Warning: Visual Overload! (my inspiration)

I am often asked where I get inspiration for my work and it always seems that in the moment I'm not able to think about one person, place, or thing to refer to as my inspiration. However, thanks to social media tools like Pinterest, I can share images of things that inspire me everyday. Some things inspire me because of the colors, texture, and lines. Other things inspire me because of the way I feel when I look at it. Still, other artists inspire me with their stories of why they create. There is no single element the inspires my work, but a lifetime of looking and making.

Montana Living of Montana Møbler

Like I mentioned before, I like saving things - especially multiples of the same thing - and this desk looks like an amazing collection of drawers all painted pink, which would be perfect for my future art studio. The desk also looks like it is the same on the other side - like a mirror image - so that the storage space is double. Maybe I would finally be able to organize my art supply stash!

Cornelius by Julia Haft-Candell

And in my new house / studio I would definitely love to have this sculpture, Cornelious, by Julia Haft-Candell. The list of materials alone is intriguing:

Porcelain, terra cotta, glaze, epoxy resin, cotton, polyester, thread, ink, paper, pins, metal, screws

And I love the texture and lines - the open lace like quality - and the soft muted colors. I'm also very intrigued by this piece because it is porcelain and I have never been a huge fan of ceramics or sculpture in general. I also wonder how delicate this piece is because I'm sure I would want to examine it up close - touching all the tree branch looking parts and figuring out where the pieces are connected. I know, you're not supposed to touch the art, but if I buy it I could - right?

cross section of pine

I'm often inspired by the patterns created in nature. I came across some microscopic images of the cross-sections of plants and trees and found that they look suspiciously like knitting. I used this inspiration to create a body of work for a solo show I exhibited in December of 2012. For example, an image like this image of a cross section of a pine branch inspired a series of 8 fiber art pieces including the one pictured here. I created knit circular patterns and combined that with embroidery and paint.

Stem by Kelly Darke

I am inspired by the work of so many artists: painters, illustrators, crafters, print-makers, weavers... I am inspired by work that is similar to mine and work that is completely different than anything I would do. So often it is the feeling I get when looking at a particular piece of art that in the inspiration. I want to feel that again, I want remember how it felt. I want to create work that resonates with others in the same way.





Any and all work by Cy Twombly - the combination of color, texture, and line in his paintings is difficult to describe. It's difficult to know why it inspires me - it just does.

 

Hero and Leandro by Cy Twombly

Notes from Salalah (Notes II) by Cy Twombly

Add caption

   I love the look of this fiber and mixed media mobile, but since I posted it on Pinterest over a year ago, the link only takes me to an Etsy page that says it's not available :( I don't know who made it, but maybe you do? I'll have to search a some more - I like the combination of colors and materials - natural and manmade objects.

























This installation, Falling Garden, by Gerda Steiner and Jörg Lenzlinger is amazing! I can only imagine how it would feel to be surrounded by this...

Falling Garden

Fiber art - Weaving - Knitting - Texture - Embroidery - Stitching

Memory Threads by Emma Parker

Emma Parker, aka Stitch Therapy, creates personal stories in fiber or printing or animation - whatever medium she uses it is always intriguing, whimsical, fun, and always authentic.

Abigail Doan is an environmental fiber artist and writer creating art and installations - working in New York and Europe.

Abigail Doan

Sheila Hicks

Extreme Knitting

embroidery by Cayce Zavaglia

What inspires you?

goodies in the mail!!

I opened the mail today to find this bag of fiber goodies! Over at my Stitch Therapy online workshop on FAMM (Fiber Art and Mixed Media) website a few members participated in an exchange of scraps to inspire each other. I can't wait to incorporate some of these pieces into my work. The workshop has been such a great experience for me, and I've thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone who has joined. There is still time to sign up for this workshop. The last to do register is September 30th. It is divided into four sections and designed for you to work at your own pace. The conversations developing on the discussion board have been inspiring. All are welcome to join us.

inspiration image

I love all the inspirational quotes floating around the internet and I've been wanting to make some of my own. This is my first attempt:

my inspiration board on Pinterest

I love the variety of styles and media that I see on Pinterest - it's amazing! So much inspiration is there.... I know some artists don't like to use Pinterest because of copyright issues, but if you put your art online anywhere people will be able to see and take the file and post it somewhere. I have found that there are way more good people than bad. I've linked the picture to my Inspiration board on Pinterest if you're interested : )

Inspiration from my garden

I took some pictures of my Morning Glory flowers this morning - I love the way the vines are wrapping around themselves creating such interesting texture, lines, and negative space. 

Junko Oki - fiber art

ok, since I have nothing new of mine to show (stitching takes a really long time) here is some inspiring fiber art by Junko Oki. I love when I come across an artists work that, in a way, reminds me of my own work - this work reminds me of the feeling I get from my own work.

6 Degrees of Creativity!

I'm so excited to be one of the instructors in the second edition of 6 Degrees of Creativity! What is it, you ask?  Gretchen Miller describes the program as: "6 Degrees of Creativity will unite concepts of social networking, connecting, collaboration, art-making, and creativity into an engaged global community of artists exploring transformation, social change, and using art for good.  6 Degrees of Creativity will be offered as a self guided 6 month on-line workshop running from July 2012-December 2012 that includes 6 different classes, offered by a group of 6 instructors." 
This is going to be a great experience all around! Stay tuned for more information...

links to inspiration resources I've discovered recently...

blogs and books I've been stumbling across while taking the Blast Off class with Alyson Stanfield:

Mike Dooley and Notes from the Universe

37Days

Ali Brown

Jack Canfield book The Success Principles

4 hour work week

The Domino Project

Ralph Waldo Emerson writing prompts - trust30 - 30 day writing challenge ralphwaldoemerson.me

latest Stitched Sketch... and amazing fiber art by Amanda McCavour

quick image of my latest stitched sketch...

