A Visit to the Past Provides More Inspiration

For week twenty-six in our year long calligraphy challenge we were asked to letter a quote of at least ten words which included the word color. I had a few favorite quotes come to mind, yet as they came to mind quickly I decided to think a little harder, challenge myself to go beyond the first thing I imagined. As I thought longer and harder, these words from Dolly Parton’s famous song came to mind…

Although we had no money I was rich as I could be in my coat of many colors my Momma mad for me

I made half a dozen backgrounds using all the colors of the rainbow, none of which suited the words until I made this one. I was actually showing my bonus daughter some of my older work and found a piece with a similar frame in the middle. I knew instantly that it was how I wanted to represent the fabrics and stitching in the coat of many colors. So I created the ‘square’ and let it dry overnight. The lettering on this one was the easy part.

My studio is filled with my work. Much older stuff and well as more recent and contemporary pieces. I had fun looking back through it all, and who knew that my own design from 2017 would inspire me again six years later. I am fortunate to have space to store a great deal of my work and supplies. It is amazing how looking back reminds us of how far we have come AND can provide fodder for more inspiration years later.

I would encourage you take a trip down memory lane and comb through some of your work – accomplishments, ideas, final projects – for a few reasons. First, to remind you of all your hard work and how it turned out. Seeing things that we are proud of reminds us that we do good work, we are worthy of success and that we can get it all done. Second, past accomplishments have the power to inspire us again. Our pride in our own good ideas can be turned into something new which inspires us even further. And finally, now you may have developed new skills to take that idea even further. Where you ended it last time may be a new jumping off point for today’s problems.

Never underestimate the power of your own great work. Savor it and enjoy your accomplishments. Like Dolly Parton’s coat of many colors, your own past joys may inspire you to your own future success.