive.

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