Inspiration

It's raining again.  Thundering, too.  Delicious after the hot dry wind of yesterday.  The green of new leaves against a white cloud filled sky looks fresh and clean. Just what I need in my mind as I ponder what I will make next.  This morning I've been making fisherman's pants, testing out a pattern. I have so many ideas about what I want to make next that I cant decide where to start.  Need to get some clarity of inspiration from that fresh view outside my window.

Talking about inspiration - how about this idea for a "shot in the arm" - 25 coloured pencils arriving every thirty days for 20 months, building up to a collection of 500.  Each named colour conjours image and imagination.  Here's a sprinkling: Spiffy; Kilimanjarao; Norwegian Sky; Horatio; playroom; blackberry ice.  The pencils are an initiative of the Social Designer website who curate and create goods "for the greater good", the sale of which sees funds donated to a variety of charitable causes.  The rationale behind receiving the pencils in lots of 25 rather than all at once is that

 It's human to have favorites. To be drawn to certain colors, to have others surprise you. We believe the greatest beauty of 500 Pencils is that you don't receive all of them at once, but over the course of 20 months. It gives you new focus as an artist, working with color families and feeling the precious nature of each pencil. We send 25 pencils a month, crafted to order. As you build to 500, the pencils become your story and experience. It's about enjoying an unhurried creative process, and the artist - that over time - you become. 

To subscribe to 500 Pencils or just find out more go here