Sometimes our kitchen compost is a work of art.

The other day I realized my imagination is a lot like my compost pile. All sorts of things go in and get compacted together and mixed and dissolved until it is a juicy mixture ready to feed my ideas and eventually become actual pieces of art.

All through the pandemic I have been using the resources I have around me to add to my imagination “compost.” I’ve pulled out old art books and devoured new ones like ART = “Discovering Infinite Connections in Art History” from the Metropolitan Museum of Art which became my pandemic “museum” fix every morning for breakfast through much of the winter. I read old arts magazines, especially Art Forum and ACC Magazine which friends gave me. I perused my own photos from past museum visits and researched several artists online to see more of their work. And then there are my old sketchbooks which I dip into periodically for inspiration.

All these things and more were the nourishment for my pieces I’ve created over the past year. I feel like I was able to create many pieces that had been just seedlings in my mind for a long time. The series of over-the-top teapots has been something I have wanted to do for about 3 or 4 years now. Making a 12-foot piece was something I thought I would need to wait until I had a commission to do, but it was finally time to spend nearly a month on one piece without the distraction of stocking up for art fairs. (Here is a video of that piece.)

mia indian swan with martha.jpg — My friend Martha at the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the huge “Swan” head from India.

Now that I am fully vaccinated my friend and I finally got to go to an art museum after more than a year. While wandering around the Minneapolis Institute of Art she asked me, “So what’s happening with your work right now?” and I answered, “This!” pointing to what we were doing. I explained that I was to the point where I really needed some fresh inspiration and how hungry I am right now to see art in real life! The books and the photos and the web pages have sustained my “compost” pile of ideas but now I need some really strong “activators” mixed into the heap. There’s nothing that competes with being in a room with art that I can get close to and far away from and study whatever parts intrigue me at the moment.

I also look forward to more than just art museums to rejuvenate my imagination. On my list is everything from going to thrift and antique stores, to road trips across the country, taking in the landscape. My hike through the Badlands in May was like a flood of visual nourishment. I’m already feeling the seeds of ideas starting to take root so keep an eye on my social media to see what sprouts!

I’d love to hear what other artists and creatives are doing now that we can get back in the world, and what helps fill up your well of ideas.