A little inspiration

I’ve been in a bit of a creative rut lately, I think it is because my new job is so physically draining.  I love the freedom of being a “starving artist” but it is exhausting right now.  So I have been pondering how to get out of my creative rut and I think I have figured it out.  When we get in a rut whether creatively or in life in general we tend to not see the trees for the forest.  In other words it is usually those things that are either around us everyday that we are not seeing or paying attention to or a passion that is near and dear in our heart that we are neglecting.  I went shopping with my youngest daughter yesterday and it spurred my creativity, she is so into bright colorful and beautiful clothes and jewelry!  As she and I walked around the stores and she found wonderful things to try on I found my creativity and my artistic eye being renewed.  So if you are in a rut take a moment to see if you are paying attention to those little things that bring you inspiration!  Have a wonderfully creative day.

15 minutes of Fame

As an artist I have talked of us being historians, and this past Sunday I had the opportunity to put my artistic historian skills to the test, to capture and tell the story of a tragedy . What was a wonderful Sunday afternoon at the an airshow turned tragic as a thunderstorm ripped through the airport mangling tents and throwing objects around. A child lost his life and many others were hurt, you can read my account and see the pictures at http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-40823

In the moments that followed the storm, my first thought was how could I help but there many trained paramedics and rescue personnel on the scene so I turned to recording the scene with my camera. I tried to take pictures that convey the emotion of the story as well as the story itself. I left and when I arrived home I uploaded the pictures and sent them to a couple of local news station and then decided to write a small summary and submit it and some pictures to Ireport.com.

Monday came my fifteen minutes of fame, CNN called and wanted to use my pictures and account on their website and TV. Suddenly my little story and pictures were easily assessable to the international stage. At last count the story was viewed over 42,000 times but my thoughts were had I been an artist in this. I believe I got the answer to the question when I looked at the comments and people were disagreeing if it was disturbing and tragic, because part of my definition of art is that it makes people think and discuss.

For me this came at a very strange time and provide validation to me you see I am down to my last few dollars and still have not found a job. The tragedy obviously put things in perspective as far as counting my blessing and being grateful but it also came me hope and belief that I do things well and would be valuable as an employee.

Today let your family and friends know how much you love them.