Filling up on inspiration

When I start a painting or a series of work, I almost always use an inspiration box before I begin the piece itself. For me, an inspiration box is an empty plastic container that I fill with any papers, clippings and embellishments that even remotely relate to the piece(s) I have in mind. I never end up using every item in an inspiration box for a piece, but the exercise helps me zero in on suitable elements without being overwhelmed (and believe me my stash of stuff can be quite overwhelming.) Pictured above is the beginnings of my latest piece, "A New Day" if you're recognizing inspiration.

The other place that needs to be constantly refilled with inspiration is the artist herself. I try to make it a point to kick myself out of my studio on a regular basis which is how our family began 2010. We visited a new-to-us-museum for a sensory-filled day that started with the age of the dinosaurs.

Dinosaurs that were juxtaposed with modern glass art in a room nearby. If you look carefully you'll notice similarities (a rib cage pattern to the right and a cloudy blue sky at the bottom.) See how one can play off the other? Not saying that this artist was dinosaur-inspired, but he/she certainly could have been. The more I look, the more dinosaur shapes I see.

The industrialized shape, texture and color of a replicated railroad station proceeded those organic places we visited. There's lots to gain from these types of displays too. I am especially fond of the curved "ALL ABOARD" signage.

Floor number two brought us pure eye candy...the vibrant world of Barbie. (A sea foam green and hot pink inspired painting is in my very near future.)

After a full day of exploration, we ended in the world of Egypt where I found this comforting proverb. My 2010 is already feeling more inspired. Lucky too...based on daily coffee spillage. How do you find inspiration?