Artist Inspirations: The Oregon Coast

As artists, we all need inspiration to fuel our creative fire. Inspiration can be found anywhere;  in a painter's brush strokes, in a poet's melodious words, in the peaceful sound of a flowing creek or in the orchestra of sparrow songs high in the trees. To find inspiration, the key is to open our hearts and souls to all life offers us. When we do, the lily in mid-bloom becomes luminous and the kiss from our beloved becomes transcendent.

I want to record and share the people, places and things that inspire me, to keep my own creative fire burning. Here is one of my all time favorite places:

The Oregon Coast

Last summer, my boyfriend and I went on a vacation to the Oregon Coast. This was not the first time I had ever cruised down Highway 101 along this lush landscape of rocky coastlines and lush forests. But on this trip, this place penetrated my soul on a deeper level and planted thousands of seeds of inspiration. Here are a few photos I took on our travels:

I loved this wood footbridge. So picturesque and peaceful. I could sit here with a book of poems and my journal all afternoon.

This shipwreck from long ago on the beach spurred my imagination. While history tells us exactly what happened, I found it inspiring to create my own stories about the people who crashed on the beach and what the ship once looked like.

Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach never ceases to amaze me. We trekked the beach in our bare feet, in search of sea shells and glimpses of starfish and driftwood. This is an image of Haystack Rock in a late morning overcast haze.

We visited the aquarium in Newport and I was struck my the surreal beauty of jellyfishes. I loved the way their opalescent bodies illuminate in the deep blue sea.

What inspires you? Please feel free to comment on what tiny glimmers of life spurs you to create!

In Circles of Hypnosis

The lake creases like lovers' sheets,
whose eddies of slumber shape new geographies.
A million fingerprints of secret beings
surface, sweep under, in circles of hypnosis.

The sun labors its glare; the sky exhales,
waves flow shore-bound in a slow waltz.
She is a songstress in a silver-sequined dress,
a city aglow with lights at dusk.
Over ripples, sparks skip, and swing
into oblivion.

An unsought music is magnified:
the breeze licking the leaves,
a motorboat whizzing by,
a robin perched on a barbecue
flaring his song-proud breast
to the June sun.

--Poem by Jessica Nash

Escaping the Shopping Mall for a Walk in the Park

Due to economic necessity, I have embraced frugality for many years. I have met my needs for material objects through thrift stores and garage sales and have learned to love this way of life. Lately, I have wondered if I should take frugality to the next level and conscientiously practice anti-consumerism.

Last Sunday I went to a couple of shopping malls in Spokane, Washington with my boyfriend. As we drifted in and out of retail shops full of name-brand clothing, home décor and lists of other material things, a wave of nausea swept over my soul. There was no sense of consumerism glee within me. Instead, I rejected all these useless things, never once wanting to whip out my debit card.

In an upscale mall downtown, I noticed how every retail worker dressed to match their respective store and wondered how they could afford their clothes with their low wages. As we ate our meal of hamburgers and fries in the food court, several televisions simultaneously played an episode of Hannah Montana interspersed with commercials for more useless things.

What frightens me about our economy is that it is completely depended on consumer spending. Articles abound on how consumer spending is down therefore employers don’t hire new people. If we don’t continually spend our hard-earned dollars on things we don’t need the economy halts to a slow, miserable sputter. I can’t help but think that while we, as a nation, are spending less, we still are gluttons compared to people who lived 50 years ago.



Yet, on that Sunday afternoon we also visited Riverfront Park. We watched the ducks and geese glide along the river. Flowers were full bloom bursting with a kaleidoscope of color and fragrance. Children played in the giant Red Wagon in the park, clustered in laughter and the simple joy of being alive. We did not spend a single cent on amusement rides or food, but the sheer act of walking and observing all the beauty around us soothed my soul. After a wretched week of work, I needed a walk in the park more than ever.