This topic is two sides of the same coin for me and yet I tend to have an odd perspective on a lot of things so see if you get my wavelength here, my apologies for being less than articulate if not. Where and how is someone inspired to create something? And "Can you make..."? A few people, ie my mother, have asked me where I come up with the ideas for my cow skulls and a few others have asked if I can create something specific.
Firstly, the inspo comes from all over. Often times I think of the name of the skull before I start creating it - something along the lines of "Thalia is a cool name, Now what would she look like if it were a skull". Or a color pattern or swatch. Or friends giving me leftover art supplies (weee thanks Friends!). Or an abstract idea. Or materials not commonly seen together such as the skull "Penelope" - I just decided one day that pennies and pearls needed to go together. So that's where it comes from for me, now for where it DOESN'T come from...Other people's art. And here we have arrived at the other side of the coin.
I have also been asked a lot if I can make something specific or custom, which is an idea I'm open to... Truthfully I'm not WIDE open to the idea since I started this endeavor as a way to express myself and I have so many ideas for skulls bubbling up inside me (yes I am that weird). My own personal artistic journey if you will (yes I am aware of the pompous tone of that last statement and I truly don't mean it that way). I just wanted to push myself to simply "see if I could". I always wanted to be artsy, even as kid. I thought up all these great ideas but could never seem to put them into form. I wasn't very good at pottery in school, I can't cut or draw in a straight line, knitting and crocheting seem like they take an insane amount of dexterity and well I just sucked at calligraphy. It was a bummer to see such beautiful things around me and not be able to Create myself. (I grew up in SF and therefore museum visits were a frequent excursion and still are). It finally got fun when my aunt started teaching me how to take photos when I was 18, but that is another story and I'm very good at digressing...maybe I can really be an artist after all! Where was I? oh yeah "Can you create?" Since that was a question I've been asking myself for awhile I guess it was only natural for other people to begin asking it at some point. Which was cool at first because it seemed like a good way to press myself further, to try new things and mediums. It became Not Cool, when I started getting asked to copy - not necessarily create. Let me make my point very clear: I will NEVER copy someone's work. Ever. Being creative and artsy is a gutsy and brave thing I'm finding out and sometimes, very hard! So someone puts their mind, passion, talent and labor on the line and puts it out there for people to see, appreciate and potentially buy. Awesome and kudos to them! So go buy it there if you like it, but do not ask me to try and copy it. Whether it's a painting or skull, if it's already out there, I'm not going to do what's been done. I strive to be unique and one-of-a-kind...just like everybody else.
This coin might be three sided now, so let's think of it as a cube for easy reference. Since I refuse to copy, I assumed for some reason that other artists had that philosophy as well. Well, you know what they say about Assuming right? Mmm hmm. Since I started my Facebook page, I get very excited when my phone tells me I have a bunch of activity on my page. Yes it is usually my sister liking every single picture to show her support, but I still get excited ok? Even better when I see my page or a post is getting shared! Heeellllo internet viral goodness. But then sometimes I read the comments on the Shares and see things like, "oh hey so-and-so, you should totally do this one", or "I can make that p-sha". And I'm sitting staring at my screen thinking, but HEY, I made that! I was lamenting my dismay to a fellow craftsman last week and he said, "But that's art, where there is art, there will be copying. Consider it flattery." Um ok if you say so (?!?(&^(&)^?!?) So while I'm still trying to change my perspective on that notion, I stand by my choice to not copy the work of others. Ok, this rant is officially over. I'm going to go paint some skulls now and attempt to call it Art.
"Penelope" - because Pennies and Pearls just work together