Inspiration & Relevance

This post revolves around two things:

inspiration, and relevance.

Last night I dreampt about Madonna. I dream about her occasionally. It's odd when you consider that I don't like her songs much, but I find her strength and drive fascinating. When I woke up, I had some of those half-formed ideas that sometimes turn into art pieces. I ran out to the studio to turn the heat on, and do some thumbnails for a new series. Are these connected? I don't know, but I may want to figure that out... I'm working on revising my artist's statement, using Alsyon Stanfield's new book about promotion: "I'd Rather Be in the Studio". In it, she uses a series of questions designed to help artists get clear about the inspiration behind the work. How am I going to incorporate dreams of Madonna into an artist statement? Should be interesting.

And relevance: This photo of my shoes seems irrelevant, but the fact is, I love the way the light comes through that sliding glass door, and shines through the screen that's leaning there. Noticing things like this, I photograph them. That's relevant to the creative process, just as relevant as the ideas that flew out of my head and into the sketchbook this morning; ideas for pieces that spring from my love of this place I live, and from the losses of last summer's Angora fire.

On Fire

My town is on fire.

My son took this picture of the Angora fire, with its heart-shaped cloud, from a spot 1.5 miles from our house. The last two days have been surreal, but we are fortunate that the fire did not come this way. I have been working in the studio, and my colors all seem to represent fire...

I'm feeling sad, and yet I am still focused on my work. Obsessed, almost. It's odd, when others are losing everything, to go about our daily routine.But while there's nothing much I can do to help my community at this point, I can still keep going with my own work.