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Once in a while I get that question- "How do you do that? How do you think of these things?" and I my instinct is to go in to the whole Lake Placid, alligator, mermaid and aqua car story again but can usually stop myself before they haul out that funny jacket where the arms tie in back instead of the belt.

How do we artsy people come up with this stuff? Well, I know that I have been this way all my life. Looking out through these eyeballs I never realized other people saw things differently than me. I can tell you I had to develop my imagination- I needed a pretty place to go.

As an adult I have learned to not look at things as what they are but to see them as what they could be. Turn them upside down or sideways- lay them down or hang them up- no one or no one thing is only just "one thing" every thing, every person has potential to be something else.

I find inspiration as you might call it just about everywhere. I search it out. Today I say a phrase in a book "Takes Risks". I thought- wow, I wish someone would label me that way. Then I had an image of my self holding a placard like they do when you are arrested but mine would say "Takes Risks" and the look on my face would be similar to someone who was realizing they were having their mug shot taken. Yeah, me take risks? I hope so but I still have a scaredy cat living in my heart.

Enough about me! Here is a source of inspiration I reference often-



I found Tracy Gallup at Shullers Book Store. Her book anyways. I bought one for Chinamommy as I like to share really cool things with my very good friends. She got it. She knew just how very cool this book was.





The text that goes with this India ink "poem painting" is

Do our dreams understand our secrets?


"Are things that never happened true?"


"If the earth is our home can we ever be lost?"


"Is there a song that is mine alone?"


"Who should I ask?"

So that's one source of inspiration I added to my library. Tracy Gallup is an author and illustrator from Ann Arbor, MI and has several other books- Stone Crazy, King Cat, A Crazy Little Series. I think she rocks. How about you?

Comments

  1. I've never heard of Tracy Gallup, but from your post I would say I think she rocks also! I'm checking into her now!!! I think I find inspiration in most things---I often wonder if other people's brains are whirring away so much of the time like mine is. I always tell my husband that my brain works much faster than my hands- I always have waaaay more ideas than I have time to create. I think we are the lucky ones :) Have I told you I love your blog- you rock too :) (sound kinda stalker like- don't I? I really am harmless)

    ReplyDelete
  2. KIm, come to Michigan and hang out with Chinamommy and me! You sound just like us- stalker tendancies and all! And, sadly, I don't think everyone's brains work like ours- probably a good thing- the world would stop turning as we all tried to catch imaginary butterflies. Thanks for checking in! My secret project is coming along...slowly...

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