My Desk, My Flair

I have little to report on the writing front. I am doing it, but I am tired of complaining about what a wrench it is. I mean, every other day it’s a wrench, and every other day I think I am Ann Frickin’ McCaffrey. So, today I am going to talk about my desk, or rather, the environment around my desk. Because I love my desk, everyday!

Now, this is the new and improved desk layout. I had a great big card table that was a little wobbly. It required a cutting board so the ol’ Mac wouldn’t tumble over if I sat down too enthusiastically (yes, that’s what I said.) 

One thing you will notice is the flair. I am a flair person. I’ve got to have stimulating pictures, trinkets, pretty things all around me. No doubt you have noticed the abundance of fairies (including Mariposa Barbie) Well, they are the statues I mentioned in the very first post about my muse. She can inhabit one or the other of these, and we can have a conversation... or I can have a conversation as she looks on disapprovingly. 

Along with the fairies are several dragons. Now, I guess this is obvious, as I like dragons, and my WIP is about dragons. I find the pictures (or figures) inspire me. I came up with idea of the tiny little dragon from one of Selina Fenech’s paintings of a beautiful red fairy with a small dragon on her shoulder. It also helps with references and size. My dragons are huge. I look at a picture and imagine that serpentine tail wrapping itself around the dragon’s body, the texture of the scales and the way they rub together, the way it hugs the legs, or flexes and tightens in anger or coils and bounces in the air when amused. I imagine the huge papery wings and the sound they would make, the air they would  displace when flapped, the way the sun would shine through them on a bright day. There are all different wing angles, and in my story, the dragon’s wing positions and body posture are forms of communication. That idea came about from looking at one of Ciruelo Cabral’s paintings of two dragons facing off.

 I'm terrible at forming faces in my mind’s eye, but I look at pictures of faces and I can talk about the slope of a cheek, the plump bit at the end of the nose, or the way chins are soft and round or pointy and delicate, or nonexistent. The way hair flows or catches light. 

Lastly, architecture. I love old buildings, and ancient cathedrals are a wealth of reference. I have stolen the faces of many famous buildings for inspiration, and also demolished them and put them back together to make new ones. I have no fewer than fifteen wallpapers of Neuschwanstein castle. I find the place absolutely magic.

Sometimes, living in my head gets a little stagnant, and going outside of it and into another artist's is pure inspiration. I like to keep these things close to my desk, things for my eye to play with and keep the internal eye from falling asleep!