Wednesday 29 July 2009

5 Degrees of Inspiration

Welcome to the IAE team "5 Degrees of Inspiration" blog party! Champagne and cakes all round! In honour of the party, this is my list of five things that inspire me - though it was difficult getting it down to five! 1. Words inspire me - sometimes I start a painting from just a title in my head. I love the idea of symbols on a page being able to communicate thoughts and ideas, and I also love the way words look; old copperplate handwriting, illuminated books, children's clumsy hand-writing. I also think those old wooden letterpress printing blocks are beautiful - I've started a mini collection! 2. I am fascinated in general by old things, and collections and keepsakes, which were the inspiration for this mixed media painting. I'm interested in the way people value certain objects, and invest them with memory and meaning. 3. Nature is inspiring - the colours, intricate patterns, even natural decay. Trees feature in my artwork quite a bit too - I love the really old ones that have been around 100s of years - they have a real sense of wisdom and mystery about them!
3. The city I live in inspires me. This is part of a poem by Lemn Sissay which is imprinted into the paving stones in Manchester City Centre - it carries on through the streets (the artist who created these beautiful paving stones is Tim Rushton). Manchester also has tons of galleries, independant shops and a thriving art/craft community. The city itself is also is a great mix of beautiful old architecture and shiny new ultra-modern buildings.
(photo by J.Kolo)
5. Beauty in unexpected places inspires me. I love the patterns in cracked glass and the colours of rust. Someone once said that art is making people see something that they may have missed. I like that!

15 comments:

  1. wonderful post angie!!! love all the pictures you put in as well ... the color coordination is absolutely inspiring and throughout the whole post, i totally see art and the artist (you) in it!! classy and definitely unique :))
    hugs and peace,
    luthien :))

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  2. Aw - thanks Luthien! I loved reading yours too - it's so ... well, inspiring! x

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  3. Good Morning Angie!
    I loved your blog post and I see that being inspired by words is something we have in common!

    Wishing you a very happy Blog Party day!

    Betty

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  4. It was so tricky trying to get to five wasn't it! I agree about the words and the handwriting or typesetting of old-fashioned letters. Sometimes just the line from a poem can set me off. I love your beautiful artwork. I'm off for a browse around the rest of your site now...

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  5. I love the five things you've chosen that inspire you Angie! I can certainly see them in your artwork! I definitely agree with Luthien - classy and unique!!! xx

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  6. Loved all the things that inspire you! I don't know about eveyone else but as I'm reading through everyone's list I find myself nodding my head and saying oh yeah me too, I could have added that to my list too lol! Great list!

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  7. wow! i can't imagine living in a city where there is art laid out in the sidewalk! how fantastic!

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  8. I like your list. I can see their influance in your work. The photos are great especially the tags and the green one at the bottom.

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  9. Oh Angie this is wonderful!! I loved hearing about what inspires you most and the images you shared both in words and photos show so much about the depth behind your art!!
    WOW!♥ I'm totally inspired by YOU!!♥

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  10. What wonderful inspirations! I really enjoyed your post and the beautiful photos!

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  11. Thanks for your kindness and comments everyone!

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  12. Ooo, great inspirations! I love that you're inspired by words- that's really neat! And I like that quote you mentioned, about art making people people see what they might have missed. :D

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  13. Words are a huge part of art for me too, which is why the sidewalk picture blew me away. I really enjoyed your post.

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  14. Merily and priti.lisa thank you - it's really interesting to see which inspirations we shared!

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  15. What a lovely read about what inspires you. It's so interesting seeing what inspires others!

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