Bow & Arrow: Inspiration

 

Where do you get your inspiration from? Does it come to you randomly like mine? Does it often come from nature?

My mind knows no bounds, it's not limited to drawing, painting or photography ideas, but random ideas, at random moments, often while outside (which most of my time is spent outside). I was on a walk with the little boy I nanny and I saw the pile of sticks that I had picked through two weeks prior (for different projects) was still there, so naturally I had to take a look. The first stick I found was the one I used for the bow and the stick that sprung this idea. Just that little stick, and I knew what I wanted to create next. It had the perfect bend, and looked like a bow all on it's own. I picked a stick for an arrow and got to work that night. I wanted the wood raw, but I've never done anything like that so I just tried (just try things! doesn't hurt to try, only not to!), first by pulling off some bark then by stripping the sticks with scissors and finally sanding them. I then made the bow, simply by adding hemp how I saw fit. For the arrow, I used a hot glue gun, a rock from my rock collection, white feathers and hemp. I hung it up and stared at it (and sent my sister a photo). We both came to the conclusion that the simplicity of it was beautiful all on it's own, and I didn't need to add anything further. I'm really happy with how this project came out, it makes me smile everytime I walk past it and makes my wall look real good too! It feels fresh and original and has inspired new projects (what a cycle!). So go out there, find some inspiration (possibly in nature) and get to creating!