_________
Inspiration
promises nothing
but only gives of itself -
a personal invitation
to embark upon
a journey
_________
I have this 'cecilism' hanging in our tent every time we set up for a show. It's one of my favorites becomes it speaks to me about the awe and wonder of inspiration and what we can do with something that inspires us no matter the source, the time or the reason it stopped us in our proverbial tracks.Inspiration
promises nothing
but only gives of itself -
a personal invitation
to embark upon
a journey
_________
I've been inspired by so many sources... so many people and the things they've accomplished, said, sang, wrote or created that I wish I had the time and energy to materialize all those ideas that swim around in the stream of consciousness like schools of fish teeming with life. It's not a desire or necessity to copy that which inspires but to take the journey that an inspiration gives us.
We all heard from people who've created something how the idea came in a flash of light or it came from out-of-the-blue... maybe from a song or a piece of music that somehow translated itself into something visually appealing or interesting to view.
It's been said by painters that the time when the brush is picked up and loaded with a chosen color that first stroke, the initial application of paint becomes the most challenging of all the others that follow. But so often it's this first stroke, the first shape that inspires all the rest of the painting to come to fruition.
The musician that holds his guitar or the pianist the sits at her piano and strums or plays the that first chord somehow opens the door to all the rest of a composition they have to play... play it or possibly lose it...
The sculptor that comes across a 'something' in a stone they happen upon... something that wants to be revealed and the sculptor having the skills to unleash this presence in that particular stone continues chipping away oftentimes not sure why it's going the way it is but knows it has to be that way... the only way that something can come out of it's hiding for o so long...
When the writer sits down with their pen or pencil and their favorite pad or even a napkin if the desire strikes... or sitting at the keyboard and those first words start making sense as they unravel from the ball of letters that came before it. A story or a poem begins revealing itself oftentimes beyond the control of the writer...
This loss of control is one of the mysteries all artists have experienced to some degree or another - the creation of something that the artist seems not to have any control over. If they try to control the direction it's not long until they realize what they are doing is crap... until they just allow the piece to come forward as if they were channeling something much greater than themselves to bring forth the art.
These all come from inspiration in one form or another... that little hint at times and other times a loud and intrusive inspiration that muscles it's way into the person's life insisting on whatever the inspiration demands... it can be that strong for some sometimes.
Inspiration is not only for the arts but is found in every aspect of our lives. People were inspired to write new equations, the creation of zero added to 1 thru 9, inspired by the idea of a wheel, a plow, a knife or sword... the inspiration for the first tower and how to build something tall that can be supported... most anything that we deal with today has originated from an inspiration - the toaster that toasts our bread, a coffee grinder, the computer, television, radio, LED's... every thing we come into contact with that isn't a natural object but an object created by man has it's being derived from inspiration... and someone that took the inspiration seriously enough to create it, perfect it and share it with others.
Remember the next time something inspires that it's never a promise but rather an invitation to take a wild ride interpreting that inspiration into something that can be held or heard, enjoyed or learned from or even, if one is fortunate, become enlightened by.
cecil
29 November 2009
Picture of the Week:
Vaquero
(Luis Jimenez Sculpture)
[photo: cecil]
Luis Jimenez, an inspired artist, was born in El Paso, TX (1940) and was killed in his studio in Hondo, New Mexico (2006) following an accident when a large section of Blue Mustang, a sculpture he was working on, intended for Denver International Airport, fell on him and severed an artery in his leg.(Luis Jimenez Sculpture)
[photo: cecil]
Beautiful vaquero, it´s somehow like imagine Molina Campos´s paintings in third dimention! 