INSPIRATION BOARD-2 August 2009

1. Gala Darling (ICING)-Gala Darling is a pink-haired darling from the Southern Hemisphere. ICING is her irreverent, infectious, savvy and stunning blog. She brings readers her own juicy brand of completely-off-the-wall inspiration: encouraging one and all to celebrate their own nonpareil loveliness. She definitely practices what she preaches. Click here to check out her site.
2. Amado Sur Wine-This Brazilian Malbec is my current every-day favourite. After a few hours spend concocting and spinning words, a single glass of wine is a great reward and rejuvenatory.
3. Re-Reading Old Books-This is one of my favourite pastimes (after reading new books, of course). I believe that this justifies my large personal collection. I eventually return to most books, even re-reading certain volumes yearly. It is with amazement that I never cease to dig up new bits of enlightenment, shards of wisdom and gems of inspiration with every new perusal.
4. Networking-This does not come easily to me. I am not a joiner, never have been. While the distance of Internet socializing puts many people off, it is a boon for mildly anti-social people like me. In real life, you cannot hide a bad mood or irritability. On-line, I can further my career while even in the vilest state-of-mind.
5. Vintage dresses on EBAY-While my greatest passion is language, I am also a very visual person. I worked in the world of art galleries for a decade: colour and texture is my aesthetic strength. I have always loved vintage apparel, with certain periods taking natural precedence over others. Until recently, I never particularly cared for the '70's or '80's (perhaps because I was born in one decade and came of age in the other). EBAY, of all places, has helped me get past that distaste to a place of appreciation. I am amazed by the play of colour with pattern, especially in some of the '70's designs. There is actually a surprising softness to palette and pattern that I am currently finding quite inspirational.
6. I found this one courtesy of Gala Darling. Check out 'Copy Blogger' for some practical, truly helpful writing tips. Go there now!
7. "Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self."-Cyril Connolly.

INSPIRATION BOARD-19 July 2009

Creativity not only begets creativity, it inspires it in others. Right now, I am finding inspiration from some pretty impressive sources.

1. Colin Hay-I was a very lucky (belated) birthday girl last Wednesday, 15 July. The Chef surprised me with tickets to the Colin Hay show at the Southgate House across the river, in Newport, KY. I had no idea until we walked up to SH, where I had never been, and saw the sign announcing that evening's act. The intimacy of the venue was a perfect fit for his sort of artistry: it let his impeccable songwriting skills and subtle voice shine. Days later that voice--and those words--still echo in my mind. It is a 'Beautiful World', indeed. Click here.


2. "Write something to suit yourself and many people will like it; write something to suit everybody and scarcely anyone will care for it."-Jesse Stuart


3. It is probably small surprise that I am a passionate supporter of Etsy. It is my favourite on-line shopping destination. Right now, I am quite in love with Austin Modern. The shop features amazing Mid Century goods, as well as assorted awesome wares from the earlier Art Deco period. My two current favourite offerings? Art Deco letter press type face ( a full set) and a luscious chrome club chair from the same era. Click here to go there.


4. I am slightly stunned by the above image, and not just because I bear a strong resemblance to the woman at the center. The 1920's is a vast source of inspiration for me: from art to literature, film to fashion, politics to pop-culture I find it full of energy, complexity, and beauty. There is a freshness and vigor to the tableaux in the advertisement, as well as a sense of unreality, however understated (which is, perhaps, typical of most advertising). Playing a gramophone sea-side seems much more sophisticated than bopping along to an Ipod. Ah, well: life was not meant to be static.


5. It always comes back to Neruda, Pablo Neruda. "May whatever breaks/be reconstructed by the sea/with the long labor of its tides./So many useless things/which nobody broke/but which got broken anyway." (from ODE TO BROKEN THINGS)

INSPIRATION BOARD-14 July 2009

After a long-weekend off--my very own home-town-bound mini-holiday--I am struggling to get back into the swing of things. I have not hit the ground running. I have been standing idle, craning my neck, trying to find something,anything, to crank my motivation up a notch or three. My mind is teeming with a thousand big, a million little, ideas. Settling down long enough to commit more than an errant, squirming phrase or two to paper is proving immensely difficult. Spending uninterrupted, calming quality time with family has reminded me to look to the small things for succor and inspiration. I am going to try and apply that lesson to my creativity. Here are a few things that are currently making me think, smile, and give thanks.

