Our creative inspirations are often serendipitous – a combinations of motifs or colors that catches our eye by chance.
Sometimes, when we are really lucky, we are inspired by the work of another artist whose work points us in a new direction.
While I was in Japan for the Tokyo Quilt Festival, I couldn't get the adjacent hotel for all the nights I had planned. I would have to spend my last night at a hotel near Narita Airport.
I saw this as a chance to tour the town and Buddhist temple nearby. I like to make lemonade from lemons, or in this case I made green tea from dried leaves.
I took a lot of photos on my daylong tour of the Narita countryside, but this is one that captured my imagination. Inside one of the temple buildings, were intricately painted multicolor decorations on the massive pillars that held up the ceiling. The mandala flower motif was so exquisitely rendered, it reminded me of applique flowers.
You can see one mandala from the pillars, in the center of this image. All around you see a fabric collage that was inspired by the beauty of this temple decoration. If you would like to see these fabrics, just click here.
