Sunday, March 2, 2008

Inspiration, Part I

I called out of work today. Sick. Truthfully? I STILL have a migraine, a day later. Behind my eyes. Yesterday was pretty miserable. I sat in front of my sewing machine and didn't do ANYTHING. So frustrating. I was just afraid I'd start sewing and make a huge mess.

Today my vision is almost completely back and the pain is subsiding, but I just needed another day to relax. My workplace is NOT fun when I'm not feeling 100%. I also got everything done on Thursday that I needed to do today, so I'm not feeling too guilty about not being there today.

PaperMenagerie wrote about her inspiration in her blog today. She's got some incredible cards that I've been eyeing for quite some time. I'm not sure if my Etsy penpal reads this, so I can't tell you which ones I plan to buy until after I've sent them. PaperMenagerie's blog on Inspiration has prompted me to do the same.

I wear mostly black clothing, I'm a New Yorker, as much as I hate stereotypes, my extended family jokes that they know when the New Yorkers have arrived at the family reunion because we're like a dark cloud. I have always liked colorful accents. Today? I have turquoise glass earrings on. They're about 2-2.5" long. I should have taken a photo of them. Sorry! I also have an amethyst bracelet and a red jade bracelet that never come off. No, my accents rarely match.

When I was at SVA getting my degree in illustration, I became known for my "weird sense of color." I guess it's not normal to see different colors in an orange bag or a cherry woodgrain, I always thought it was. It was a good thing, my peers and my instructors thought it was great (and probably a little cooky).

I haven't done anything with my BFA, I actually want to go back to school but for childhood education. I occasionally pull out my soft pastels and do a portrait. The last one was of Lady Day:



It was from a black and white photo.

I love putting colors where they normally wouldn't be. I think that's why I get so excited by a bright blue or hot pink fabric on the inside of a makeup bag. It really is a thrill everytime I open a bag up.

A great example is the pink bird coin purse I made a couple days ago. It's one of my favorite fabrics to work with because it's got the bright red, the maroon and the hot pink, so it's fun to match the zipper, felt tips and lining up with the print.

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So I guess my inspiration comes partly from the rainbow. I have a solar-powered rainbow maker that is currently creating dozens of dancing rainbows along my walls, floor and ceiling. I bought it from MoMA:



*As usual, click photos for more info.

Stay tuned for the rest of my inspiration.

<3 Always,
--Taina

2 comments:

Eatsruns said...

You know what I see you doing? Art therapy. Just popped into my head.

Love that picture, it's great.

Taina said...

I thought about Art therapy years ago but I really don't think I'd be able to emotionally handle psychological work, especially because most art therapy is used with severely traumatized patients.