The Two-fold Inspiration of Blogging

In my first of two anniversary posts, this being the second, I wrote about the stage that blogging offers us and how its benefits resonate in our daily lives. The inspiration found in blogging works in much the same way. It comes as a natural outcrop of creating. The more we create, the more we are stimulated to create and the more easily new ideas flow.

I take photographs. I look at them on the computer and I see more than I saw before. The images bring me closer to the subject. I learn and want to share. And because I have a stage, I am inspired to do just that. Changes in awareness and confidence are a natural result of that creating. So the next time I write a blog post, send out queries for a book, tell a story to my neighbor or embark on a new endeavor, newly honed skills emerge from my creative library and add sparkle to what I do, often without me even noticing.And that brings me to the second aspect of blogging inspiration, my fellow bloggers. Creating stimulates more creating. And seeing what others have created pumps you with new ideas, encourages by example, and gets your creative juices flowing even more.So, by way of celebration, I want to name and thank three fellow bloggers who have particularly inspired me during this past year. Julie Zicklefoose, who freely uses her inner world to infuse humor and depth into stories that leap right into our hearts. Toni Kelly, whose generous sharing of sketchbook designs and studies stir the urge in each of us to get busy with our own. Debbie Kaspari, whose amazing documentation of field observations and sketching makes us all want to get out there and brave the unknown.

And to each of you, readers and fellow bloggers, a special thanks for being part of this blogging community and making this a fun first year. A parting note about shyness: Passion, determination, practice--whether experienced individually or in combination--all trump shyness.

Photos from top to bottom: A Carolina wren begging to be painted; tufted titmous; American goldfinch; pine siskins on a crooked birdbath (I think I'm celebrating my birdbath too); golden-crowned kinglet sketch.