Visiting With My Muse

I've been inspired by a post in the Etsy BeadWeavers Team discussion group. She invited a visit to her blog to view a new post. Triz at Beading Mania was looking for inspiration. It set me off, thinking about where I find MY inspiration. Who... What... is my Muse?

Found at Dictionary.com the following definition:

Muse
–noun
b. any goddess presiding over a particular art.
2. (sometimes lowercase) the goddess or the power regarded as inspiring a poet, artist, thinker, or the like.

Sometimes it's just looking at my view and the constantly changing colours of the ocean, mountains and sky. I love the shades of grey on stormy rainy days and the blue on blue of the sky and the ocean on sun filled days. Now it's greening up out there for spring and I am inspired by the greens that have burst on the scene.

Reminding me of two books that I've had for years: "Glorious Knitting" and "Glorious Colour" both by Kaffe Fassett. If you haven't seen them, try your library. They are a feast for creativity's eye. Each knitted piece is photographed in a scene that would have inspired the design of the piece. Here is what he says about a man's cardigan sweater:

'Jack's Gack got it's name from a waistcoat I knitted...That waistcoat was one of my first commissions. The fronts had diagonal stripes involving dozens of colours in each row, and we wanted something equally rich-looking but simpler to knit for the back. I had seen some Islamic stonework cut in this pattern and gave it a try. Although it looks so rich and complex, there are only two colours in each row... I usually get groups of close colours...for example, a range of browns will follow a range of pinks and then be followed by a range of creams and so on.

The photograph of the "waistcoat" is taken on a model in front of a tree wearing it's autumn colours. Earth tones, autumn tones, reds and rusts and browns and golds.

Now...back to beading. The needle is calling me.