1. A cuppa and a few McVitie's chocolate digestives make me feel not just like a writer, but an English one. I do not indulge in the latter very often but very few things beat their peculiar and scrumptious wheat-meets-sweet taste.
2. The ridiculously vibrant and exotic produce section at Jungle Jim's, a gourmet, international grocery emporium in Cincinnati. They stock an eye-opening variety of vegetables and fruits. I love the artistry of the display; it is a visual reminder that nature's bounty is varied and endless.
3. "We do not write because we want to; we write because we have to."-words of infinite wisdom from one of my favourite authors, W. Somerset Maugham.
4. Anticipating the August (Age) issue of 'Vogue'. All fashion magazines manage to simultaneously elate me and flat-out piss me off. This is cyclical; this is perpetual. My love of fashion-as-history runs deep. I also love pretty, pretty pictures (something that modern Vogue does not always deliver). I still adore the issue's cover girl, Christy Turlington, who remains as stylish, elegant and principled as ever. Plus, the 'Age' issue of the magazine always exists on the sharpest razor's edge, waffling between dishing out genuine inspiration and gutless irritation.
5. Discovering, after all of these years, that I have more in common with my Dad than just a high IQ and love of reading.
6. Writing that is utterly unlike my own. Whilst in the midst of much creative writing, I can only read non-fiction or fiction that has a voice and view-point far removed from mine. I am beyond excited that my friend Chrissy has finally started her own blog, A Steampunk Reverie.. Please check it out, you won't regret it: Click here to begin.
7. Baseball's All-Star Game. It is held the second Tuesday of July (tonight!), which is always around my birthday. In my mind, the two simply go together. I can scarcely recall a time that I was not a baseball fan. I owe this particular passion to my Grandfather. The game, held this year in St. Louis, is, for me , a hallmark of Summer, relaxed times, and family.

INSPIRATION BOARD-6th July 2009

This week's distractions.

1. "Fight Club" (1999)-I love Chuck Palahniuk's writing, probably because it is so different from mine. I finally got around to watching the film adaptation of his 1996 novel just last week. The experience was definitely helped along by a few glasses of wine. Talk about jumping on the bandwagon ridiculously late, but it is a a satisfying film that has done an admirable job of sticking with me.


2. Farmer's Markets. I wish that there was one in my neighborhood but, alas, I shall have to seek one out. Shopping the stalls is a sign that Summer is in its magnificent full-swing.


3. Marion Cotillard's look in "Public Enemy". The French actress has an almost non-pareil ability to fit seamlessly into period films. Not only does she wear the clothes superbly, but she looks as if she is comfortably of that time. This is the only film that I really want to see this Summer.


4. "Writing is its own reward."-Henry Miller. This is a simple, effective reminder about something that is so easy to forget.


5. The Greek Myths: 1 by Robert Graves. Greek Mythology is complex, potent, compelling and incredibly entertaining--everything that fiction should strive to be. Mythology is a complicated mixture of history, religion, fiction and sociology that we can learn much of the story-telling craft from. I also love Graves' approach. Reading about the Greeks always makes me excited about the possibilities of story and characterization.


6. The above photograph of Ohio-born writer Fannie Hurst is, for me, the epitome of the elegant, intelligent early-20th Century female writer. One could craft innumerable fictions around that image.

INSPIRATION BOARD-27 June 2009

This is the first of many new elements that will be added over the next few weeks. Every weekend, I will be sharing with you some of the eclectic things that inspire me, both as a writer and person: after all, the two are completely fused. Artists of the visual variety are famously inspired by all manner of things. I believe that this holds true for every creative, including writers. While the words, deeds, and lives of other wordsmiths certainly help goad one on in the hope department, ideas often arise from the most random, unexpected sources. Some of these muses run a true and constant course, providing you with a steady stream of encouragement and fecundity. Others dash in front of you, inspiring a passionate moment or two before flitting out of your mind. Anything that encourages you to pick up the tools of your trade and get creating is valid and luminous. On this week's board:

"I love you without knowing how or when, or from where.

I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;

so I love you because I know no other way."

from "SONNET XVII" by Pablo Neruda

I just re-discovered the novel "Depths of Glory" by Irving Stone, historical fiction about my favourite Impressionist, Camille Pissaro. I read it as a teen and plan on borrowing my mom's copy in order to dive back into the excellently re-created world of 19th-century French art.

"I can always be distracted by love, but eventually I get horny for my creativity."-Gilda Radner (1946-1989).

My newly realized passion for making dough.

The culinary chutzpah of every-man Andrew Zimmern. I am addicted to "Bizarre Foods."

The image at the top of the page: "Where there's smoke there's fire", a 1920's painting by Russell Patterson. I love how the colour of the sash is a near-perfect match to her hair. The cut and drape of the frock is still fashionable, and still contemporary. It is all-too-easy for me to create dreamy confectionery back-stories to art like this.