Inspiration & Influences
Many things influence, inspire, and contribue to the madness that causes me to do this stuff. Im going to try to list most of the reasons right here, without writing a book about them. Wish me luck.
My Music
I must say that one of the most important things to my artwork is my music. Not only does it help me stay focussed (thank god for noise-isolating headphones), but it does sometimes inspire me. I don't know what genre I would classify what I listen to as, but I really dont think that matters, especially since I listen to so many different things. I can listen to practically anything, but I tend to dislike songs that say "shawty," are completely unintelligible, and/or talk about fairy princess dreams coming true. I have so many favorite bands and songs, I dont think I could list all of them here without leaving something out (or rambling anymore than I already am). My top-favorite bands are definitely Evanescence, Alice in Chains, Skillet, Nine Inch Nails, Breaking Benjamin, Trapt, Finger Eleven, Seether, Linkin Park, The Smashing Pumpkins, Korn, Disturbed, Nirvana, Godsmack, Red, and Flyleaf. I also like to listen to a lot of Tori Amos and Bjork, as well as Rob Zombie.. Yes, there is something wrong with my mental taste-buds. They're quite diverse. I am a firm believer in listening to something because I like the way it sounds, what it's saying, or how it says it, not because it belongs to a certain genre or certain people like it. And I hope you do as well. So suck that. *mumble* Rachel...
My Pets
Even though they tend to be troublesome, I love my pets (except Chockey, but he's not mine anyways). We have two dogs (Fletcher and Chockey) and three cats (Hunter, Lily, and Tommy). Fletcher is a handsome yellow labrador retriever and VERY friendly and excitable. Chockey is a chocolate lab (that is shaped like a pit bull) and quite possibly the worst dog we've ever had. We bought him as an unsocialized puppy from an Amish woman with a car (that was much nicer than ours) that didn't know what a dewclaw was, so you can't expect anything great I guess. Hunter is my baby. He's a black and white cat (probably part Turkish Van) that we adopted in 2006. He's the prettiest cat I've ever seen, and he's very sweet. He's very smart as well. If he could grasp the doorknob, he would be able to open doors. I also like Lily. She is a pale orange cat we adopted in 2008. She is affectionate, but she can also be destructive and she tends to run away from things. Tommy is my sister's very curious, destructive cat. He's like a 7 lb kleptomaniac. He's stolen more than a few paintbrushes from me.
My Friends (No, Im actually not kidding)
I may not be able to stand being around them face-to-face for more than a few minutes, but I must admit that when they're not being incredibly irritating, they are awesome. Sometimes.
My Art Teacher
My middle-high school art teacher, Mrs. Jayne Sweet, is a big influence. I spend most of my free-time down in the art room with my friends (not only because we aren't socially accepted, what with being weird and all, but because it is just a cool place in general). I'd have to say that she's a big influence because she challenges us and makes us think outside of the box and more creatively, and her room has the resources to allow us to do those more creative things. She was the one that challenged me with the leaf painting, and the freaking huge George kite, and she's the one that lets me spend my lunch and study hall period wandering aimlessly around her room with various projects.
Anything Really, Really Boring
"Inspiration comes in the middle of the night when you should be doing homework." - Amy Lee
Enough said.
Anything Really, Really Cool
Whether it be a really cool picture, amazing video, or an awesome song, if it's enough to get me thinking, it's enough to inspire me. It's just acting on those thoughts that can be difficult, and that's where my insomnia comes into play...
My Insomnia
You'd be amazed at what you can accomplish when you don't sleep. Sometimes it takes extreme boredom to get you working on a project you've always wanted to start. However, it does come with its fair share of frustration and cluelessness, but overcoming that frustration and "writer's block" can feel great and be pretty inspiring. If only that happened often (not the insomnia, but the overcoming, of course.)
The Muffin Man
Mmm... Sweet pastry goodness...
I know The Muffin Man... Do you?
