unleash the power of inspiration...

                                         unleash the power of inspiration...

I hope that you enjoy the photos - heavy on Bowie - which seems to have re-ignited my love for orange once again. 


Please check back next month to find out what my latest fascination is.

See you next month      
Fiona xxxx

On-line, On-nine
Monthly post on the 9th of each month! 
On-line, On-nine  Feb 9th 2016

If we can sparkle he may land tonight!

I have long advocated that cross-pollination is a terrific way to spark creativity.  Usually a phase of exploring a new idea is something that I stumble across. It will then be intriguing enough for me to head off down that avenue for a while. But this month it feels like external events rather than internal thoughts are leading me down a new but familiar path.


Little did I know that when I wrote about the January Blues last month, that just 2 days later I would be experiencing a huge bout of the blues myself. I was on the way to the airport at the unearthly hour of 5am when I heard the news that Bowie had died. For those of you who know me (or have been following my work) you already know that he has been a huge influence on my life and a major source of inspiration for me since I was a pre-teen. So I was ...well actually I don't know what word to use to describe how it made me feel. Sad of course but it also pushed me into yet another round of exploring his work...mining for things that I can use. 


During those first few days after the news broke I (like many others) spent way too much time trawling the web for interviews, editorials, clips of him on the TV programs of my youth and so on. But as always all of life's events, this one included, become fonder for my creativity. I won't bore you with a list of ALL my favourite clips, but I would like to link to this one. In it Bowie (or as some dispute somebody pretending to be Bowie) is singing the same song over and over, imitating the voices of other performers (Iggy Pop, Bruce Springsteen etc).  As I listened to it with amusement I realized that for somebody fascinated with sound this is the perfect way to experiment and try out ideas. Something that all artists do in whatever their chosen medium may be. This way of exploring ideas has always resonated with me.....in fact it's what we all do when we are kids as we learn about the world.


So I had this in mind as I worked on an article for Creative Knitting (for a special issue that will be published later in the year) which looks at the different moods or personalities colour palettes can evoke.  I pondered Bowie's approach to being creative with sound appling the same technique to swatching with different colour stories. I kept the stitch patterning exactly the same (akin to using the same words & tune) and then experimented with a series of colour groups (like using different accents or singing cadences). I have done this before of course, but this time I was more fully aware of what I was trying to achieve. I was really pleased with the result. Sadly I can't yet share the images with you, but there is a close up of one then in my nine patch above. The article had a defined length and copy space to fill and of course my ideas ran away with me so I now how a whole host of other related ideas to explore. 


The other fun thing that has been inspiring me is seeing a really creative piece of musical theatre, called One Night Only. Each night the show opens with the same number but then the cast asks for topics from the audience and the rest of the show is improvised from there. We have seen it twice already (and have tickets to see it a 3rd time) and it was quite different both times....can't wait to see what happens next time. From my view point this approach parallels what I was attempting to do; taking a format and then adding new elements to see what happens.


Thanks for ALL the inspiration David...it's true, an artist really does live on through their work!