Where I Find Inspiration
Where do I go to look for inspiration?
Being a floral artist is an inherently a creative endeavor. You must be able to visualize your creation, gather ideas, and ultimately, bring your imagination and inspiration to life. For me, this means working very closely with our couples, and their unique vision of their special day. Together, we go through a process of discovering the intention, feelings, goals and dreams for the occasion. Being in tune with my own sources of inspiration helps me facilitate this process for others.
Here’s a little window into how I look for inspiration. This can be applied to all kinds of nascent, creative projects. I’ll walk you through building a mood board and through how to uncover what ideas, feelings, and desires resonate most deeply within your project.
Where do I go to look for inspiration?
I try to make it to the beach several times a year. The fall and winter are a mighty fine time to visit—especially for us as our wedding season ebbs and flows and we have little pockets of time during the off season when we can get away. I am making a point this year to add visits to the ocean and different landscapes as often as we can.
And when I get there, I scan the landscape for rich color tones within the plants dunes and sandy earth. I guess I’m trying to imprint these beautiful landscapes and natural colors in my mind. I want to hold onto them and remember them all while breathing in the richness of the seaside salty air. I’m honestly reveling in the fact that we have actually made it to the beach. We’ve gotten out of our own way and now I’m furiously absorbing the colors and taking pictures to capture what I cannot take with me as the sun continues to arc across the sky.
When on the beach, I might pocket a few of the sweet smelling fragrances from nature’s objects of the sea…..collections of rosebuds, sea shells, stones, matte sea glass, little bits of ochre seaweed, the perfect clam shell, shiny abalone, soft green shiny pebbles, dried flowers and leaves. You can find amazing textures and colors from the elements aging. Sometimes I practice just looking without taking, cherishing it’s placement on the earth.
I have several paintings of seascapes in our home. Each painting is so dear to us - and each location a little bit different. I especially love my Grandmother’s oil paintings of Cape Cod’s seaside.
I was called to use this painting while making a mood board and to my surprise uncovered a lot of feelings that spoke to me from this Homer painting. I decided to aim to capture the essence of this painting and put together a little ode to the painting. I am calling this its mood board. But call it what you like. It was a really fun exercise to capture the feelings of a painting and turn it into something new.
Have you ever wanted to invoke the feeling in a painting? It starts with an inspiring image. This little postcard is a Winslow Homer painting called Girl Carrying a Basket, 1882, Watercolor over graphite. Sometimes you might not realize why a certain piece of artwork resonates with you until you sit with it awhile. I’ve had this postcard forever pinned to my bulletin boards in all the different houses we have moved into and out of, and still this postcard floats around, following me. I love it and I don’t even know why exactly.
What feeling resonates with you when you look at this this painting? For me, I get a sense of longing and of wandering in the dunes. The girl has a beautiful stance with an eternal gaze cast upon the ocean. You can feel the vastness of the ocean she is looking at. I imagine she lives by the sea. And what a life that would be to be engulfed in the sea salt breeze upon waking!
Here are the steps I use when creating a mood board in response to a painting, enjoy!
Opening
Aim to capture the feeling in a painting or photograph by making a physical mood board in response to the work of art.
Process and Integration
Incorporate the inspiration piece in the mood board. Notice the colors and textures present in the painting. Gather items that resonate with the painting. Identify the feelings and what you’re drawn to in the painting: I’m drawn to the mood of the girl and the story within her gaze. She may be looking for someone and she feels grounded.
Reflection
Color wise, I want to bring about the warm colors of the sand and dunes. The rosy hues of the dried roses give a nod to Rosa rugosa (beach rose) which is not pictured, but you get the sense that the plants are close by. The little crab legs in the mood board still have sand stuck on them. And the seagull feather reminds us there are birds flying overhead. Let yourself dream. She reminds me of myself descending the dunes at Sea St. beach when I was young. The little flowers in the mood board evoke the knowing nature of her expression and the casualness of an afternoon walk along the beach and just – pausing for a moment.
Take Away
When working with our couples, we love to ask how they want to feel on their most special day. We ask our couples to lean into the experience they want to share with their guests and what it means for them. We ask what is most important about their day. We strive to bring this feeling into our planning sessions and floral creations.
Identifying the intentions around one’s vision can truly impact and inspire the event to flow and become a seamless celebration for all. Where do you go to find inspiration? Leave a note below as I’d love to hear.
