Art is a powerful inter-cultural, non-linguistic way to communicate.  Visual art expresses emotions that words only begin to communicate.  Artists begin to create their artwork when something has inspired them.  It maybe a beautiful sky, ducks crossing a road or going to the ocean and seeing a lot of surfers.  Whatever begins the inspiration comes from some emotion or visual sight. 

People find a lot to inspire them daily like children running down the street with their dog or people sitting at the local coffee shop talking to each other.  Today we find ourselves in different environments in a matter of minutes.  When we are in our homes, driving down the street or lining up to buy a ticket to go to a movie.  Eating at a new restaurant.  Calling friends on a cell phone in a crowd.  Watching a parade and the floats.  Getting on a bus.  Going through a car wash.  Picking out vegetables or fruit at the Farmer’s Market.  Buying some beautiful jewelry at an art fair.  Preparing the fire for a cook out and eating the hamburgers, hot dogs and potato salad.  Playing with your dog.  Taking a hot air balloon.  Wow!  Our visual world is filled with thousands of environments to be part of daily.  Sometimes we change environments in minutes as we travel from one place to another.

Inspiration comes when we see different places or experience different kinds of emotions and this is how an artist decides what they want to create, sculpt, sketch, paint, assemble and design.  Begin now to look at the environments you enter into daily and think how each of these environments make you feel.  Try it and then you will know how artists’ get inspired.  Maybe you will to and begin to create an art project, possible a collage.

For more information contact Jaylene Armstrong, retired art educator from Madison Wisconsin, at 661-255-3050.