Following my muse

"Where do you get your ideas?" is a simple question I get asked that stumps me every time. The difficulty is this- creating for me is not like following a recipe for dinner but more like opening up the fridge and throwing some things together- and hoping you've made a something that will taste OK with or without a bottle of wine (see coaster on work bench).

Over the years I have discovered ways that work to capture the fae spirit that is creativity. I've learnt that pushing it or rushing it never works but letting it gently land, seed itself and sprout produces results. This is why I keep containers of fertile ideas around- in the form of my scrap piles. The containers in the picture are on my workbench at all times. They have scrap metal that I refuse to refine, projects that just didn't quite make the cut, stones I've purchased and have yet to do anything with and bits I just can't decide on where else they should go. What I do know is that in the cast offs there is a seed of a creative idea that will work. Given time. I dump them out every once in awhile, sort through them, move them from one corner of my bench to another, not even really thinking about it.

Yesterday I was in the middle of competing some production work and looked over at my container. A piece of triangular silver wire caught my eye. I swear it winked at me and I heard "repeat the shape". I stopped what I was doing, grabbed it, picked up my saw and started cutting. 

An hour later, I made something that wasn't there before - I created.

I can now look at what I made and think "where did that come from?" Well, there is a lot of trendy, graphic triangular jewelry around so maybe that was an influence. I just started winter cycling two weeks ago. Maybe the gears and cogs on my bike were the seed. Hmmmm, Christmas just finished and I DID eat a lot of chocolate- Toblerone chocolate. In the end, what really matters to me is do I like what I created. Is it pleasing of form, does it have visual interest, will it make a piece of jewelry others will like? 

What I made may become a piece of jewelry that people are drawn to and want to wear. It may just become another idea to fertilize my scrap pile with. Either way I am pleased and grateful that I had a visit from my muse. Those creative visits are always a special treat, just like a good piece of chocolate.