inspiration : finding inspiration in a target parking lot

A part of my creative practice is spending intentional time out in nature. It reminds me why I create the work I do.

Every year I like to travel to more remote natural spaces outside of Austin, but this year reminded me that we are in nature everywhere we go, even in city spaces.

My two favorite highlights this year were doing regular lake clean-ups at Ladybird Lake (a part of the Colorado River in the middle of Austin) and watching the swirling bird hurricane made up of roosting Purple Martins in a Target parking lot.

Doing trash pickups in my neighborhood and at Ladybird lake allows me to think about why litter ends up where it does. I often feel like an archeologist, noticing when types of trash reflect where I am. Debris found on the river differs from the garbage found by an elementary school which is different from waste in an industrial park. It makes me think of how our waste creates an informative data point for how humans use space.

I have also considered invasives due to my trash pickups: invasive plants, animals, practices, and thoughts. At the moment, I’m still building associations mind maps and reading. I'm working on making connections and understanding these ideas better. These ideas still need to be clarified and connected, so my inspirational photos and videos are all I can show for them now.

Something is brewing conceptually from this year's experiences, but I need to find out what. I can only keep following what interests me and trust it will.