Inspire Your Art with Heart Day

  Gentle Friends, I was inspired by Patience Brewster, Designer Extraordinaire, best known for her darling and quirky ornaments, about this National Day of Art and Inspiration - which got me to thinking about what inspires me and what has inspired me throughout my life...........

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Over the past few years my artistic outlet has been mostly needlework, crosstitching - which I have been Posting about here at Black Sheep but I have tried other mediums.  I grew up around art and artists.  My Great Grandmother was a water colourist, and I am lucky enough to have two of her paintings......

....they both retain their original faux painted frames...  her daughter, my Grandmother was always doing something artistic, working in many mediums - ceramics, painting, needlework and other crafts....  I have quite a few things of hers that I live with an have shown in the past....  like

... my nativity I put out every year.....My dad was also a painter and although I do not remember this - once in his studio in Mississippi I got hold of a paintbrush and paint and created this......

.....  this always hung in my dad's dressing room and on the back it is dated 1965 titled

 "My Daddy" oil on board.  When we broke up my mom's house after she passed, this is one of things I took.  So I've sort of been creative since I was 2, having been inspired by my grandmother and dad.  My mom was a stitcher and I have a few of the pieces she made and I have a piece that her mother stitched.  So I've always been around stitching. 

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As I grew older art was never far from my life or goals.....one Degree I got early on is in Photo Journalism....although I never did much with it I still enjoy my camera and taking photos.  

My first job after Graduating from East Carolina University was with the Edgecombe County Cultural Arts Council, Tarboro NC- as Director of Education and Programs..... from there I moved on to the Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala Florida as Curator of Museum Education.  I still enjoy visiting the many world class museums, gallery's and cultural events that SF has to offer.

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My stitching is inspired by many things, my background and life I've led up to this point and the lovely historic and antique samplers out there to view and emulate..... 

 this one I own -  I picked it up at an Estate Sale.....

 .....  I see it every day and think how lucky I am to have it on my wall......  I also am inspired by all the travel I am lucky enough to have done in the past - and plan on doing in the future.  I always seek out the museums and historic places where ever I go - and one of my favorite places to see is the National Gallery in London, I've been there a few times and always make a point to see the Burlington House Cartoon by Leonardo da Vinci.  I found this small version  in a house sale and see it every day propped up on a book case in my hall.....

......  the little painting "Coleus and Shell" was done by a dear friend in Tarboro as a going away present when I left North Carolina for Florida.  I think one of the reasons I really enjoy the large "cartoon" of "The Virgin and Child with St Anne and St John the Baptist" is its size it is quite daunting being made up of 8 pieces of paper glue together.  It is a massive piece and so lovely - done in charcoal with black and white chalk.  I think it was seeing this piece that really made me want to visit the Chateau at Amboise and see were Leonardo is buried.

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There's really not one thing in particular that inspires me, but many things, day to day things.... reading Blogs and seeing all the lovely pieces being worked on, taking part in Exchanges on the HOE and Private ones always inspire me to do my best.  I think that this weekend in honor of the Day I'll just do lots of stitching.

Thanks for stopping by, dos top again!!

Take care,

edgar