inspiration sources

The first step to creating again is to get inspired. I'm on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter constantly, and have done my best to fill my feeds with accounts that I find inspiring. Here are a few of my favorites:

• The Jealous Curator - This is by far my favorite thing ever. I've fallen in love with just about everything she's posted. Among my favorites are the airy abstract paintings of Lisa Madigan; the slightly out of focus photo-realistic paintings of Judith Eisler; the gorgeous contour drawings of Ashleigh Ninos; the colorful embroidery "paintings" of Stephanie K Clark; the blurry vintage-y photo paintings of Lisa Golightly; the chunky simplistic paintings of Laura Jones; and the wonderful line drawings of the 52 Week Deck collection by Kimberly Hall.
  
• the gorgeous warm landscape photography of Sandra Lundin (@myatilio on Instagram). Not only is she in beautiful Sweden but she uses her phone exclusively.
  
• the quirky and colorful illustrations of Jeff & Kit Turley (the Illustratus). They are a fairly recent discovery for me. I love they way they use textures and large blocks of color to convey the emotions of the piece.
  
• the photography of Kevin Russ. To me, its the epitome of snapshot photography. He perfectly captures a moment in time with amazing composition and simplicity.
  
• the design and illustrations in the game Two Dots. This game is not only highly addictive but its so gorgeous that you just want to stare at it.

I could continue to go on and on. I've found so many awe-inspiring works of art that I could easily write a book. Which social media accounts do you find inspiring? I'm always in search of more ways to get inspired, so please send me link, ideas, whatever. Please, also, give me a follow if any of that meets your fancy.

getting my creative groove back

Fifteen years ago, I couldn't go to bed until I had at least touch pencil to sketchbook. My need to create was a deep guttural type of urge. Much like how it feels when I crave a cigarette. An empty, aching pit in my stomach that won't go away until the craving has been satisfied.

And then life happened.

College. Getting a job. Relationships. Divorce. New relationships. Stress.

Life quickly became my excuse to not be creative. But in reality, it was fear. Fear of criticism. Fear of rejection. Fear of acceptance.

A few years ago I started sewing to alleviate the restlessness I felt from not being creative. It worked for a while. The colors and patterns of fabric; laying out new designs; the joy of completing a project. But then it became "work." And now I find myself restless again.

I need more. I need to create daily.And I need to not be afraid to do it.

I've always had an interest in photography. Originally I went to college to study photography; only to discover that it was no longer available as a concentration. So I went into graphic design. And while I can manipulate the tools well enough, graphic design has never been a good fit for me.

So now, after fifteen years of living with something missing, I'm trying to fix it. I've been burning through rolls of film; I've been sketching again; and, most importantly, I've been getting inspired again.

I can't wait to see what I make.


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