You Were Inspired by What?

If you have been reading my blog , you know that I can be inspired by just about anything and this past week I was inspired by my leftovers. I like to recycle and use recycled items in my work, so when I took a picture of the cardboard that I use for painting pendants for the Flickr Crafting 365 Group, I saw the potential to create a new line of ACEO's called "Leave Nothing Behind". This is the original photo that inspired them:


I was encouraged by Liz from Madeinlowell.etsy to make the cardboard into an ACEO. I decided to start painting my pendants on cardstock so that I could make them into ACEO's easier than using cardboard. Here is what I came up with:























The pink ones were featured this week on the ACEOToGo blog.

These will be going into my Etsy shop sometime this week and they are also available for trade!

Remember, keep your eyes and mind open and you may be surprised at what inspires you! If I hadn't taken that picture, I may not have seen the potential in using my scraps to create something new.

Inspired by "Trash"

Have you ever been taking out the trash when inspiration hit? Ever thought that the bottle or box in the dumpster could be come something more? Well trash is exactly what brought inspiration to Lee Gainer and it led to some amazing art pieces that you can really feel great owning. One because they are gorgeous. I mean, hello, circles, colors texture (I think I'm in love) and two they are environmentally friendly, what more could you ask for? Here is Lee's piece, Magnolia, it's description and the interview about what inspired it.


Original and unique design on 48" x 48" cradled maple board. This piece is from a series of very large collages I created with each being named for a flower. The title is an expression of the "opposition" or things organic and natural, which this artwork is the opposite of. It is organic in it's appearance (like a field of flowers) but created from completely man-made materials. Each took just over a month to build. This piece contains a variety of recycled (upcycled) materials; fabric, paper, felt, foil, caps, carpet, metal, plastic, styrafoam, dried paint, beads, padding and cardboard, that have been hand-rolled into circles and swirls and placed perfectly and securely using Golden Soft Gel. Featuring a rainbow of colors and textures, this piece is unusual and gets noticed by every viewer.
What inspired this piece?
I used to live in a normal townhouse burb that threw out an amazing amount of "trash" each week. I am talking about entire living rooms sets, working light fixtures that just needed a new bulb, $150 of blown glass Xmas ornaments (with the tags still attached), perfectly good stuff! I knew there was something I could do with all these things so I began creating my rolled work in larger forms, using found materials. I had to find a a way to keep some of this good stuff out of a landfill.

Can you detail how you translated your inspiration into your work of art?
I was already working with various materials (dried paint, felt, papers, etc.) by rolling them up into "swirls". I wanted to use those "trash" materials and decided to work bigger. I contacted Al Souza and inquired about the boards he glued his puzzle pieces to. He gave me some pointers, nice guy! I taught myself to use a table saw, went to my local lumber yard and started making my own huge cradled boards. This allowed me to use the heavier, larger "trash" materials.

Where do you tend to find inspiration for your art pieces?
All over. How a shadow falls, the shape it makes. Trash, other artists, lights at night, images from books, bird's nests (they use all sorts of things!), video game screen shots, childhood memories (water slides, girls in parades, ice cream trucks), just about anything.

Any advice for someone feeling uninspired?
It's so frustrating when you get "that block". I will go read a book, do some chores, anything to get my mind completely away from art. After a while, I get an idea or the "spirit" again and hit the ground running. I think that your mind needs to rest its creative side sometimes. In physical exercise, you push a muscle just past it's strength. The fibers tear. You rest. The fibers heal and grow stronger. I think it's the same with creativity.











Lee is also a talented painter and I don't think it will take you very long to see what inspired her paintings! My personal favorite is her M&M paintings. My boys collect the little M&M guys that come out at every holiday, and they would look perfect on the wall over top of their collection! And the Necco wafer one really brings back memories! So fun!

You can find more of Lee's incredible work in her Etsy shop, her website, www.leegainer.com and her blog .
Wouldn't it be great if we all followed Lee's lead and started upcycling trash into amazing art. We could probably reduce global warming by at least a third! Al Gore would be so proud! But, seriously finding inspiration in your trash is a great way to add something new (or old) to your artwork! The next time you head to the dumpster, the recycling bin or trash can, take a closer look and you may be surprised by what you find, and no I don't mean the leftovers from last week (or maybe I do). Look at the shapes of containers, the colors of junk mail and even the strange, alien shapes of the mold that starts to grow after awhile. Remember, keep your eyes and mind open (I did find inspiration in spillt milk after all) and your nose closed, because while there is tons of visual inspiration in trash, the smell is still not so inspiring.

