A gift from somewhere...the Universe I suppose. The inspired idea is that which comes without inner dialogue and for no apparent reason. It reaches you deep inside your soul, speaks softly in your inner ear, guides you by the nose, makes you laugh, makes you cry and if you listen closely enough, it starts screaming at you, instructing you as to what to do next. Shall I play it again? Shall I grope a little longer at the piano? What note should come next? Shall I write it down contiguously so I don't have to follow the maze of rehearsal numbers and colored pencil options? It always knows. Our challenge is to figure out the puzzle; the path and the product. The muse however, seems to vary immensely, sometimes from one piece to another and other times from one time frame in life to another. Maybe that's why Picasso had various periods associated with colors. The wellspring I experienced this spring and summer defies logic, common sense and reason. When the inspired idea drops by, or decides to camp out in your life, it is imperative that you entertain it; play host, ask its opinion, open dialogue, play back often (read back the chapter, step back from the image...) and honor mistakes--especially those that repeat. Never erase anything! And yet, never deny the small child its curiosity, for it will tell you what it needs, but only if you listen. The bottom line is, whether the inspired idea and its accompanying muse centers around a beautiful child, the sea, the clouds, the purging of grief, honoring the deceased, surprising delight, a lighthouse, the joy of being in the presence of those we love, or even those who are irrefutably, calculatingly mean, it all has to be brought to the tactile world from your imagination and worked through. The reasons are revealed later. Never argue with the inspired idea. Hear it, listen to it, work with it, manipulate it...but NEVER argue with it! Drop everything, and LISTEN! GO! --AB
