Friday, April 3, 2009

On the Road To Inspiration

Inspiration can be a slippery companion, there one minute and gone the next, as your Redheads know all too well. In a split second you go from burning with a brilliant idea to being slumped on the floor consuming mass quantities of diet coke and chocolate unable to remember your own name let alone your glorious insight. We have learned through the past few years of working together that our typical work day has to include time to have a good meal, share a laugh and maybe a stroll to see what revelations our favorite retail establishments hold. Our best ideas sometimes come not when we are staring at each other across the desk, but when we are actively engaged in other pursuits. A brisk walk on a gorgeous day, an object of beauty or the smell of new shoes (the more expensive the shoe, the brighter the brainstorm) can spark our creativity and get us back on the right track. Miss Laurel’s inventiveness is frequently spurred by the sound of a piece by Bach, or witnessing an anonymous act of kindness. For Miss. Wendy Lane it can be seeing a great work of art like John Singer Sargent’s Madame X, George Seurat’s “In the Studio” , an Alphonse Mucha print, or a Walker Evans photograph; or hearing a song that feels so much like it was written especially for her that she can’t wait to wrap her vocal chords around it. One of the other places we’ve found ourselves most inspired is the classroom, to see another singer grow and change in front of your very eyes is a great gift from the universe. We are very excited that we will have that pleasure with some frequency this spring and summer as we are preparing workshops currently scheduled for Washington, DC, Wilmington, DE, and Philadelphia, PA with the possibility of adding a few other stops along the way. For details check out the Where in the World are the Redheads Section of the blog. We are looking forward to being inspired by you!

2 comments:

AitchD said...

Hey Miss Wendy, there was a great pic of you (on your personal web site?) posed (and poised) as Madame X. (Coincidentally, Sargent's self-portrait was a dead-ringer for me when I was that age.) His Venetian Interior - there aren't words - you should go to Pittsburgh to look at it.

Wendy Lane Bailey said...

Thank you! Bill Westmoreland took that picture of me and it's one of my favorites. I try to visit the real Madame X at the Met whenever I can.As many times as I have seen her I am still moved. There's a great book about the painting called "Strapless" by Deborah Davis. The story behind the painting is as fascinating as the painting itself.

I have never been to Pittsburgh, but now I have a reason to go!

XO
Wendy Lane