Inspiration - where does it come from?

People often ask me "Where do I get my ideas from?" and "what inspires me?" Also being a teacher I have heard students say they don't know what to make, don't know what colour/s to use etc etc.

There are many areas in our daily lives capable of inspiring myself and other Bead artists so today I hope to inspire you by sharing some ideas and giving some examples of where I and the other Mavens get our inspiration from and believe me it is limitless.

First up is the pretty obvious one of

Color

Color is around us all day and all night, it is everywhere, we even dream in colour. Imagine the bright colours of Spring blossoms, the intensely rich earthy Summer desert scenes, the warm tones of Autumn leaves or the cool/cold/crisp whites of a Winter wonderland, just to name the seasons. Speaking of seasons, how about fashion colors in clothing and interior design? these also inspire and luckily regularly alter. A favorite piece of artwork, the colour of someone's eyes, the changing hues of water, shades as the sunlight moves, the sheen of feathers on a bird, the colours of a snake and the list is endless…………… here we have Aurelio Castono's colour inspiration taken from an American Rattlesnake, awesome work also awesome snake.

Pattern

You may have a favorite piece of fabric that you love because of its patterning. You may see terrific wallpaper in a magazine, a house, store or even as display in a wallpaper shop.  Pattern can be abstract like a psychedelic shirt, linear like tartan, circular like polka-dots or paisley, a mix of all these. What about image repetition to form pattern - we see those every day and most don't even register in our mind. Seeing a row of items can inspire a design. Pattern is part of our everyday life also, just like colour is………here we have Mikki Ferrugiaro's bracelet design inspired by pattern and colour from a piece of fabric and how good does that look?

Texture

People love to touch, love the feel of different things. Inspiration also comes from how something feels. What about a spiky ocean critter, or an echidna/porcupine. All spiney protrusions are possible to achieve with spike beads or daggers like my 'Echinoderm' bracelet.

Nature and Scenery

Many people paint beautiful scenery, photograph mountains and trees. We cannot escape nature as it is all around us and why not try to allow a massive scene to inspire and get the creative juices to flow? Neva Brown had Machu Picchu as the challenge inspiration for a brooch.

Architecture

I love architecture. Inspiration from architecture is also limitless and we have so many styles of architecture covering such a diverse and wide range from Roman to present day. Consider the curves in a modern building, the patterning of exterior finishes, the sails of an Opera House, the stain glass windows in a church, the steeples of a mosque, the lines of a gothic building, the material used to make the various surfaces and again the list is endless………..an example of Art Deco architecture is the Chrysler Building in New York City inspiration for my Art Deco bracelet.

Duplication of what you see

This is where you make something that you see in life or on TV or in a magazine, a literal piece. I have created a necklace idea seen from a piece worn in a movie, Mikki has created a bracelet from a wall design seen in a movie. It would not be possible to list all the things we see in life that inspire………..I love flowers and one of my favorites are Gerberas. I see a fun, happy flower very difficult to ignore because they are so full of colour, so what better inspiration can you ask for ? 

Whereas Heather Kingsley Heath loves bugs and she tells me the bigger the better for her Battle of the Beadsmith competition piece, just look at the amazing workwomanship in this Scorpion and the butterfly, incredible eye for detail.

So here are just two examples of literal translations of what exists to inspire.

What about wanting to create a completely whacky piece? You could do something like Mikki Ferrugiaro's Armadillo Blossom purse and create a combination of two things into one - her inspiration for her 2012 Battle of the Beadsmith was asking herself "What would a purse look like if it were a cross between an Armadillo and a water lily?", only Mikki would ask such a question.

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Let your ideas run wild with the possibilities of combining two, three or four of your favourite things and seeing what you can come up with. It is all about playing and using your creative imagination.

Literature and imagination

So far we have only mentioned things that we physically see for inspiration. We cannot omit the images we conjure in our own mind when we are reading a book, listening to music, reciting a poem. All these things also trigger a flow of internal imagery. Just look at Neva Brown's beautiful piece called 'Lady of Shallott' all inspired by Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem of the same name. 

There she weaves by night and day 

A magic web with colours gay. 

She has heard a whisper say, 

A curse is on her if she stay 

To look down to Camelot. 

She knows not what the curse may be, 

And so she weaveth steadily, 

And little other care hath she, 

The Lady of Shalott.

New Beads and experimentation

Last, but not least, all the new shapes and colours of beads coming out.  Inspiration is triggered when you experiment. Just sitting and playing with the variety of two hole beads now available gets your creative juices flowing. New ideas and new ways to use them are being discovered all the time. In my 'Annabella' pendant we have Super-duos, Tila beads, spikes and what a pretty picture they make.

