I recently took a trip to Australia, necessitating spending quite a lot of time in the air. Trying to save costs, I opted for a budget airline with no entertainment. No problem, I thought, I’d make some progress on my monthly word count goals (which I did on the flight there). I’ve never been one to be overly productive on an airplane, however. Blaming it on oxygen deprivation, my desire to read through the classics or study the complexities of gender in warfare usually gives way to a desire to flip through fashion magazines and watch Hollywood rom-coms. I used to even eat fast food in airports-the horrors. I suppose I can’t blame the oxygen if I’m on the ground.
While in the Melbourne airport, getting ready for my screen-less flight back, I went to stock up on the usual culprits: Vogue, Elle, some Diet Coke (which I had to sneak sips of as this nameless cheapo airline even charges for water and doesn’t allow you to pack your own). At the shop, I happened to notice a book: Steal Like an Artist, by Austin Kleon. This was the perfect airplane book. Few words, some pictures, and happy little snippets to let my mind wander. Much like its title suggests, it offers inspiration for artistic tasks, basically through encouraging a bit of borrowing. In the spirit of the book’s title, I will likely steal some of Kleon’s threads and expand upon them here in later posts.
What I wanted to note in this post, however, is that even for the sophisticated and savvy among us inspiration can be derived not only from Dostoyevsky, but also from inspirational quotes and airport books. Andy Warhol is notable for causing a stir with a similar idea of pop icons as “art.” Getting caught up in where the inspiration comes from is only another barrier to accomplishment. It is in this spirit, I have opened my own mind lately to reading more blogs, to listening to non-NPR pod casts (for example, Amber Rose Allen’s, Life by Your OWN Design), and even allowed myself to buy a T-shirt with a slogan from a well-known Aussie inspirationalist Lorna Jane, who makes work-out clothes sexy enough I can’t wait for my next dance class. Rumor has it, she is opening stores in California soon, and she is sure to be a hit. I had never heard of her before this trip.
So, what did I steal on my trip. I stole some patterns. This one below is from a church in Brisbane. I stole some more from contemporary aboriginal paintings, but am having an ethical quandary about posting them here, as it might take the “stealing” theme a little too far. At one gallery I went to, there was even a recreation of a Chinese supermarket as “art.” It really did look like my neighborhood store, stocked with everything down to the pink roach spray. This reminded me that everything is about context, and am trying to think of what I cook re-contextualize either here in China, back in the US, or somewhere completely different. After returning, I took the theft idea further, stealing from a theme of my own past visual art: fish. When I was in high school, I constantly painted them, and have now, this past weekend started a mixed media piece featuring a very large fish painted with oils. I plan to sew used, ripped pantyhose to the canvass when I’m done….stealing from my own trash.
So, what have you “stolen” lately? What are your low-brow (or high-brow) sources of inspiration? Where have they led you?
The Creative Nomad 