To Be Inspired By

Guest Blog Post by Kathleen Nowak Tucci

Inspiration: a feeling of enthusiasm you get from someone or something that gives you new and creative ideas.

When I saw the photo of a fiery-throated hummingbird by Jess Findlay, inspiration struck. On my worktable, there were corrugated recycled aluminum Nespresso coffee capsules in the shape of fans and I finally knew what I would do with them. The idea percolated for months and it wasn’t until I was participating in a residency in Mexico that I had time to work on the idea. In Mexico, I had a full month to experiment and refine a necklace that was inspired by the photo of the hummingbird and a year later I made an entire dress and headpiece using the same inspiration.

Interestingly, another person taken by the same photo recreated it in colored pencils. A different medium was used but it was virtually identical. This was not inspired but rather, everything about it, the color, composition, and position of the image, had been copied. It is not enough to change mediums for it to not be a copy!

So how can you be inspired by another artist’s creations but not copy them?  Be inspired by the combination of color, by their balance of color, their arrangement of objects, their use of textures, etc. Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook have made it very easy to collect images of art but resist the urge to collect images made in the same category that you work. Don’t have a photo of another artist’s work in front of you or study another artist’s work so thoroughly that you reproduce their style or aesthetic. Take your own photos and use them for inspiration. Use a word or feeling and not an image for your next creation.  Be inspired!

Copy: to make a similar or identical version of; reproduce.

Kathleen Nowak Tucci’s multimedium jewelry using polymer and recycled materials will be featured on Season 5 of Netflix’s Grace and Frankie. Follow Kathleen on Instagram and Facebook.

 Hummingbird dress photo by East Hill Photo.