Inspiration

I know this is my second posting of the evening. I wanted to scrap my first one but decided what the heck it's a nice turtle. I was just going down my list of links because I wanted to be inspired(or perhaps I needed to be inspired) and came across a lecture given by Elizabeth Gilbert on Painter of Blues' blog. And there it was. Inspiration. The thought that our creativity is a gift from god and that if that is all our work is then that is a gift all by itself(at least that is what I got out of the lecture). Instead of wondering whether our work is good enough or will ever reach the heights(in some cases) that it reached before, if we just grab the inspiration from the universe(or God as in Elizabeth's speech) then it has already given us a gift and it doesn't matter whether others like it or appreciate it or not. Those are words that I needed to hear about my work and about myself(she also goes into the psyche of an artist).

Most of my work comes from just popping into my head. I am rather impulsive in my non artist life(very impulsive) and trepiditious at the same time. So even my own psyche can either push me forward into a new adventure or step on the breaks when an unbelievable opportunity comes along. I have to stop worrying about both of those feelings and just create and then when the work and the opportunity collide I will be ready. Just the idea that my work comes from just popping into my head is reason enough to just continue on my path. But if I get out of my own way and don't act too rashly on ideas that are clearly not the better option it will all work out. That I have already received the gift and it is just not ready to be shared by the masses. So onward and upward.

Another inspiration was going gallery looking with my friend Cheryl. I guess you could call it an artist date out of Julia Cameron's book if you wish. What a day it was. We went to several galleries in Saratoga. None of them appropriate for my work(and a couple not appropriate for anyone's work). But among those galleries was a beautiful glass gallery called Symmetry. What lovely beautiful bowls and figures in extraordinary colors and shapes! Blues, greens, oranges. Frogs, vases, even a fiber artist that I could not figure out how she made her beautiful creations. It was extraordinary. It was beautifully displayed and my friend Cheryl who is a wonderful glass artist herself knew everything about the artists that were displayed. It was a joy and a wonderful experience to see things you could never imagine creating with someone who could imagine(and create) such beauty. I didn't share it earlier because I had a rough weekend as I am still battling perimenopause and rather miserable. But between the video and the experience I am going to look at a few more inspirational blogs that I have taken a liking to and then I am going back to work.

If you need to be inspired go to Painter of Blues blog(her link is on the side) and watch the video(it is 20 minutes long) and see her inspirational work and be inspired.