Carly and I were asked recently about what inspires us both and we answered 'everything'. Probably a one word answer for what could have been a day long conversation. It is so worth thinking about that though, why you are drawn towards some things and not others. There are just so many beautiful things around and plain or 'úgly' things too that can inspire. There are just so many talented creative people around doing their thing where can you possibly start?
We were talking about it yesterday on the phone. I remember a dance teacher doing some choreography with a group of us back in high school. She ( I cannot remember her name :-( ) asked us to think of something you do at home like a duty- washing the dishes, vacuuming, anything...doing your shoelaces and then make the movements, and then make them larger and then take out some of the details and see if you come out with any interesting new movements, Then see what happens if you repeat that movement over and over, what does it look like, combine it with music, make some parts of the movement slower/faster.
She was amazing and I suddenly realised that ANYTHING can be the source of a new idea. The movements in dance are patterns just like that in a patterned textile except movements in 3 dimensional space. Its the same with music being a pattern or a map of sound.
Or, if your stuck for an idea pickup the nearest thing to you... in my case its a pencil...and really look at it.
There are lines and 6 angles to create an almost round linear object. There are two dark ends the pencil tip and the patterned black end. There's gold writing and numbers and little symbols- I dont know what they are. The inspiration within this pencil could evolve into a body of work and patterns that could keep you busy for ten years!
I could draw lines with dark and light parts, some filled with text, I could look at the little motifs in gold and create all sorts of different new shapes by repeating them in different directions. I could think about the shape of the pencil and the potential imagery that could come out of it by way of line or shade and introduce that into a more static simple line repeat. Then you have colour and scale and the possibilities are just endless.
Im blabbing again. The beautiful objects in the above photographs come from jhterrygallery ; whose online catalogue is a most beau and inspiring collection to me.
3 comments:
You are one of the lucky ones to have had a revelation like that. To understand that as an artist that the world is your oyster every single day whether it is a 'sunny' or 'cloudy' day is a really really fortuitous thing. In fact it is a gift.
A few years ago I got together with a director and two other actors who had really terrible relationship break ups and we proceeded to create a feature film about our sadness - the film ended up at 11 international film festivals, did an Australian season and was nominated for 3 major Australian awards.
This was the most heartening thing - I realised how much good could come from feeling so low - if you take that feeling and transfer it into something positive - put it into action.
So yay!
x
I loved reading this post. I caught a piece on the artist Rosalie Gascoigne on Sunday arts a week ago. She saw pattern in landscape and in objects. I was close to tears by the end of itand a bit beside myself. I loved how she saw something in everything.
Oh! I missed it! Her work is so gorgeous esp the wood slatted works for me :-) I think more than a gift its just a matter of shifting the way one sees things xox
Both humanbean and Julie this is also so much a part of your acting/photography which needless to inspires me so much!x
Post a Comment