Understanding Inspiration

Your work reminds me of the artist .. Have you ever heard that before? I have. 

Do people compare new work to established work to help elevate or pinpoint the idea behind the new work? Do they think if your work looks like or makes them think of someone else's work it's a good thing? Or, is it as simple as, your work simply reminds them of other pieces they have seen. What's the saying, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. 

Points of Interest

I surely don't know. But all of this this work reminds me of that work has me thinking: how do we know if we are original or inspired?

The answer is both. It is impossible not to notice and want to study the works of art you admire. If you take your craft seriously, you should be studying other artists' techniques and methods. Whether you're picking up a needle for the first time or making a living at modern embroidery art, no one works in a vacuum. 

I can say I am drawn to decorative art tiles and lino prints. I like clean lines and large fields of color. I am also still learning to draw, at least draw in a way that I can sketch a landscape and stitch it. My work is abstract, and perhaps primitive art inspired because that is how I can draw.

What we should never do is see a piece and say, I want to make that, exactly. If you want to create art and not be a stitching parrot, you have to be inspired, study and then take a step back and see where your creativity takes the idea. That next step, that next tweak, change in color, pattern or texture leads to another change and another change and your inspiration has born a new, creatively unique piece.