Sometimes we find inspiration in places and through means that we do not expect. I am not saying that I found inspiration in some off the wall place. Actually I found it at a museum and in art class. The artists that I was introduced to were amazing, but it was not so much their art that inspired me as the fact that each of them worked in mediums and methods that I had not even considered. First there was Louise Nevelson. She is famous for creating sculpture from found objects, not so unheard of, but it was the way that she used the objects that was so miraculous to me. She used the objects in relation to each other to create fascinating compositions. The objects themselves had no bearing on the work, they were simply means to form space. In fact she would paint the finished pieces either black, white, or gold, thus making the objects uniform and the space between even more important. Next there was Lesley Dill. I was not in any way excited to see this exhibit. I had a misinformed notion of what I was going to encounter, but what I saw got my wheels spinning. It was the execution and materials again. She had used cloth, hair, metal and words to create these delicate expressions. I was not especially blown away with the work itself, but the fact that she could use these materials in the way that she had gave me a feeling of permission. Permission to try things that maybe I would not have thought of before. The final piece of the puzzle came last Saturday. I was at class with Moe and saw a book lying on his dining room table. As soon as I opened it I was so unbelievably blown away. The artist is Lee Bontecou. I had no idea that work that good and original existed. Her older pieces were made by welding metal armatures and then wiring canvas over them, creating, what I would call, a cyber bio-mech black hole that sucks you in and won’t let go. Moe told me that I was not to have seen that book until later on in my lessons. I believe that he was right about that. I was instantly inspired. The thought is that possibly I was not ready to see this work because he knew that I would aspire to that level. She used methods that were, again, foreign to me. The point to this missive is that I am beginning to understand that there are no limits to what I can do. I don’t have to fit everything into a neat little box in order to be valid. Looking back on my work I see that I am guilty of that, but as I am now learning, I can do anything. First I intend to get all the rules down. Then I am going to stomp them to pieces and see if they will fit together in a totally new way. Wish me luck