Thursday, September 04, 2008

Inspiration Boards

I am up early thanks to a monstrous crow. It caw cawed for ten minutes straight until I got out of bed then abruptly flew away. Every one is dressed, teeth brushed, breakfast fed, and waiting for the bus. So now is my little window of quiet morning time before I need to get some chores done and wake up Lauren. This is my blog land time. BUT, today, I find myself on Flickr doing searches on "Inspiration Boards".

Here are a few of the extra fabulous ones... THIS ONE (so right up my color way at the moment), THIS ONE (I love the chaos in it), THIS ONE (what is with me an teal these days?), THIS ONE (color, yum), and THIS ONE (cause it's different, and I love Anna Maria).

So now, I am suddenly obsessed with getting an inspiration board in the studio. I want one, I have to have one, I can't live without, I may not make it through the day unless I get one... I am so desperate to have one that I may wake Lauren up early, deal with her grumpy wrath, and go to JoAnn Fabrics right now to get one.

Here is the thing that is keeping me in my comfy chair though... in my mind, there are two kinds of inspiration boards. A) keeping your soul inspired ones and 2) keeping your ideas inspired ones. The souls ones are daily reminders of why you do what you do. They have pictures of friends and family, favorite quotes... you know, motivational stuff. I had one of those at the old house. It had news paper clippings of family members that had been published, it had pictures from Christmas cards of close friends, it had the receipt from my buying my business license. I tried to hang it in the new studio and it fell off the concrete wall and broke. The second kind of board is the kind I want now.

I am trying to think practically. If I want an inspiration board to cover with ideas that keep my creative juices flowing then I have to have a source for those ideas right? That means I would be pinning up magazine pages/clippings most likely. I don't get any magazines these day!! Would it be a total waste of an idea board if I didn't really have constant sources for ideas? I do pick up some publications here and there... and there are all those lovely paint swatches I covet in the hardware stores... and I could print photos I find inspiring on the internet (though that would mean needing to buy printer ink and put the computer together in the studio). Oh, and I don't have push pins either.

Do any of y'all find this happening to you? You have a compelling urge to do something that is incredibly difficult to ignore or stop thinking about... and yet at the same time, silly practical details keep you from going for it? This usually isn't "me". I always go for it and deal with the wastefulness of my decision down the road. But I am still working on my Lemonade Stand For Art way of thinking. I don't want to buy things I don't need.

Oh what a silly Thursday rambling.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

It wouldn't be wasteful and doesn't have to be full right away. Inspiration comes in so many forms for you and at different times. Just having the board up in your studio, even if blank, will probably get you all excited to get to your torch. Look how energized you are just thinking about the board. Go for it. And then you can help me get mine! :)

Anonymous said...

Definitely not a waste! I don't have my own "private" space right now (i'm getting it), but I do have an inspiration journal---it's just a blank journal and it has clippings, color swatches, ideas, anything that amuses me goes in there. And I do make time to do that. Also, it's something for me to have when I have the quiet time and need a break---I pull it out and work on it or just get a yummy drink and browse.....I say: Get the board! You won't regret it!
Kim (Texas)

Anonymous said...

hey! what a great idea. my refer is my family inspiration board. i would love to have an idea/jewelry inspiration board. how did you find these on flkr? i say, go for it! lisa d., oregon

Kerry said...

Thanks Ladies!!

lisa, they are easy to find. Just type "inspration board" in the search field... tons will come up.

Holly said...

Just go for it! It's a great idea and you have me wanting one to put over my sewing table so that I can get motivated to stop being scared of my sewing machine.

Christine said...

I love the inspiration boards! I might have to have one in my studio, too!

Yeah, I'm with you on the overwhelming urge to do something and am held back by practicality. I think that happens nearly every day to me. Heh.

Love the table you got for your kitchen, btw. :)

Anonymous said...

Kerry,
Loved that teal blue/shabby one you featured! I was just thinking about an inspiration board too...right down to distressing the borders. Randy helped me make one a while back using fabric, believe it or not. I think you'll have this idea stewing in your head until you go for it! Knowing you, you could make your own push pins with wire or something! :-)