“Look for what you notice, but no one else sees.”- Rick Rubin
Inspiration is one of the most important- and sometimes most elusive- parts of being an artist. For me, as a lifelong jewelry designer and founder of llyn strong fine art jewelry in downtown Greenville, SC, inspiration has never come from just one place. It has come from traveling, looking closely at the world of other artists, from nature, architecture, color, pattern and texture, and from simply paying attention to the world around me. I have learned that inspiration isn’t necessarily about seeing something completely new. Often, it is about seeing something familiar in a way that feels new to you.
Travel has been one of the greatest sources of inspiration throughout my life. One of the most memorable experiences was a trip to Vienna, where I had the opportunity to see most of Gustav Klimt’s paintings in person. He is my favorite painter. Vienna is especially rich in Klimt’s work at the Belvedere, the Secession and all over Vienna including The Kiss and the Beethoven Frieze. His work is very patterned and my guess, Gustav was inspired by his father, a Goldsmith. Seeing Klimt’s work firsthand was different from seeing photographs and books or on a screen. I found myself studying the details- the layers of pattern, the decorative shapes, the repetition, the spirals, the way he combined organic forms with intricate geometric elements. Those details stayed with me.
llyn strong jewelry inspired by Klimt
As a jewelry designer, I am naturally drawn to things that can be translated into three dimensions. A pattern in a painting can become a texture in metal. A line can become the curve of a piece of jewelry. A spiral can become a sculptural element or the beginning of an entirely new design. Klimt reminded me to look beyond the obvious image and pay attention to what is happening within it.
Another place that I was lucky enough to visit is Barcelona and it has certainly influenced my work. Antoni Gaudi’s architecture encourages you to look at buildings as living beings. Gaudi’s work is filled with curves, movement, unexpected shapes and details inspired by nature. Two of my favorites from Barcelona’s collection of Gaudi’s work include Park Guell and Le Pedrera. When I look at Gaudi, I do not just see architecture. I see possibilities. I see a curve that could become a necklace. A repeating shape that could become a pattern in a bracelet, a surface that makes me think about texture in gold or silver. His work encourages me to think about how something can be both structured and organic at the same time.
That is one of the things I love most about jewelry: it can be architectural, sculptural, and completely personal all at once.
OH WOW! And then there is Salvadore Dali.
The experience of seeing Dali’s work in Figueres (location of the Dali Museum) and Cadaqués (Location of Dali’s home) offers another kind of inspiration- one that challenges the way we normally see the world. The Dali Foundation describes the landscape, light, architecture, and surroundings of Cadaques’ and Figueres as essential to understanding his artistic universe. Dali makes you question what you were looking at. That, too, is valuable for an artist.
Sometimes the inspiration comes from looking at something ordinary and asking, what if I looked at it differently? What if a familiar shape were turned upside down? What if two unrelated ideas were combined? What if the most interesting part of an object is not the part everyone notices first? Those questions can lead to unexpected designs.
But I do not believe you have to travel to Vienna, Barcelona, or Figueres to find inspiration. Some of my favorite inspirations can be found much closer to home. It might be the way sunlight falls across a garden. The shapes of a leaf. The pattern in a piece of bark. The movement of water. An unusual stone. An old architectural detail. A shadow on a wall. A beautiful piece of fabric. Even the way two completely distinct colors happen to sit beside each other.
The important thing is to notice.
That is what I love about Rick Rubin’s words:
“Look for what you notice, but what no one else sees.”
That is particularly true for artists. And I was born an artist! We all walk through the same world, but we don’t all see the same things. One person might walk past an old wrought iron gate and see a gate; an artist might see a pattern. A jewelry designer might see a future bracelet. The challenge- and the joy- is taking that initial spark of inspiration and making it your own.
I don’t want to simply reproduce something I have seen. I want to let it influence the way I think. Klimt’s patterns might lead me toward a new surface or spiral. Gaudi’s organic architecture might influence a curve or silhouette. Dali might encourage me to look at a familiar idea from an unexpected direction. A walk through my garden might lead me to a shape I never would have imagined sitting in my studio. This is where inspiration becomes creativity. And that, perhaps, is why inspiration has remained such an important part of my life as a jewelry designer and artist. It keeps me looking. It keeps me curious. It keeps me asking, “what if?”
After 70+ years of designing and creating, I have come to believe that inspiration is not something we have to chase. It is something we learn to see. Travel has opened my eyes to artists, architecture and places that have influenced my work, but inspiration can be found anywhere when we slow down enough to notice it. A beautiful stone, an unexpected line, a pattern in nature or an idea that appears for just a moment can become the beginning of something entirely new. For me, that is one of the greatest gifts of being an artist: to look at the world a little differently, to notice what others might pass by, and then to transform that small observation into something lasting and treasured – a piece of jewelry, a painting, or simply a new way of seeing.