What Inspires the Artist in Me?
I guess this might be where I would tell you to go follow me on Instagram and that might sum this question up. I recently posted a picture of a random gate I drove by. While I was stopped at traffic lights I took out my phone and snapped the wooden barrier that triggers my creative genius every time I see it. There are a few random things that I spot on my drives that I tell myself I must take a picture but I am always whizzing by and it is never safe enough to stop and snap. This time, I had a two second window before the lights turned green.
It is just a gate right. Yes, it is an old wooden gate on a main street in a rural Irish town that is completely flaking away in paint. And with the flaking brings texture and exposure to the histories of past paint jobs leaving a multilayered piece of street art. That is what I see. To others, it is maybe just a gate. Perhaps now that I have posted it on Instagram, it might trigger other people's creative geniuses too. One person said it reminded them of beach huts and ice cream and another said that they could see a whole family in it. This made me smile.
I often equate studying visual art to being offered a magic pill, opening up the eyes to everything and nothing, prompting us to be intrigued by the mundane and seeing potential in the randomness. That is what this wooden gate represents. It reminds me of how fortunate I am that the magic pill is still very much working its magic.
There are many more things that I have seen on my journey that I feel compelled to take a picture off. Let's hope the light stays red for long enough to do so. Watch this space and tell me what you see.
Thanks for reading and I hope you see a little bit of magic in something everyday. x
