creative inspiration

I’ve discussed in the past my love of collecting and hunting for good old useful stuff, granted I don’t always have the same view point as others when it comes to the usefulness or value of the stuff I acquire. When I see something that sparks that little place in my brain and makes me say “I could use that” or “I need that” the little wheels start turning. Thinking of all the possibilities for this little treasure I have just stumbled upon and what can it be turned into, seriously sometimes I loose sleep! Lets just call that “creative inspiration” right!

Sometimes I get home with it and dive right in, putting it to work creating with it or placing it in a perfect spot on that shelf right there.

Sometimes I get home with it and it gets tucked away in the abyss of my art room, only to later be re-found, re-admired and wondered why exactly I bought it in the first place. What grand idea slipped out of my head?

Sometimes I procrastinate, should I get it ..no, I don’t need it, but I want it ..yes, I think I’ll get it ..no..no..no.. I’m not going to get it ..ooo yes I got it! (Sometimes guilty feelings later, sometimes not :)

Sometimes I just wonder at the bizarreness of it, once I received a giant old mayo jar filled with shoelaces, inventory from a 1950’s shoe shop (still wrapped in pairs) like 100+ pairs!

Mostly it’s the sentiment I have towards something, the romantic story I’ll attach to it. I love to cook and bake, I also love family traditions so the idea of things that would have been in some lovely old grandmas farmhouse always stir me up. I always attach a lot of love to those items, because you know gran she never got rid of anything, she used it till it was gone or broke & then patched it up and used it some more. The beauty of that bent metal rug beater, her fine hand stitched tablecloths & bed linens, a certain wooden spoon always used for making cookies, fresh bread on Sundays, a pantry filled with mason jars. I have this idealistic vision when I see old kitchenwares like cookie presses, aprons, tea towels, butter molds, spice containers and cheese graters.

I have recently started the task of going through my collections and rationalizing what in my life time will I actually maybe sometime use, basically scaling back (just a tad). When I was photographing these tart tins to maybe sell, the image was stirring up some of those dreamy emotions. It reminded me of that Grandma, it reminded me of Christmas, it was old and used but still crisp & clean like new snow.

P.S. I have never made or eaten sandbakkel tart cookies, but these tins L.O.V.E. I can’t even begin. So in order for me to not totally lose my mind in the downsizing process, I used this rule in regard to the tart tins: keep ½, sell ½ and so far that idea works. Best of all, if I want I can still make some sand cookies, but I’m thinking I’m going to tuck them into my Christmas tree to reflect the sparkling lights or possibly turn them into some delightful pincushions.