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i've been perusing jan messent's designing for embroidery from ancient and primitive sources, which i just picked up from the library. it's so fascinating i even let my coffee get cold! it was published in 1976 and tho' some of the embroideries and crochet look very 70s, i'm mesmerized anyway. we're a bit enamored of the 70s around here anyway, so it kind of fits.

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for a person who thinks almost constantly about inspiration, it's an absolute goldmine - full of ideas on sources of inspiration and how to use them. i scanned a few pages, just of the parts in which messent uses the white horse of uffington, an ancient ground mark in berkshire, england, still visible from the air. 
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she shows various ways of using the basic graphic outline of the horse to create very different things....a circle, a repeat, reverses, blocks, color, texture. it has opened my eyes to a whole host of new possibilities.

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i'll be on the lookout for this book as i comb the flea markets, but for now, i'm grateful for well-stocked libraries and a service that delivers whatever i want to my local library for pickup, just within a couple of days.

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where will your inspiration take you today?