Weekend before last I went to one of the biggest arts festivals in the Dallas-Ft Worth area, called Main Street Arts Festival. Okay, so the name isn’t the most creative, but it’s a very cool event. I haven’t been able to go the last few years, but I was determined to go this year!
It was a beautiful day. A little cool, but most of our weather has been on the cooler side this year. Hey, not complaining at all!
Downtown Ft Worth is a very large area, with a square that’s well known for the restaurants, shops and art galleries that are a permanent fixture year-round. This one time of the year vendors and street performers pack closed off roads to set up shop. One of the artists told us that literally thousands of artists and craftsmen apply, and only around 150 are chosen each year. And the quality of the work shows!
There was everything from photography to paintings in all mediums to glass workers to pottery to jewelry to you name it. There was even a woman who did these amazing pictures made out of nothing more than glue, canvas and little paint cards like you’d get at Wal-Mart or a paint store.
The creativity is almost a palpable thing there.
I knew I wasn’t going to buy anything. Even reproduction prints were running around $80, and I couldn’t justify the expenditure, but I soaked up every bit of it I could. I’m so used to my kind of creativity that I forget it happens other ways too. It’s always such a great experience to see how other people express themselves. I can’t paint, draw or design to save my life, but I can appreciate the artistic talent it takes to do something like what we saw.
For any creative types, I think getting out there and allowing yourself to be inspired by others is important. It helps you see the world and your own creations in a new light, maybe shed a little on something you can do better, haven’t paid attention to or whatever. This goes for writers, scrapbookers, painters, sculpters — anyone who engages in a single creative activity, it’s a good idea!
I think this year the thing I took away the most was the use of different materials. There were a number of people who turned something unexpected into art. For me, I need to remember that sometimes it’s the unexpected elements that create the most powerful piece.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