Today's post is just a small snippet of all the inspiration that surrounds us. Be open to what is around you, what is attractive to you, what catches your eye, your attention. All you have to do is open your eyes, really look, and be open to the possibilities. 
You have heard the line 'Stop and smell the Roses' how about changing that to 'Stop, smell the Roses and look at how beautiful the colour, delicate the shape, how soft the petals, how pointed the thorns ………...and the inspiration begins.'

Teaching Classes; Food for Thought! ~ Twyla

      Back in the day when I was offered the opportunity of teaching my original designs at a local bead shop, I jumped at the chance, and thought it would be great fun. And it was!! But as usual, with experience being the best teacher, I learned many things along the path of my journey that I hadn't stop to consider before jumping in with both feet. It's some of  those things that I wish to present here today for you to ponder if you are considering teaching your original designs; a little food for thought! :)
 

1- Are you a people person? Unless you totally love people and are very gregarious by nature, teaching may not be as enjoyable for you as you first imagine. One thing is for certain, you will encounter and have to deal with all types of personalities and in some cases, they will all be in one room together. :) If you are an introvert and somewhat shy, as am I, being faced with all these personalities can be daunting and intimidating to say the least.

2- Am I prepared to take charge? Literally and figuratively, its your class and you have to be prepared to not only lead and guide it, but keep order and chaos to a minimum. It was my experience that there are basically two types of beady people that take classes; the social beader, who sees the experience as a night or afternoon out of the house and a chance to chit chat with friends as well as do something fun, and the serious, very focused beader who is there to learn a new technique and has little inclination to deal with  the aforementioned type. Now imagine both in your class, with one being a bit disruptive (not intentionally of course) and the other being irritated because they can't focus on the class. How do you handle it? How do you keep things on track as well as give both types what they are seeking from the experience?

3- Why do I want to teach?  Ask yourself why you want to teach? Are you there only for the income? Do you want to share your knowledge and expertise with others? Do you just enjoy people and the camaraderie or is it a combination of reasons? More than likely you will have more than one reason for wanting to teach a class; Very few of us teach with only one single thing in mind, but whatever your reason or reasons are, make sure they are clear in your own mind, so that you don't lose focus on "why" you are there doing what you are doing.

4- Are you prepared for the stress and pressure of having to create a new and original design to teach and doing it with the pressure of a deadline? If you teach classes with any regularity in a local venue, you will have to deal with this.

For some people, creating a new design comes as naturally as breathing air does. I am not one of those people. If you are like me, you will literally put more gray hair on your head while trying to create a new design, especially if there's  a deadline in the mix. Sometimes those new designs come easily and other times, not so much! Having to create a new design every couple of weeks or even monthly can be incredibly stressful and full of pressure, so be sure to look within and ask yourself, " Am I being realistic when I tell myself that I can develop a new design and tutorial every couple of weeks or monthly?"

5- Am I being realistic about the costs involved? Below is a partial list of costs that you may encounter when teaching. I am sure that there are others that I didn't encounter and haven't thought of.

       A- Transportation Costs

       How many miles will I have to drive to reach the class location? How much will the gas and oil cost? How much wear and tear will there be on my tires and the car over time?

       B- Copying or printing tutorials or patterns for everyone taking the class.

Either having them done professionally or purchasing ink and paper for your home computer printer.

       C- Needles and thread for each person in the class.

Many teachers provide these two things for each person taking their class and most especially for the new beader. Those needles and fireline adds up before you know it.

       D- Personal time involved in creating, beading a project and writing a tutorial/pattern for that project.

Your time is worth something and you need to take that into consideration as part of your over all cost to teach a class.

       E- If you are teaching at a local shop will they be taking a percentage and how much of a percentage of the total cost of the class does that amount to?

Most shops provide you with a space to teach your class for a percentage of the money that you charge your students. That percentage can vary but most charge around 30-40%.

       F- Beads and supplies to create the original project.

Some teachers like to put together kits for their students to purchase or include as part of the cost of taking the class. You need to consider your access to those beads. If you are working directly with a bead store they may or may not have in stock the beads you require for your design. In that case, what's your plan B? If you have to order from another source,how long is it going to take before you receive your order and is it cost effective?

As you can see there is more to teaching than what appears on the surface; some negatives and some positives.  I hope my insights have provided you with a starting place of things to consider if teaching classes is your goal, and always remember; Bead True to Yourself!