Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Motivation/Muses

Having been at this creative/bear artist thing for quite a while, I have realized that there’s an ebb and flow to inspiration. I would venture to guess that people who work in a creative field are inspired most of the time. Yet there are some times when inspiration deserts us – it takes a hike in the woods

mm_1

or heads for the beach.

mm_2

It leaves us to wander around and wonder what happened to our motivation, our muse, our inspiration. And there are as many ways to lure the ol’ muse back into the studio as there are artists.

One thing that really motivates me is the prospect of an upcoming show. Just the idea of creating something new to display is usually enough to get me back in the groove.

mm_3

I was looking at my schedule for the coming year and I hope that I’ll be able to keep my muse from wandering for several months at least!

Doing shows is not for everyone so what works for me may not work for someone else. Nevertheless, I got to thinking about shows and what motivates a collector to attend a show. I think some of the answers are pretty obvious but if you have never talked with someone about why they go to shows, you might not be aware of why they can be worth the effort.

Sure there’s some cost involved which cannot be dismissed in this economy. Then there’s the travel and if you are a homebody perhaps that’s not your thing. Perhaps just being a stranger in a strange land makes it seem hardly worth it. Yeah, I know – I’ve been there myself – almost every time I pack up the suitcase!

mm_4

But I have been curious about what goes on in the mind of a collector concerning shows. So to turn the table a bit, I asked one of my collectors if she would answer a few questions to satisfy my curiosity. I love shows but why does she? She generously agreed to answer them and even sent a few photos. Thus next Wednesday I am going to post our conversation and seeing as how girls can gab, I might have to really edit our chat or turn it into a mini-blog-series of two or three posts.

mm_5

For now, my amusing muses (in the form of teddy bears – where did they come from I wonder?) are thumping their paws on the table trying to get me back to my needle and thread. I’ve also made a tiny bit of progress on the boxes I began before the holidays. All these are things I hope to post about in the coming days.

Okay – that’s it for now. The thumping is getting louder. Better go.

Until next time

6 comments:

  1. I understand the motivation thing, Ginger, as mine is on that hike. I do feel a bit of it trying to return, I'm happy to say. And someday I'd love to do a show just to see what they're all about, maybe even get hooked.
    Looking forward to your Wednesday post.

    ReplyDelete
  2. But isn´t it a lovely sound, this paw thumpimg??

    I wish you an inspiring, wonderful and healthy new year.
    Always happy to read your things!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Miss Ginger,

    Thumping? The bears are "thumping" their paws at you? Oh boy, you had better get back to work. You don't want to know what we do after the thumping. Or, maybe you do know. (o:

    Now, get back to creating....

    Hugs,
    Prudence

    ReplyDelete
  4. I look forward to hearing from your collector friend Ginger. I am doing my first show in many years and I can't wait. For all the years I did shows I really didn't even care if I sold much I just really loved the atmosphere. So I am so ready to join in again.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Motivation can be so elusive. I'm struggling to focus on bear making in my limited time each day after my full-time job...and I have an online show looming on the horizon! I miss in-person shows and would dearly love to exhibit at one in the next few years. I'm eager to hear your conversation with your collector friend. A series sounds great!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh cool, impatient muses for Hugglets I hope :o) Looking forward to hearing from your collector too :o)

    ReplyDelete

We appreciate your comments so much and love reading them! Thank you for visiting bearbits!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...