Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Creative Musings: Inspiration Everywhere

I read the neatest quote the other day...
"Inspiration taken from a magazine or book should be a point of departure, not a destination."
The quote came from the book Brooches: A Timeless Adornment which I happened to pick up at my library, I wrote it down in my little sketchbook to remind me that the point of inspiration should not be to recreate the piece exactly, but to use what inspires you most about the piece to make something uniquely yours.

So, I've taken some magazine images and I've tried to see what ideas immediately come to mind inspiration-wise when I see the images.
First up...

Asian Fabric Magazine.
Now, the last time I was in Tokyo (Tokyo...Epcot...tomatoe...tomatah...)
I fell in love with the fabrics that they had on display there. So for this one I'm thinking use that khaki color from the birds as your main backdrop color, khaki suede cording, and layer it with the deep ocean blues. Maybe do a fade where the color starts deep and gets lighter or vice versa, and definitely stick with the bird theme, maybe a bird clasp. Use white as an accent color.

Next...
Chow Magazine. Yes, you can get inspiration from anywhere, even a cooking magazine. I really loved the layered colors in this one. My mind immediately goes to a brick stitched pendant with the layered colors that you see in the third stack of books below with maybe white chain. Definitely matte finishes, nothing shiny, just layers and layers of color.


Okay, finally, this is a photo from Metropolitan Home.
I'm thinking...take a big wooden bead and wrap it in skinny ribbon to create the lines of texture seen in the lampshades. Maybe tie a little contrasting ribbon on top and create a pendant or even earrings.


How about you?
Pick a picture and tell me what you see...
 Where do you arrive if you use one of these images as your point of departure?

4 comments:

  1. I just found your blog. Your work is amazing, I have your feed and have linked to you on my blog http://gemtrails.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  2. A really important reminder on the source of inspiration, Marcie! Thank you for posting this. I may have to write that quote on my wall in my studio. I like your challenge and I plan to start a portfolio of images that inspire me. Thank you for kick starting it!
    Enjoy the day!
    Erin

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for the quote and it is now written down in my journal. I use to collect images I loved but I haven't done it for about a year. I have a whole sketch book full of images. I am going to have to go digging for the sketch book and have mom and I use it for ideas. Thanks for making me think of that again.
    Have a great day!
    Beth

    ReplyDelete
  4. This reflects my design philosophy as well, and the way you took inspiration from these images reminded me of me, particularly with the fabric.

    ReplyDelete