Being an artist has it's fair share of challenges. The biggest challenge for me has always been finding inspiration. I feel that you have to make time for creativity, to nurture and cultivate it. To be alone with your thoughts for long enough for an idea to take root and blossom.
Recently I found inspiration at the bottom of my sewing box. When looking for some fabric to fashion a hat for a halloween costume, I stumbled across a little sack filled with fluff. Upon further inspection, I discovered the fluff was the remnants of my little blue and white bunny, a lovey, I had from childhood. I remember my dog Annie had ripped her up when she was a puppy and I must have felt I could salvage her and put her away to repair someday. I took out all the pieces and assessed the damage. One of her sparkly pink eyes was missing, the other now dull; her neck and tummy were ripped open with stuffing coming out. I decided to take on the challenge to try to bring her back to life.
I got out my needle and thread and started to lovingly connect the pieces of fabric together. All the thread-worn places where she'd been loved, barely able to hold a stitch. When I had finished stitching (and augmenting the original stuffing with polyester pillow fluff) I had a fully restored one-eyed bunny with bad surgical scars. A perfect inspiration for an illustration. Watch this space to see what I come up with.
