It’s impossible to say enough good things about Scavezze and his art. I have had the pleasure of taking classes from him. They are really fun, but you take away new skills and a bunch of knowledge. I just wish his studio was closer to Denver! Well maybe it is better that he is not too close, my wife also loves his work, so I definitely save some money by keeping her away.

I wrote the above a week or so, and since then have been thinking about the muse. It seems to me to be at least a two part issue. Inspiration and skills, you need both. I can generally find inspiration in at least one of my several hundred books. I just came back from a trip to Santa Fe, good food and a lot of ART (not to sure what ART is, but it sure is expensive!) and perhaps a bit of inspiration. I did not see anything that will generate new ideas directly, but certainly some fun stuff (like the wall hangings at the Patina Gallery). Santa Fe is a great place to visit.

But back to the issue of skills, suppose I see a Faberge egg – those things are fantastic, but not much good to my muse. I do not have the skills to integrate their majesty in my work. There are times when I am directly challenged to learn a new technique in order to complete a piece, but often it can be a chore, not a friend of the muse.

So where can I get my inspiration. Generally I find that it comes when I am attempting to master or just practicing a new skill, for the sake of pure exploration. When new skills generate new ideas, that is where my muse and a hefty measure of happiness, lies.

So again, my hats of to people like Scavezze who challenge and teach and allow us to reach for the muse.