Inspiration Series - Part 7

When I was a kid, one of my favorite places on earth was the library. I loved the look and smell of the books. I would spend hours sitting on the floor in a corner. As I got older, I found myself spending more time in bookstores than libraries. I loved (and still do) cracking the spine on a new book with anticipation as to what the journey will be as I travel through the pages. I have passed on that love to my sons. My eldest is quite the reader. His taste is vast and wide - everything from American classics like "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "On the Road" to the work of Salman Rushdie and Gabriel García Márquez. We both share a love of poetry. To me, poetry really demonstrates the power of words to convey images and meaning. Being a calligrapher, I also love how poetry can be presented in unique ways.

Today's featured artist, Meliors Simms first drew my attention with her beautifully photographed work. The photos got me to look but her words made me a fan. She uses creative ways to present her poetry so they really are works of art. Here is Meliors response to the question:

What inspires me? Probably more than anything else I am inspired by reading widely and the impact that my reading has on me. My work is inspired by
science: ecology, evolution, geology, biology, physics, astronomy; science fiction novels of ideas and theological writing especially contemporary Buddhist and Jewish thinkers. In the past few years I have discovered many websites with intelligent podcasts, so I can be inspired at the same time as I am making.

I am also inspired by the natural world as I experience it- living in the Daintree, Australia's tropical rainforest next to the Great Barrier Reef, was incredibly inspiring. Sometimes I'm directly inspired by the unlikely images and scenarios of my sleep dreams. I feel inspired pretty often so that I have many many more ideas than I ever develop into anything concrete let alone completed. Ideas that can be expressed through materials and techniques that inspire me come to fruition: letterpress printing or the sensual heft of old woven woolen blankets. But since my practice is always deeply meditative and thus slow to produce visible results, I have to be selective about which inspirations deserve ongoing enthusiasm. If I ever run dry of inspiration, flicking back through my journals will provide plenty to go on with.

Meliors work can be found at http://www.etsy.com/shop/meliors

Thank you Melior for sharing your inspiration.