Saturday, November 6, 2010

What Inspires Me to Create

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I've been rather busy these past weeks creating and developing patterns. This morning I'm checking out blogs and someone made a post about what inspires her. I started thinking about it and discovered that it's rather a difficult question to answer.... at least for me it is.

I've always worked with textiles in one form or another over the years. And as a norm, what gets the old brain brewing and stewing is a need. Much like the idiom, "Necessity is the Mother of Invention". For me the Necessity has always been replaced by Desperation. When I can't find something I really need, my brain produces an answer to the problem.

This is why I initially taught myself 
  • crochet: I needed a shawl
  • machine sewing: I needed clothing
  • knitting: (had to relearn)  my premature son needed a hat
  • hand stitching: I didn't have a sewing machine
  • embroidery: I wanted to give my grandmother a handkerchief with blue birds on it
  • painting: I wanted to express what I saw and felt in colors
  • pattern making: I needed a cocoon for my premature son
Today I can use any and all of the above skills I developed at a time when I was desperately seeking an answer to whatever problem presented itself. 

I've also found over the years that I also require a certain level of urgency or stress to get the brain stewing and brewing. If those 2 ingredients are lacking, nothing I attempt to create works.
As for the creativity, I try different ways of viewing what I need an answer to from different angles. A different viewpoint, not necessarily of a different point of view. 

What inspires you to create?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm..... sometimes I need to create because of colour, a Noro yarn for instance, that I must try. Sometimes it's just wondering if an idea will work! Sometimes creating happens because my hands have to be busy. :) s