Inspiration

Here's the thing about creativity: if you want the Muse to show up for work every day (and I do), sometimes you've got to give her the afternoon off.  Let her sit in the back yard looking at pretty books or drawing silly things that are never intended to see the light of day.  My ancestors would call it "lollygagging;" however, I've learned that if you demand daily effort from the Muse without feeding her anything or letting her rest, she eventually coughs, coughs again, and keels over.

That's why I was delighted to find  Paris Flea Market: World Design by Herbert Ypma.  It's full of eye candy, pretty colors, and unusual collections.  Even though it was written in 1996, the homes featured in it are so unique and so quintessentially Parisian that they still look fresh and interesting today.  Let's face it -- the French are way ahead of us in the style department.

I'm also having a great time with Julie Nutting's Collage Couture.  The book shows you how to draw fashion figures and then create their clothing using collage techniques.  There are lots of mixed-media projects to try.  You know me: I'll probably learn a couple of techniques and then go off on my own and do what I want with them -- which pretty much explains in a nutshell why I got on my teachers' nerves when I was in school -- but it's a lot of fun.  It's like playing with paper dolls all over again.

   Photo: Rhinestone Armadillo

There are also a couple of blogs that never fail to inspire me to be more creative and try new things.  One of them is Rhinestone Armadillo, written by Laura who is the wife of a totally hot guy, the mother of an adorable little girl (with another on the way), and she's a super-talented artist.  She's also gorgeous.  Wait a minute, why do I like her again?  (Ha.  I kid.)  She's always posting delicious looking meals, pictures of sewing and art projects, cute pictures of her daughter, and things that interest her.  I always leave her blog feeling inspired to live more creatively.

Photo: Hivenn

Another blog that always inspires me is by Elizabeth over at Hivenn.  She takes photos with actual film and then converts them to a digital format for her blog, so you already know she's a lot more patient and clever than I am.  Elizabeth is a lovely young woman living near London in the UK, and she always chooses the most interesting places to photograph.  She also takes lots photos of herself and her friends in all kinds of great outfits and with amazing makeup effects.  Her photos always inspire me to look more closely at the beauty of the world around me.



Photo: Street Art Utopia

And finally, I can always count on Street Art Utopia to provide creative inspiration along with a big dose of humor (check out the Hipster Trap).  This website features photos of street art of all different styles from all over the world.

These are some of the things that help me when the Muse gets that tired, overworked feeling.  What inspires you?



What I'm Reading: Apocalypse Not

Are you tired of the end of the world yet?  I am, but I've been hearing about it since Comet Kohoutek back in 1973 and I decided at about the time Y2K came and went not with a bang but a whimper that if the world is coming to an end it can probably do so without my worry or supervision.

Lots of people these days are talking about December 21, 2012 -- the end of the Mayan Long Count Calendar -- as the start of Armageddon or a global shift in consciousness, either of which is guaranteed to create stunning changes in our lives.  Some people are excited because they are headed for a quick trip to heaven while the rest of us get to hang around and suffer for our sins; others are excited because the Age of Aquarius is upon is and things are about to get really groovy up in here. 

John Michael Greer talks about that and more in Apocalypse Not: Everything You Know About 2012, Nostradamus and the Rapture is Wrong.  Greer traces the concept of the apocalypse from its invention by Zarathustra, the founder of Zoroastrianism, in the 7th century B.C.E through to the present day.  Greer has a gift for taking complex concepts and making them accessible, clearly explaining ten centuries of apocalyptic thinking in 178 pages that despite the serious subject matter are laugh-out-loud funny in spots.

It's not the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.

What I'm Reading: Harpo Speaks!

"It's my favorite book" my friend said.  "Just read it.  Trust me, you'll love it."  As she handed her copy to me, an index card that said "My favorite book" fell out of it.  So I borrowed Harpo Speaks!, and now it's one of my favorite books, too.

I've tried to explain in detail to people exactly why it's such a wonderful book, and I've failed every time.  So I will simply say that every page of Harpo Speaks! is laugh-out-loud funny, and that Harpo Marx was that rare individual who had the wisdom to appreciate and enjoy things as they were happening to him, not just in rose-colored retrospect.  Somehow, even an impoverished childhood in Brooklyn in the early 1900s seems like an amazing adventure when Harpo tells it.  And I suppose to him it was.

Plus, as a bonus, I got to walk around for a few days saying "Exapno Mapcase" at frequent intervals.   I think it got on my cat's nerves a little.

Poster for Harpo's 1933 tour of the USSR.  Harpo decided that his name in cyrillic looked like "Exapno Mapcase."

Just read the book.  Trust me, you'll love it.


 

What I'm Reading: Philosophy

In addition to making jewelry and absorbing vitamin D while the sun shines, I've also been reading a book called Fifty Key Medieval Thinkers.  Want me to tell you all about it?

I didn't think so.

What I'm Reading: Apollo's Angels

Apollo's Angels is six-hundred-plus pages of ballet history, and managed to keep me engaged throughout. That alone tells you it's a well-written and interesting book.

Jennifer Homans discusses the history of ballet from its beginnings as a courtly art in 17th century to the great dancers and choreographers of the 20th century. Through it all, ballet was shaped by the events of modern European history: politics, war, and especially the rise of communism.

As a dancer -- an aged, decrepit dancer, but a dancer nonetheless -- it was fun to read about the long and fascinating history that I'm a part of every time I go into the studio. And the next time we do a reverence at the end of class, I'll do it with more, well, reverence.

What I'm Reading: A New Louisa May Alcott Biography

In a shocking turn of events, I am reading a biography about a spinster.

Louisa May Alcott has been one of my favorite authors since I read Little Women in third grade. Alcott was actually a very interesting person who lived in a very interesting time and place. She had a crazy upbringing filled with deprivation and hardship among the Transcendentalists, yet she grew up to be a prolific and successful writer. She wrote "blood and thunder tales" -- pulp fiction -- in addition to more "proper" stories for children and adults alike.

In Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women, Harriet Reisen shows us the people and events that shaped Alcott as a person and as a writer. Reisen shows how Alcott's writings were based on her life, and we learn about the real people and experiences behind the tales.

I'm really enjoying it, but then, I love all things Alcott. Which is saying a lot, considering the fact that after 40 years I'm still pissed because she married Laurie off to that drip Amy.