Sparks of inspiration at 2am

It is almost 2am, and I am sitting here wide awake, thinking about all the exciting ideas, initiatives and people I have come across in the past week. Ok, so it is possible that the multiple cups of black tea that I spent my evening sipping, while discussing business ideas with two close friends, contributed to my middle-of-the-night inspiration, but I would rather stick with the "I'm so inspired I can't sleep" story! I usually lie awake just thinking, but I have come to realize that if I am awake, and full of creative energy, the best thing to do is to put fingers to keyboard and share some of the cool things that are spinning around in my head!

Photo from: http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject, December 2010

 This past week, a good friend of mine who I mentioned in a previous blog, Louise Mould, shared a very cool project that she is taking part in with me. The project is called The Sketchbook Project. 28,833 artists from 94 countries have been sent moleskin sketchbooks to fill with artwork, and send back in. The sketchbooks will begin a tour of museums and art galleries all the way across the United States, starting at the Brooklyn Art Library, on February 19th, 2011. So far the tour list includes Portland, Maine; Washington, DC; Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; Winter Park, Florida; Austin, Texas; San Francisco, California; and Seattle, Washington. Sound like a great way to spend an afternoon/evening? You can check out the dates that these little gems will be on exhibit in each city here. And for a video with more details about the project, click here.

Image of notebook belonging to Kate Castelli. From: http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject, December 2010

I have come across a number of other inspiring connections this week. One is Gwen Bell, who is an inspiring entrepreneur, yoga practitioner, blogger, social media strategist, and so much more. Gwen was named one of the most influential women in technology in 2010, by Fast Company, as well as one of Forbes 14 power women. If all of that were not cool enough, in addition to working as a consultant, helping people "find the humanity in technology," she owns a yoga studio in Japan. You can learn more about her on her website. You can also watch an awesome video that I think captures the heart of why she does what she does with her life here.

Today, while migrating through an ever-branching and growing network of blogs that I am ever-so-slowly exploring, I came across a blog entry that I loved, by Seth Pollins. It is a letter from his uncle, Dean Young, who is also a writer and poet. The letter, about the journey of discovery that being a writer is, is open-hearted, honest, and thought-provoking. One line that I especially love, is "there's a lot of luck involved in being struck by lightening, so you want to make sure you're holding a pen when it happens." You can read Dean's inspiring letter in full here. Apparently Dean is currently having serious heart problems, and needs a new heart. Seth posts a link to an open letter asking for contributions so that Dean can get the new heart that he needs to be able to continue pursuing his life-long passion of writing and inspiring the rest of us on our journeys as writers. If you feel so inclined, you can make a contribution to his new heart here. If you are interested in learning more about Dean's writing, or learning about other ways you can contribute, please read Anna Clark's blog recent entry. 

So much inspiration swirling around in the universe. Here's to a weekend full and overflowing with it!