It's easy to be inspired by nature, but hard to surpass it. For the past few weeks I've been enjoying the sound of Bluebirds singing, and today they outdid themselves—a regular Babble of Bluebirds. I'll try to capture their colors and sounds on camera and translate an image into necklace form. If successful, I'll post the results here.
I enjoy using fiber, beads and found objects to make jewelry— representations of the natural world—but my creations fall short of the real thing. Here's my interpretation of the blossom of a tree whose blooms will soon be blanketing the hills and ridgetops of southern Indiana—the Flowering Dogwood.
It's challenging to translate nature into a work of art—and humbling. I've always felt like something of a copycat, even when an idea feels like my own, so the message in the lyrics to 905, a song by The Who, has always resonated with me.
Until then, all I know is what I need to know
And everything I do's been done before
Every idea in my head someone else has said
At each end of my life is an open door
Nature won't care if I copy—it's inevitable—and any too-close similarity to the work of others is unintentional. We absorb the world (and the work of other artists) unconsciously. Later, what we've seen (or heard) resurfaces at the conscious level as our own "brilliant" idea. I subscribe to the idea of imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, and hope to remain inspired by Bluebirds, The Who and others—before that second door closes behind me.
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