new inspirations...

As overwhelmed as the old Google Reader already tends to make me feel, I can't help but feel a thrill over the discovery of a new-to-me blog. I'm sure you can relate. Yesterday I clicked through from a comment left on my dear friend Chris's blog. Here is the lovely blog I made my way to. And I was immediately drawn to it--it seems like such a comfortable place to visit. I love comfortable.

I'm so happy that I wisely made the choice to subscribe to Snowball's blog, for her post this morning was pure fun! I was introduced to two forms of poetry I'd never before heard of, Cento and Book Spine Cento/Book Spine Poetry. As much as I truly do love (some) poetry, my knowledge is quite limited. As is my ability to talk about it.

Anyway, I was positively intrigued by these forms. And Snowball posted some lovely examples. I would love to try my hand at Cento and shall start "collecting" lines, but that shall be an endeavor which requires much time. Especially since I truly am not well-read. But the Book Spine Poetry, well, that was something I could jump right on. And in fact, I did...immediately after reading Snowball's post!

I've decided that this is one of my new goals. Or perhaps "goal" isn't quite the right word. Whatever. Point being that I'm going to try ever so much harder to act on the things that inspire me. In the moment. Or at least as very soon as possible. I've become too adept at thinking, "I so want to try that someday!" or "Ooooh, that gives me an idea. I should write it down so I can give it whirl sometime." Thing is, someday and sometime never seem to arrive.

Okay, so here is my first attempt at Book Spine Poetry (if you click on the picture, you should be able to see it better):

The night of wishes
haunted
hunger
Can such things be?

The dead of the night
full dark,
no stars.
Fragile things
catching fire.

Everything is illuminated.

(The Night of Wishes by Michael Ende, Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk, Hunger by Lan Samantha Chang, Can Such Things Be? by Ambrose Bierce, The Dead of the Night by John Marsden, Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King, Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman, Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, and Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safron Foer)

Go ahead and laugh, I promise my feelings will not be hurt. :P I know it pretty much sucks...but see, that's perfectly okay! Coming up with an incredible poem was not my aim (though it would obviously have been a nice bonus); my aim was simply to create and have fun in the process. And that I did. :) Seriously, so much fun. In fact, I highly recommend trying it--and if you do, please share. Pretty pretty please. (Snowball shared one she did in her post--it's much more imaginative than mine.)

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And onto another font of inspiration, Living Out Loud: Activities to Fuel a Creative Life by Keri Smith.

LOVE. THIS. BOOK. I've read it in its entirety in the past. And I have often picked it up and just opened to a random page to read. I've decided to read it again from front to back...with a twist. This time, I must stop reading every time something inspires me. Even if I can't for some reason act on that inspiration in the moment, I have to set the book aside until I can. And yeah, this book is so damn inspiring that it may take me a lifetime to get through it this way. :P

First inspiration acted on: On page 9, Smith starts talking about allowing memories of childhood guide you to the things you might find very satisfying in your creative life today. She is all about the rewards of play as an adult.

Two memories just sort of leaped to mind as if they'd been right there waiting for an invitation. The first maybe isn't really being creative, but I was inspired by the memory nonetheless. Simply picking Queen Anne's lace and putting it in colored water. How many of you did that as a kid...or as an adult? Luckily my overwhelming desire to go do this again after close to 40 years was easily satisfied as we have Queen Anne's lace growing in the yard.

I'm not sure if it shows in the photos--the blue and green worked well, but not the purple. Oh well. I still find them quite lovely sitting in vases (glass jars with washi tape) on the mantle.

And for now I'm on hold in the book...until I can act on that second memory. Hopefully today. Hopefully with the kiddos. We'll see.

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What has inspired *you* lately?

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Projects progress:

50x50--#27. Write 50 poems and #29. Upcycle 50 things.