inspire | conspire

In light of some inspirational interviews I've enjoyed reading recently, I've been contemplating what inspires my own craft life, my own artistic vision (should one swim into focus). Surprisingly, it's a harder question to answer than I imagined. Many of the artists interviewed cited the natural world as their primary source of inspiration, while others talked of the inspiration of other artists' work or of the world in general as it swirls around them. Sitting gazing out the lounge room window, I posed the same question to myself. A few blank moments later I could feel myself beginning to conclude that, really, I must be one of God's more singularly uninspired creatures. Quickly changing tack to redeem my sense of self, I posed a different question: "Emma," I asked, "what if you were inspired by nature?"

And then I saw this tree, the same one I see everyday - across the road and up the street - and thought it quite lovely, really.


That was when I could see how my embroidery hooped beginnings from last week could become its own fully realised creation in its own right.


Inspiration is a mysterious and elusive little chap, I decided. As I worked on this piece, I realised that I had chosen these hues and these fabrics because my world is currently saturated in the softest, lightest, most subtle gradations of whites, greys and pastels. It is a landscape of breathtaking simplicity, austerity and beauty. How could it not, then, inform the current landscape of my creative mind. However, likewise, without conscious effort and a decision to look I may never have chosen to be inspired by this simple, everyday view.

I think inspiration is a little like love, actually. Both spontaneous windfall and well-chosen course.