On Facebook there are a number of mosaic related groups and fairly often a group member will post something like "Where do you get your inspiration?" Or, "Lost my inspiration." Or asking for help with "Looking for ideas and inspiration."
I must admit I have found myself in the same rut. I can go from having way too many ideas for projects (but that's a different problem) to having none at all. And nothing discourages motivation like having no idea of what to do or where to start.
I've also been asked "Where does your inspiration for your mosaics come from?".
The inspiration to be creative can actually come from anywhere. It doesn't have to be profound. It can be anything, such as a material, a colour, or the shape of a substrate. Or take a look around and see if there's anything that looks like it would make a good mosaic.
One thing I do for inspiration is to look back at some of my earlier work so I can remember what inspired me to create a certain piece. One of my earlier mosaics, which I made for myself, is entitled "Viola's Kitchen Wall" because it was actually inspired by Viola's kitchen wall!
Viola, my aunt's best friend, lived a in 300 year old house in Trequanda, a charming village in Tuscany. The house's setting is magnificent and from the property you have a 360 degree view of the rolling hills of Tuscany. The house itself is also spectacular. All white walls with artwork and antiques everywhere you look. And the kitchen! Oh my goodness, what a kitchen!!
One small section of the kitchen instantly caught my eye. The section where the lower part of the wall was still the stone and cement foundation of the original house, but the upper part of the wall was smooth white plaster. In the middle of "a rock and a hard place" hung a large, round, beautifully handcrafted basket.
The basket did it. I was so taken with it's organic contrast against the solid wall that I instantly knew I wanted to turn it into a mosaic.
I used gorgeous vitreous tiles of similar light grey tones to represent the smoothness of the plaster wall.
For the stone section, I used vitreous tile in greys and browns and added some pieces of broken pottery in the same colour family for texture.
To contrast the cold, hard materials of the wall, I painted the background of the basket area gold and left it un-grouted so the gold could peek through. I highlighted the organic feel and shape of the basket with rounded pebbles and amber glass gems.
Below is the completed mosaic - a 30cm x 60cm abstract version of a Tuscan wall.
And, maybe this will help answer the question of where to find some inspiration.
Look around! It can come from the most unexpected places.
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