Effects and Sources

Where does inspiration start? Some things are obvious, nature, fine art. Travel brings new ideas and new images. Almost anything can spark a thought of 'what happens when' or 'if this works, then' while pondering. Fleeting and swift. Have to write them down or very quickly they fly away.

Images are from a journal kept during a trip to Ireland, basic supplies of watercolor pencils and graphite pencils.

Good quality paper, the journal was 5" x 7" and folded over, fit in a coat pocket. When ideas or images came, made sketches and drawings.

Usually nothing fancy, most of the time just black-white. This colored image is from a visit to the Library at Trinity College Dublin to see the original Book of Kells.

The pages from the Ireland journal on the left are pencil sketches made at the Ross Castle during a tour.

Spent several days staying at the cottages there, had time to make several pages of drawings and notes.

Just jottings, to capture the image and the ideas.

Some of the fun of the trip was locating new pencils, using them and bringing them back.

Sometimes ideas for jewelry designs would come, and they would be jotted down quickly, to try out later. Some eventually became actual jewelry designs.

Attracted to old things, but have a dislike of marring or destroying the originals. Like to create 'faux-tiques' or 'invented vintage' to get the effect without deconstructing the original.

The sketch is an idea for making faux vintage dice or game pieces, using polymer clay and acrylic paint to imitate the patina and wear marks that old pieces get in use and through time.

The drawing on the left, just jottings of an idea, became the earrings with faux dice pieces on the right.

Have a habit of carrying a spiral bound 3x5 lined notecard min-notebook with a fine point pen hooked into the spiral. The card is heavy enough to take the battering of being in a pocket or purse without being dog-earred, the lines provide a sort of grid. Just jotting down little cryptic marks help preserve the idea.

Have learned the hard way that the ideas are swift and fleeting. It seems that they will be remembered when studio time is available to try them out, but the hard lesson has been that they sometimes fade and leave without backward glances.