flight of fancy

as a designer, it seems not a week goes by without someone asking me, "what inspires your work?" the most surprising thing - for me at least, is that the answer to that question is kinetic. it changes with the wind. almost daily. inspiration can come from the arrangement of silverware at a restaurant, an elderly lady's grace at the supermarket, or a surprising turn of phrase in a novel that up to now has been sort of ho-hum. that's the beauty of inspiration - it's a constant, evolving and sometimes gasp-worthy eureka moment hiding in your sock drawer. one constant inspiration though, is the work of joseph cornell. a bit of a magpie, just like me, his intriguing assemblages range in style from delicate and romantic to scientific and troubling - each one, a reflection of his own psyche and inspired somehow by the world around him. so i shall let him be my answer to that question "what inspires your work?" for this week at least.