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Writer's pictureCrestonValley ArtsCouncil

Removing the Elephant

Stephen King ,when asked "Where do you get your ideas?", replied "Utica". Well, that's how he responded when he was feeling cheeky. Other times, he said "Everywhere".


It's a legitimate question; where does an artist find their inspiration?


For me, I recently saw an owl take shape in a dying sunflower........

..........after having created a series of small art quilts based on that very idea.


But where did the idea for the quilts come from?


I think I was in a relaxed state of mind, looked at some upholstery fabric, and thought


"Those leaves look a lot like wings"

I just carried on with that idea until I had a bird.


(This story would have worked better had I seen the owl first.)



Now I'm thinking of the sculptor, who when asked how he was able to carve an elephant out of a solid block of marble, replied "I just take away everything that doesn't look like an elephant".


Inspiration can be elusive. As a glass artist, I often go to the glass to see if a scene suggests itself.


The landscape above started out as a piece of clear glass with white streaks, which made me think of clouds. From there I was inspired to create the sunset, sky and trees from powdered glass.


Lately I've been creating art......

.......using elements that I've already created in the kiln, such as the ones you see above. So, inspiration comes from looking at these abstract shapes until they become the starting point for my next piece.


Right now I'm looking out the windows at beautiful fall trees.................Oh! Gotta go!


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