The question where I get my inspiration from, is one that frequently comes up (just after the question about how I came to being a bear artist...) and it is one of those questions that can be answered really quickly by saying ''everywhere'', but it often makes me think.
Most of you know about my first love (Harper's Bazaar) and I still find that seeing the new couture collections makes my heart sing. I just bought this new Vogue Collections a week ago and it really does make me happy. When I am in a state of happiness, I get inspired more easily, but I can not really say that the magazine in itself inspired me.

What I have learnt through the years is, that what makes my heart sing, what makes everything look brighter, what touches my heart, what makes me truly happy, is usually what brings me in this state where I can feel extremely inspired. So maybe the question should be...what are the things that make my heart sing...That is an easier one to answer too...
I always try to stay away from the negative things of life as much as possible, so I don't watch the news much, I refuse to read newspapers and I don't talk about politics. I try to surround myself with those things that make me happy. I love the DVD's of Miss Potter, Marie Antoinette, Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, celtic CD's (Enya, Secret Garden, Clannad etc.), I absolutely adore Stampington magazines (the one in the picture is Somerset Studio), books about Beatrix Potter, like the one in the picture and of course my beloved fashion magazines that I now buy just twice a year when the new collections are presented. I also try to get the colours in my house just right. Too much red (or Christmas colours) will make me go insane within days. Don't get me wrong; I love Christmas, but I am always extremely happy when my house feels quiet and serene again. So I love my greyish pastel colours.
So; inspiration comes from a special state of mind in which I can receive those messages whispered from above. Some years ago, there was a Dutch musical in which Mathilde Santing (a wonderful Dutch singer) sang a song called ''inspiratie''. I don't think you need that translated. This lyrics were those of an angel in heaven that explained where your ideas come from. It is such a beautiful song and I can't really translate it into English, without losing the meaning of some words (we have many different words for just one English word sometimes. In Dutch words can have different intonations than their translated English relatives, it has got me into trouble on occasion, without me realizing the harsher meaning of the words in English, so that is why I will keep the song as it is, as it is so beautifully serene). The song says that 'through these breaths of creative spirit from above the child gets an idea, the man finds what he was looking for, someone becomes a hero, that's how progress is being made. It is all because someone up there gets through to someone down here.' It is something like that to me...it's unexplicable, inspiration comes from everywhere and nowhere. There can be complete emptiness and silence and you can still feel inspired. I think I need the silence and emptiness actually to hear the voice of inspiration. I hope this answers the question just a tiny bit. 
This is what I do if I need to organize my thoughts...I draw a very quick shape and get out my crayons. It's nothing artistic, but it is my way of bringing order in my usual chaotic mind...
One other picture os something that inspires me. Have you ever taken the time to really look at flowers and plants or maybe just at the bark of a tree? I love the world that is hidden in these everyday things. There is something magical about it. This is one of the reasons I love macro photography so much. These are 2 pictures of my aechmea (we call it bromelia in Dutch, but I think the proper name is aechmea). I love this sculptural plant, I love the softness of the colours and the shape of its leaves and flowers.