Way Too Much (Creative Sway Day)

Oh how Ive felt too much joy and inspiration to contain myself.

I'm this short of insane. I'm finding myself completely consumed with the images and sounds in Arcade Fire music videos. Scenes From the Suburbs is a short movie about to come out in the coming months. It's based on Arcade Fires most recent(and most brilliant) album The Suburbs. If it wasn't enough for the album itself to knock the life out of me with the spirit it captures and its rapturous sound now there is a movie embodying the albums very soul.

To check out clips from Scenes from the Suburbs while subsequently watching the music video for The Suburbs by Arcade Fire click here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Euj9f3gdyM

Now to explain what the presence of that strange doodle above means. That is my doodle, one I'm quite fond of. This lovely(and some might say creepy) little thing is the sum of the inspiration that radiates from my intrigue in folk art, the forest, and the memories of my younger years in Pennsylvania.

This particular one is me and my cousin. We were very close as young children and I drew us as the animals that I most picture us as; a brown wolf (me) and a crow (my cousin). There is a creepy element to this and I could go on for ages why that is and why were are the animals I drew us as but its a tad personal. Sadly too much for a blog I'm afraid.

This one of a white rabbit is not directly inspired by me or any one of my cousins. It too is a child but I think its more embodying that cute shyness that little children have. I feel it has a deeper meaning but I haven't quite yet pinpointed what that is. If it looks like its praying its not, its in no way meant to me religious.

These drawings will no doubt be a series and every now and then you will see more. They come from deep down however so I cant just pop one out at will.

Questing for Inspiration (Creative Sway Day)

Every now and then the magical tap of inspiration dries out and your left frustrated and without the ability to express yourself through whatever medium it is you use.

Today was not one of those days for me but for my friend who in the process of designing a look for her good friend wound up stuck and robbed of creativity. Nothing she tried worked.

I suggested we take a walk into town and let the sights wash over us in hopes of new inspiration. She agreed and so we went off on out quest.

This first lead us to Starbucks because my friend is quite the coffee fiend. I am the complete opposite; A tea fiend. However I never really enjoyed the tea there with the exception of their passion fruit tea.

One thing I do like about Starbucks are the store layouts. I'm a sucker for a well designed room no matter where or what it is. One thing I really love is the industrial look and this Starbucks(like many) had it.

Ah Urban Outfitters. I single step inside that store could knock a hundred new ideas into my head. I love everything single thing in that store. Their displays are MARVELOUS. The fact that they create new beautiful displays in the store drives me insane. I devour everything with my eyes and I cant get enough which is why I often come back(sometimes three times a week).

I particularly loved this jumble of old rusty boats and such that looked like they were just gathered from the side of a river. The picture is above. Below them were several beachy worn blankets that matched up only by a single yellow stripe.

Eventually we made our way to a curious little gallery like store. I don't know for sure but it seemed to me local artists or people who just had art on them they didn't want sell it there. It was called Loft a Go Go. There was a delightful mix of colors and images from photographs of Banksys, copies of Mucha posters, and even Keep Calm and Carry On posters and their deviations on canvas.

All of these things pleased me and renewed my inspiration even though it wasn't even completed. My friend was quite satisfied with our quest and became confident to make whatever garments came to mind. On the way home we found a bit of sticker graffiti.

I thought it was cute. Its seems to be a local artist, I don't know what they call themselves. It was about the size of your hand and was slapped on a clothing donation bin. I love finding good graffiti, its always a pleasant surprise.

Overall it was a quaint walk. We both felt very content with the world on our way back. Colors and patterns were abuzz in our heads and we couldn't wait to extract new designs from them.