arline jernigan

I never know where inspiration is going to come from, and I am learning how to open my eyes to all of the possibilities that come to me, in stead of judging them. Lately, aside from nature, I am looking at a lot of expensive fashion and home magazines, mostly from europe. The european aesthetic is something that I really respond to. It tends to be worldly, and eclectic. I love the way the high end designers view the process of clothes making as an art, because it is. I especially love the designers who really know how to use color and texture and layering, in innovative and interesting ways. Anyone who knows me, knows I love layers.

Last night, I went to a dance concert, and I was once again reminded how enlivening it is for to me to watch dance. It really feeds an important part of my aesthetic, as my paintings have so much movement in them, and it also feeds the creative part of my art as a yoga teacher, because I teach from a flowing and circular approach.

I have been in several dance concerts, and while I am not a dancer per se (in that I have not been trained in it), a part of me truly is. What I really enjoy about working with dancers, is the collaborative energy where so many great ideas are shared, and even if a dancer tends to do more solo work, the strong community is vital, where as a visual artist such as myself, tends to be more insular.

Today I realized that travel is a HUGE source of inspiration. I am going to Montreal to teach a yoga workshop and have an art opening (vernissage)at once. Just thinking about it, my wheels are turning, but in a good way. It does not really matter where I go, or why even, because usually I return to my home based with a different perspective, and open eyes. I plan to do much much more travel.

I do need to focus though, because when ideas start spinning so fast, I can become overwhelmed. I want to flow with this energy, and put it to use. I believe that it is important for me to be organized so that the process can flood without drowning me.

Ahhhhhhhh, the list of inspiration can go on and on and on. I am always interested in what is inspiring to others, so feel free to share, don’t be bashful.

I think for now I will do as I said, and focus, and that means putting a pen to paper, and physically writing. For some reason this is helpful to me, as it slows me down just a bit, which is not always a bad thing that I can make it to be.

Here I go….

This entry was posted on Friday, May 23rd, 2008 at 10:41 pm and is filed under Journal, process. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.