There are a handful of blogs I check regularly for inspiration and information about fiber artists and exhibits - one of them is little yellow birds written by fiber artist Joetta Maue. Today, Joetta posted images by fiber artist Amanda McCavour - her work is amazing!  She creates sculptural pieces with thread only! You must check out her website. She is exhibiting in the show Play curated by Joetta Maue - showing until June 24th, 2011 at the Textile Center in Brooklyn, NY

more Inspiration...

ok, since Colin keeps posting his inspiration I figured I needed to post mine since it is completely different - I can appreciate the art that inspires Colin, but I really don't find it exciting... so, here are some of my inspirations of late:

Frank Gehry sketches:

Andre Petterson at Foster White Gallery:

and always Franz Kline at MOCA:

That DAM Show Preview

I visited the Detroit Artists Market today to see the set up for THAT DAM BOX SHOW. It looks awesome! I am really impressed by what some artists created. Here is a look at my piece (last four picture) and some of my favorites.

Inspiration, where are you?

I have been searching the internet lately for inspiration. Inspiration for creativity. I'm looking for some cool techniques or amazing artists to make me gasp - to make me feel in my gut that emotion - it's like being excited - like I've just discovered a treasure... I don't know how to describe it, but I know when I see something and I have to save it so I can look at it over and over again - like when you get a new album and listen to it nonstop for a week. (are they even called albums anymore?)


This search for inspiration often, at least lately, involves texture - like knitting or multiple layers of fabric or multiple layers of one main element. I'm fascinated with stitching - not cute country crosswork - but work like Tilleke Schwarz - it's embroidery, but unexpected - it tells a story somehow - visually - non-linear. (this piece is "Tree of life",1994, 75 x 70 cm)

I like the texture created by the shadows in this work by Elisa D'Arrigo. Her work soft from a distance but she often laminates the material to stiffen it - I like the contrast of what the piece looks like and what it would actually feel like. (this piece is "Recollection…pink (1)”, 2006)


And my favorite blog lately is by Abigail Doan - I discovered her work a few years ago and fell in love. On her blog she is always posting amazing work and artists and shows... there is something so visceral about fiber work - I can't get enough.

what inspires you?

Hollyhock oil painting

18x24 oil on canvas - I'm working on a series of at least 20 right now so I'm experimenting with backgrounds a little more.

Wordage

So I stopped by the Wordage exhibit at the Detroit Artists Market, and our old art teacher Jack O. Summers did a great job curating this exhibit. It was cohesive and had strong pieces on either side of the gallery that anchored the show. The show highlighted diverse artists who had unique styles, and almost every piece was captivating. I really was drawn into the pieces and intrigued by the hidden meanings or stories of the pieces. I have found that artwork that employs text often comes across as too commercial, too tacky, or too simplistic (trying to walk the viewer through a painting too the point of making them feel like an idiot). But Jack avoided the clichés and put together a sophisticated, fluid, and inspiring show. I didn't get the names of the artists who did all of the pieces that I liked, but here are pictures of the two pieces that I thought were the strongest of the show (the one with the red boot is by Dick Goody and the large "Don't Care" panoramic painting is by Lynn Galbreath).

Garden flower painting

Not the best pic... 30x48 inches

New art challenges, cheer me on!

Anyone following this blog will have seen the progress of my daily visual journal, which was started as a way to get myself to create art on a daily basis. A springboard for motivation and inspiration - it worked - I now have tons of projects lined up and I'm enjoying every minute of art making. My Daily Visual Journal - started June 5th 2009 and will be completed on June 4th, 2010 - a full 365 4 x 5 inch little creations - collage, drawing, painting, pencil... I haven't decided yet if I will continue this for another year... maybe with a particular theme.. or media... we'll see.

the following is a list my latest projects to challenge myself as an artist:

100 flowers - oil paintings that are essentially portraits of flowers. Most of the images are inspired by photos that I took myself of my own garden grown flowers or from my families gardens. I try to get a composition of the flowers that is not typical, something interesting and new but still recognizable as a flower. Regardless of the actual size of the flower, my interpretation is close up and large, for example an image of a small dianthis flower would fill a 24 x 36 canvas with bold color and lots of texture. I chose to create 100 Flower portraits for no particular reason - 100 is a big round number, a big challenge.

Recycled studio - I'm trying to offset my carbon footprint by using up all the scraps and miscellaneous materials in my studio to create new work - collages on handmade paper, plain handmade paper (I have lots of scrap paper), and possibly incorporate these materials into some new jewelry. The jewelry would be my favorite base of crocheted sterling silver wire with the collage elements woven into the process.

Sibling Revelry - I think this will be a lifetime project with my brother Colin. We have been collaborating under this title since 2007 and really have no plans to stop. We challenge and inspire each other by trading artwork for the other to finish, change, or completing re-do. Keep updated on the progress here: colindarke.com