Inspiration and Motivation . . .

and an ironing board cover.

Marji wrote an interesting post on her blog this week concerning inspiration and motivation and challenged her readers to think about those things. I've also had reason to think about those things this week as I had to type up an artist's statement. A group of my garments were invited to be part of the fashion show at the Springfield Area Arts Council's Wearable Art Fashion Show and Marketplace event to take place Sunday, March 16 and was asked to type up an artist's statement for the program.

So, what inspires and motivates me? Many things inspire my work. Mainly, the work of others inspires me; everyone from the famous couturiers of the "golden age" of couture to those who blog and post their pictures for the whole world to see. Much of my artistic work is inspired by couture and those who have a part in couture, such as the French embroidery firm, Lesage. Their embroidery is so amazing! Did you know you can actually take embroidery classes at Lesage? If I had the money, I'd be there - small detailed work with beads and sequins fascinates me. (I *will* learn how to use that tambour needle this summer!) God's creation inspires me; the colors, textures, the seemingly endless variety never ceases to inspire me. It could as simple as the snow glittering in the sunlight light like millions of rhinestones or the complexity of the October evening sunlight on the autumn leaves of the trees.

Motivation comes from many sources as well. Most of my motivation is self driven, as I am a fairly competitive person. I'm always trying to make my current piece one level better than my last piece, whether it is artistic or everyday apparel. I'm constantly trying to educate myself or come up with ways to improve a technique or explain a technique in easy to understand terms. My motivation also comes from others. I see so many wonderful things on blogs that I read, and I think, "Wow - I need to get my act together and make one of those!" Of course, reality is that I can't make and do everything, but seeing others create great things is motivating. Lastly, motivation comes in the form of a deadline. Yes, when I know something has to be done, it gets done. Just give me a due date.

That said, I was inspired recently by two things: Cidell's post on her ironing board cover and the terrible condition of mine. Mine was so bad that it started to rip because it was so scorched and crunchy, the hole became worse when I removed it. Yikes! I can buy a replacement cover, but, I'm pretty picky and just any of the pre-made covers weren't going to do for me. I found the perfect fabric - red striped pillow ticking! You can see how bad the old one was:

Here's the new one, complete with a new layer of padding and elastic around the edges. I had a piece of wool coating just the right size in a color I don't wear to make a extra pad for the ironing board. I don't have Cidell's elasticator gadget so I had to go old fashioned and make a casing and put the elastic in it.

Actually, Cidell inspired more than just the cover; she inspired me to go trawling eBay to find a sleeve board, since I can't find one locally that I like. This is what I got, knowing that I could make new pads and covers:

It is nice and sturdy, but the pads and one cover were musty smelling. Here's the improved version:

A little inspiration, motivation, less than $10 of fabric, some wool coating and elastic, and I've got greatly improved equipment! Thanks Cidell!

Parting Shot: A Good Book. What to do on a rainy, icy, New England afternoon? Read, of course. Here are the bookworms after a visit to the library and lunch out at the local Chinese restaurant.