Friday, August 10, 2007

Inspiration

Last Saturday night we went to a live performance by the California Guitar Trio in Lenexa, KS. We have long been fans of this group - three terrific guitarists (Bert Lams, Hideyo Moriya, and Paul Richards) whose music spans from arrangements of Bach to Queen. They also write, record, and perform original pieces (which tend to be my favorites). Excellent musicians. Excellent music. I highly recommend giving them a listen.

So at the show, there were only about 35 people, which was in no way a reflection on the quality of the performance or them as musicians. And, while I was sad they did not have a better turnout in the KC area, I really enjoyed the more intimate setting. Here is a link to a pictures of the show taken by one of the CGT.

The show was awesome. I feel that the CGT put all their heart and energy in that performance. One piece in particular really made an impact, Skyline, written by the CGT. As I was listening, I thought "Wow, I wonder what it must feel like to have created something that beautiful, and to have shared it with the world". Since then I have really wanted to create something that beautiful with my knitting. I know that I have made a few items that are nice. But, they have, by and large, been made by following patterns created by other people. What I want is to be the creator, the artist, of the piece.

Of course the first question is - what is this piece going to be? A garment? A blanket? Something less "useful" such as a wall hanging? I have a couple of ideas, but I am not certain yet what I will choose.

Since "Skyline" was the inspiration for this burst of creativity, I want the piece to relate to the idea of a skyline and to the music itself. So how literally do I interpret the idea of a skyline? Is it a city Skyline or a natural skyline? How influenced by the music should the piece be?

I also go back and forth about writing the CGT and asking about what inspired them when writing the song. On one hand it would be really cool to know, on the other hand, I am concerned that my own creative process would be overly influenced by theirs. I will probably ask after I have committed myself to my own vision, whatever that may be.




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