Quite often I'm asked where my ideas/inspirations come from. Here's what I shared with students and audiences during my presentations.....
Most of the time a piece of fabric that I've dyed/printed, a title, phrase, or theme will grab my attention. I don't create work to express political statements, social significance and they aren't derived from dreams either. Others do that very well.
My space at Woolworth Walk and my own online gallery exemplifies the wide variety of subjects that I've explored. Many artists have a singular style, I guess I'm too antsy to get too repetitive, though there is something positive about pushing one subject/style to see where it will take an artist. However, I much prefer creating lots of different types of art. I know this overview really didn't provide a specific answer so my best advice for a beginner is just to start....the more you make the more possiblities you'll recognize.
I'll be gathering some images to share in an upcoming post to illustrate some examples. One thing I do know, I'll never be bored.
4 comments:
You're right- and that photo shows it well- you have a wide variety of directions in your work. I'm similar to you in that a lot of things interest me. I always say I suffer from "see one, want to make one" syndrome. Sometimes it feels a bit scattered as I can't settle on one thing for long. And it makes for a bit of chaos in the sewing room, too!
For wonderfully creative artists like you, there is always something to explore. Inspiration can come from anywhere, but it takes the artist to see it.
What a great description....'see one, want to make one'........thank you Nancy!!
I've answered this same question on my blog, perhaps more than once. My conclusion, when I first sat down to suss it out, was that my inspiration comes from everywhere, but particularly from nature. And like you, I just have way too many ideas that pop up from this observation of life to limit myself to one thing, although if I look at my work as a whole, some obvious themes reoccur. My few times of trying to work in a series didn't pan out well (with one possible exception), didn't result in what they say will happen, perhaps because I didn't give it enough time, but like you, there's an antsyness in me that keeps me bouncing from one idea to another, sparked by a fabric or juxtaposition of fabric or something seen outside my window or on a walk or by any number of things. I think that keeps me interested and interesting. It keeps you interesting too. I love the way you've given yourself the freedom to keep exploring beyond what others might expect out of you. As Michael James said, just do the work and don't worry about what others think of it. More important to please yourself.
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