This week a friend created a beautiful quilt and cited my paintings as her inspiration when she posted it on Facebook. I was surprised and honored to learn my seascape paintings – like this one – had provided the impetus for a stunning work of art by a very talented woman. She’s someone I worked with in my consulting life, who also has an artistic side – proving yet again that business and creative skills need not be incompatible.
What really got me thinking, though, was the idea of creating things with and influencing other artists. Musicians, singers and theater people often get to do this, but it is more unusual for visual artists. The notion of accelerating someone else’s creativity is exciting.
I realized this had happened to me before. A client saw a necklace I made, and took up beading. A lighting designer worked with a lampshade I brought him to create a one-of-a-kind piece, using odds and ends from his studio and a granite remnant from my kitchen sink. A clothing designer was enthusiastic about my request to recycle my favorite old t-shirts into my favorite new sundress, and now offers that idea to other clients. A concrete artisan built a custom sink we designed together, and it’s now in his portfolio.
The energy involved in dreaming it up, solving the problem, or getting someone else excited enough to be creative seems just as satisfying as if I had done it myself, perhaps even more so. There’s certainly a place for the solitary pursuit of artistic outlets, and pastel painting usually provides that for me. There’s also a thrill that comes from helping others achieve new heights of creativity.