Also remember, supporting artists who use recycled materials is good for the environment!!
To see more cool upcycled art, jewelry, clothing and home decor items, search "upcycle" or "trashion" on Etsy.com, visit the Trashion Street Team page and it's member shops, check out the article, Upcycling for a Greener Living in the Storque and if getting close to trash is not your thing, check out check out these Flickr Groups: Trashion Nation , Trashionista, Free Market (the bargain bin), and The Reuse Project.

The trash photo was found on Flickr and was taken by hammerf.

Inspiration from the Other Side - Artist Feature - Lisa Graziotto from the HowlingCanvas.com

Have you ever truly wondered where some inspiration comes from? If you have ever lost a loved one, I bet you can remember a time when you had a whisper in your ear, a vision or a feeling in your heart that inspired you to create something. I don't mean being inspired to create by your feelings of grief or a warm memory of the lost loved one, but I really mean an idea that seems to come from nowhere. Was this just a spark of inspiration, or were you getting a little help from the other side? This is an interesting idea, and I am sure there are non-believers, but I know sometimes I feel a guiding hand and perhaps it is my Mother leading me in the right direction with a piece. I know sometimes when taking a walk I will be drawn in a certain direction and not be quite sure why and sure enough there will be something there that inspires a piece. It does make you wonder. I would love to think that she is around me and helping me. Very talented painter, Lisa Graziotto had a really amazing experience when she did this incredible custom dog portrait for a young widow:



What inspired this piece?

A couple of years ago a client emailed me to ask if I would be interested in painting her dog Zack. She told me that both her and her husband really admired my work and were excited
about someday commissioning me to paint their dog. She went on to mention that this portrait will have an extra special meaning to her as her husband had just died suddenly a few weeks earlier and he would have wanted her to carry on with the portrait commission. Her
husband dropped dead of a heart attack one day in December while walking with Zack in the park. He was 36 and a new dad to a baby just a few months old. This request brought tears to my eyes. I called her to talk over the portrait and as we talked a very clear vision of what the painting should look like crossed my mind. I told her about it. Zack would be in a park setting with snow all around, the time of day would be just before dusk. Zack would be sitting,
looking directly at the viewer and under his paws I would paint a black and white photo of her husband. The photo would look like it is about to blow away if Zack were to lift his paw up. The client cried after I explained my vision. She said that this was the first time she had cried since her husband died. She thanked me. I hung up and spent the next few weeks alone in the studio working on this portrait and I swear at one point I felt her husband stand next to me
while I was putting the finishing touches on the painting. The painting was a huge part of my clients' healing process.

I’m not sure where the inspiration for this piece came from as I just did. Once I read the email I saw clearly in my mind’s eye the entire painting. I’d like to think that my client’s deceased husband has a hand at guiding me.

Can you detail how you translated your inspiration into your work of art?
With this piece I really just didn’t think very much about the process of painting as I had a ‘vision’ of what the enitre composition was going to look like.

Where do you tend to find inspiration for your art pieces?

My inspiration for a painting comes from many sources. Sometimes clients send me a paragraph or more describing their dog(s). It’s hard for me to place into words where my actual inspiration comes from as it often comes from a place where I can’t explain,a dream, a word in a song, a frame of film from a movie, the colour of a butterfly wing. I call my inspiration my muse and I don’t know where she comes from or how she works. On a side note, I like to think that part of my inspiration comes from my dog Dylan who passed away several years ago. In fact he is the reason I have devoted a big part of my career to animal portraits. He was always by my side and loved being in the studio with me.He would sometimes walk around the with a paint brush in his mouth! I used to wonder what he would create if he had the thumbs to really work the brush? I joke now by saying that he is now able to work through me painting subject matters that he can totally relate to! I miss that boy.

Any advice for someone feeling uninspired?

Hmmm, good question. I would suggest looking at the work of artists they admire. Listen to some great music, sing and dance out loud. Take a long hot bath with a big glass of wine.. Do anything to take your mind off of what you are trying to accomplish. By putting your focus on something other that work takes the pressure off the muse to do her job.


































To see more of Lisa's incredible pet portraits and more, visit her website, thehowlingcanvas.com or her blog.

Well you can probably never truly know where some inspiration comes from, but wouldn't it be amazing if those on the "other side" were helping us out. There is probably no way to control this type of inspiration, except to be open to it. If you have a feeling or a vision, go with it and like Lisa, you may create a piece that is both incredible to look at and very meaningful.