Conversation one: INSPIRATION

You should entreat trees and rock to preach the dharma, and you should ask the rice fields and gardens for the truth. Ask pillars for the Dharma and learn from the hedges and walls. Eihei Dogen

Hello again…

OK let’s talk about inspiration.

How inspiration comes to us, what inspires? words, images, sounds, music, smells, nature, recipes, gardens, ideas, people, the dharma, zenga painting? what inspires us to do what we do/make?

Oxford dictionary definition: The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.
One of the Latin words for inspire is incendo, to inflame, ignite. That’s what it feels like when inspiration lights me up. I get jumpy, excited, focused, warm or in the words of the definition inflamed. And it’s a delightful state.

I’ll tell my story of inspiration with the Rakusu Project…
Taigu had posted several Rakusu sewing instructional how-to videos on the Treeleaf forum. I watched the first out of curiosity and within minutes, the beauty, history, ritual nature of the garment made we want to replicate one in paper as a 3-Dimensional drawing. Flash of inspiration! No thought.
I made the first, loved the process of working with paper in that way and made a second and third. All illustrated with graphite drawings of seeds, insects, grasses, all favorite subjects of my drawings. Another video by Taigu about then: he mentioned the Japanese mendicant monk Santoka Taneda and he may have even read one or two of his haiku. I ordered the book ‘Mountain Walking’ immediately and when it arrived a few days later, I realized I had already been illustrating his haiku. His words opened me to a whole new way of expression. Over a 2-3 year period I made 60+ Rakusu illustrating his haiku. The next step, inspired by the first 2 was to choreograph a performance/ installation (something I’d never done). I love words and had never combined them with my artwork but always wanted that marriage. The sewing of paper has continued taking me in all sorts of new directions.

First the Rakusu inspired, the words continued to inspire more sewing and the finished product inspired the performance. Inspiration begets inspiration.

In my experience inspiration cannot conjured, I must be open for it to appear. And I believe my practice helps.

Please share your stories and/or images, sounds, words if you’d like, that reflect your encounters with inspiration.

Gassho,

Anne
~st~