Inspiration

Where does one find inspiration, where do ideas come from? These are questions I often get asked and I have difficulty answering without a long explanation of where my work began and where it has gone. Robert and I are presently on vacation in Geneva Switzerland visiting family members. What I love about visiting a new place is the ability to look around, observe, and be inspired by the natural and built environment. It can be something as simple as a sewer grate, a key hole, the texture of building, the organic patterning of a cobblestone walkway. This is the true value of vacation. While it often seems that there isn't enough "time" to get away, I always return home refreshed and inspired and ready to work on the next series. Robert and I have taken numerous photos that will be a well of inspiration for future pieces. If you are lucky, you may even get to see some great pots! We were fortunate to have been here during the exhibition Swiss Ceramics 1959-2009 which one third is being held at the Musee Ariana in Geneva. There we saw the work of Simone Stocker whose photo is here. The first thing I thought of when seeing her work is that it reminded me of one of the grates I observed on our way to the musuem. We also visited Carouge - just outside Geneva - which is known for the number of ceramic artists who have studios and reside there. There is a ceramic conference and festival that will be held here, when each gallery will host a ceramic exhibition, but not until later in September. Unfortunately we found many "ferme" notices on the doors. We did find one store open - CBOS a collectif d'artisans where we found some interesting slip cast and hand-built work of local swiss artisans. . One of my favourite things so far have been the clay tile roofs. We have taken muliple photos of these tiles including some at Chateau Chillon in Montreaux which we visited yesterday. This is a photo I found online that someone took at the Chateau. I love the variation in colour in the tiles, even the new ones.