This morning I worked on one of my writing projects in a coffee shop that I love. Sometimes I seek noise and bustle for inspiration; blaring music, teenagers gossiping loudly over mochas, and lawyers on their cell phones serve as a great backdrop to certain types of writing that I do. In fact, they create a kind of rhythm and energy that drives me forward. 
Other times, when I want to write poetry, my first love, I need to come home to the cocoon of my workspace, surrounded by my favorite books, mementos, and flowers (yes, those are the flowers from the last post--they're holding up well). 
My desk is beside a window high above an old canal. I can hear the noise of the city below, but it is muffled by the walls of the huge old mills on my street. I am safe and sound and quiet in my old wooden chair. Books are stacked and arranged . . . well, everywhere. 
I keep on my desk an ever-revolving collection of flea market finds and objects from people I love. I am particularly fond of the escort card pictured above. Can you imagine a young man today presenting a girl with one of these?
My muse.
The harmonica was a gift for my eighth birthday from my father. I can't play it one bit, but I always keep it on hand. You never know when inspiration (or talent) may suddenly strike. My brother gave me the amazing cat letter-opener--very Edward Gorey.
I am obsessed with stationery items--paper clips, binders, push pins, and notepads--so the cigar boxes help hide some of the clutter. In the picture below you'll find my other muse, Dill. He loves to help me write. Seriously. If I'm writing, he's right beside me, sometimes sleeping, other times simply staring at me for a very long time. It's almost like he's sending me brain waves: "Think, dammit. Be creative, girl!"
I love my desk. It's one of the places where I feel most myself, most able to create. The kitchen is a close second. Where do you love to work, create, make beautiful things? I'd love to hear about the place that inspires you to craft your best magic.
OMGoodness!! This space of yours is sheer beauty. I so want a space like this. I just have a really small nook that I love. I have tons of books I wrap myself in and gifts from thoughtful bloggers.
ReplyDeleteA escort card. I love that. I wold cherish that too.
xo
Mine's a little nook, too, Christina! Just a small corner of the bedroom. I'd love to see your book collection! Thanks for visiting.
ReplyDeletexo
Ooo0o, I love the escort card, and I would love to receive one!
ReplyDeleteAnd, I get my best ideas right when I'm falling asleep. Then I frantically write down all of my thoughts (I have always kept notebooks and volumes of post-its on my night stand, with pens, pencils and paperclips. These things are also in EVERY purse. I carry big purses.) My best ideas and thoughts always come to me at awkward times, in strange places. I wish I could find a reliable thinking space :/
It is so cool that you carry these supplies with you, Cate. That means you're always ready when creativity strikes!
ReplyDeleteOh i love flowers and candles together, especially in natural light like this!
ReplyDeleteThis looks very comfortable and inviting. That window over the canal would ruin me, though, not to mention the books and flea market treasures within easy reach. Any excuse not to write is too much distraction for me. I have to sit at a plain, banged-up-from-moving-five-times metal table in the basement, in front of a bleak wall of cinderblocks.... At least, that's where the words make it to paper. The words come first when I'm deep in the woods, flipping through a field guide, not thinking of words....
ReplyDelete"Not thinking about words" . . . Yes, James! That's when the words come to me, too. I am intensely visual and tactile, and most of my writing emergences from sensory experience. Speaking of images, I love your description of where you write! My husband's favorite place to write is in the kitchen. I've always been amazed that he can write in the middle of everything, but since he manages to write a great deal, it clearly works for him!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful space! I love all your little treasures. I have a collection of cigar boxes, too. (You have inspired me to put mine to good use!). Sometimes my "desk" is a little bistro table that sits on the bank of the stream bed in front of my place. I like to paint and draw there. The language of the stream below speaks in a tongue both familiar and foreign; On occasion, I create in the spaces in between,i if that makes sense. I also get some of my best ideas swimming. Water may be my muse!
ReplyDeleteP.S. (I love your cat!)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Gretchen. Dill thanks you, too. He is very handsome and too sweet for words, except when he terrorizes our other cat, Scout. Your description of where you create is heavenly. I do understand about creating in the space in between the place that gives one inspiration and the place where one does the actual "work." How wonderful to have water as a muse. Your home is sounding lovelier and lovelier!
ReplyDeleteWhat is it about cigar boxes? I think for me it's a combination of their sturdiness, their beautiful colors, and the scent that lingers in them, both homey and exotic.