today's creative muse

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I give myself creative daily assignments. I find- especially lately with my list of tasks- while creative, they are still tasks- like writing a book, filling orders, teaching classes, etc- that I need to take breaks, get away from my studio, away from the computer, go outside, around town and challenge myself in new and creative ways. The easiest way for me to do this is to take my camera and go looking for color, texture, light, shapes, and things that will spark ideas that I can use in my work. Lately I've been spending a lot of time at the zoo- the San Diego zoo is FABULOUS, only 10 minutes away from home and we have year passes. Lately, I have been going for morning power walks (for my morning exercise) with my camera giving myself assignments (like focus on birds one day and plants another day) searching for inspiration, working on my perspective, practicing photography and finding joy in a little escape.

This morning I found my creative muse- a whole bunch of peacocks that had invaded the flamingo pen. There are peacocks all over the zoo that roam and while you can hear them in the distance and see them strolling around, I have yet to experience a cluster of peacocks showing off their plumage (and aggressively bullying ducks and flamingos). It was quite the inspiring experience- the color or should I say technicolor, the patterns, the click of my camera, the texture, the adrenaline of trying to get a good shot- it was AMAZING- like goosebumps and giddy excitement amazing!