Fall is settling in here. One morning this week, thick fog in the forest backlit by the sun coming over the ridge made the newly bare trees look like drawings themselves against a glowing mist. Creation itself said, "Come look..." so I did.
Look!
That's how inspiration finds me, not chasing it, but being available to it.
Inspiration Is Tricky
We talk about "finding inspiration" like it's hidden somewhere we need to hunt it down. That's backwards. Trying to find inspiration is like chasing a rainbow: you never quite get there.
What I've noticed in my own practice: inspiration isn't something you get, it's something you are. Listen to how we say it - "I’m inspired" - which is so much more powerful than "I found inspiration." It's a state of being, not a thing to acquire.
Inspiration comes to you when you're present with yourself, your materials, when you're creating marks without an end in mind, when you're paying attention to frost patterns and fog-lit trees. It arrives when you stop performing and start connecting with yourself.
Wild Star Ephemera Folio
Which brings me to what I've been making in my studio lately.
I don't keep a sketchbook. Instead, I work on loose papers in various sizes and shapes to make marks, try things out, paint off excess color. These papers capture those moments when I'm most available to inspiration because I'm not trying to make "good art."
I've been gathering these studio ephemera pieces into folios. The newest one is called Wild Star - a 6 × 9 inch hand painted cover holding curated papers, collage elements, gel printed tissue, and surprises tucked into pockets. Staple bound (so you can use it as is or take it completely apart), wrapped with layered pink and purple tulle.
This one has a bold graphic energy from a dramatic black crescent moon and star on coral-pink gel printed paper, yellow painted cover, experimental marks in purples and warm earth tones. Bold yet playful.
Use it as a ready-to-go art journal - add your own marks, drawings, collage. Layer your creativity onto mine. Make it a conversation between us.
Or take it completely apart - use the pieces in your own work. Cut them up, incorporate them, let them become something entirely new.
Either way would please me greatly.
These papers weren't created to be perfect finished pieces. They were made in the creative space of being open to inspiration - experimenting, seeing what happens when I stop trying so hard and just make the work. That energy lives in these papers. When you work with them, your inspiration meets mine, and something new emerges.
I’d love to hear what inspiration is finding you and what you’re making. Click reply and let me know - I read and answer every message!
Shine your light,
Monette
P.S. Wild Star Ephemera Folio - hand painted 6 × 9 inch cover with studio ephemera, US shipping included. $27. Get it here