Inspiration Board

Here is my first ever inspiration board, my homework for the blogging class I told you about. For this assignment, I spent a sunny day tromping around Austin thrift shops, yarn stores and art stores, searching for inspiration for my board. As I rummaged though the disparate collection of dishes at Goodwill, I started to imagine a collection of white, grocery-bag brown, and coral pinks. I considered which of my belongings would fit this picture, and purchased a just few more items (including the ranunculus!) to assemble my inspiration board. Then, I gathered everything together and, with help from my daughters, arranged it on my dining room table. I ended up standing on the table so I could photograph my inspirations in the evening light! I made such a mess, we had to eat dinner at the bar. Here's what I learned:

Telling a Story with Pictures

I have been obsessed with Adobe Illustrator lately, thanks to my dear husband, an illustrating whiz. I have never considered myself competent at visual arts, or anything else involving fine motor skills for that matter. Illustrator is the first tool I've found where I can translate a picture in my head into a work. But this assignment specified a photograph of real objects, not something made on a screen. At first, I considered printing out some of my illustrator drawings on pretty paper and photographing them, but I thought that might be missing the point a little. So, in the spirit of the assignment, I went in search of tangible, three-dimensional objects. And what fun I had on this scavenger hunt for inspiration - almost as much fun as I had taking the photos! I can't count how many years it's been since I photographed anything besides one or both of my sweet daughters. Suddenly, (for the first time since my college darkroom days) I am ardently driven to photograph the beauty I find in the world around me. I thought photography was out of the question for me since I don't have an SLR or Photoshop. But it turns out I can make do for now with my point-and shoot and Picnik editing software. Oh, and I still intend to draw with Illustrator, too.

Knitting it All Together

Last fall, I enrolled in a knitting class with my younger daughter. She was struggling with knitting and I hoped I could learn a tip or two so I could help her along. Children and their parents were invited to sign up for the six-week class, but as it turns out, I was the only adult; my classmates were all four or five year olds. I felt rather tremendous in the company of my fellow students, and a bit clumsy as well, but I soldiered on and eventually mastered both knitting and purling. I've already mentioned my lack of fine motor skills, so this was an empowering experience for me! Though I signed up for the class only as a way to help my daughter, I was surprised to learn that knitting is very fulfilling for me - meditative, even. When I put down my needles and yarn, I feel centered and at peace, much the same as I feel after a yoga class or a walk through the woods. It never occurred to me to blog about knitting; blogging and knitting are two discrete passions for me. In fact, blogging about knitting seems similar to inviting one's spouse and lover out to dinner at the same time - figuratively speaking of course!! Putting this board together, though, I was strongly compelled to include yarn and needles. I find so much potential and beauty in a ball of yarn and bamboo needles. So, even though I am a novice, I have decided to include knitting on my blog.

The Written Word

Books were my first true love. I grew up on a cattle ranch in the Texas Panhandle, often isolated from other families. I spent long hours alone with my books, reading them over and over. When I was without a book, I made up my own narratives, telling myself the story of my day as it unfolded. I still find great pleasure in curling up with a good book, and often I delight in the language itself as much as I enjoy the story I'm reading. For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be a writer. But, I find writing to be very difficult. I hope that the exercise of assigning myself little writing assignments on this blog will help me learn how to articulate myself and become more comfortable sharing my writing with an audience.

Finding Beauty

The day I spent roaming around looking for inspiration was the happiest day I've had in a very long while. I adored rifling through junk and discarded items, looking for just the right treasure. It was even more satisfying because I wasn't just looking for something that was interesting on its own - I was searching for a collection of things that would fit together to tell a story. What a fun challenge! So much fun, that I would like to spend every day searching for beauty in the mundane. When I am able to do this, I discover poetry in everyday conversations, art in the most surprising corners of my routine. I find myself eager to create my own poetry, photography, illustrations, knitted scarves, and more. I would like to archive some of this found and created beauty - this ordinary extravagance - here.

Bye for now! Love, Tracy