Thursday, January 21, 2010

my muse

Speaking of bathes and creative inspiration, most of my creative
thinking is done in the bathtub, or happens to strike during the night.
Like I mentioned earlier this week, I keep a tablet and pencil on my
nightstand for any sleepy inspirations I might need to scribble down
in the dark.

Lately, in my delicious tub soaks, I've noticed a silhouette in the wax
of my candle. I know, I know, you're thinking I've been soaking a tad
too long. No, she's not the Virgin Mary, but, I like to think of her as
my muse, perhaps the spirit of a Cherokee fore mother there to
comfort and inspire me. She kinda looks like Whoopi Goldberg, too.


Anyway, last night, I was revisiting Ken Burn's The Civil War, and
the charming Shelby Foote was telling about the circumstances of
Julia Ward Howe's (she was a huge activist for women's suffrage, by
the way) inspiration to pen the famous words to "The Battle Hymn
of the Republic."

Of the writing of the lyrics, Howe remembers, "I went to bed that
night as usual, and slept, according to my wont, quite soundly. I
awoke in the gray of the morning twilight; and as I lay waiting for
the dawn, the long lines of the desired poem began to twine
themselves in my mind. Having thought out all the stanzas, I said to
myself, I must get up and write these verses down, lest I fall asleep
again and forget them. So, with a sudden effort, I sprang out of bed,
and found in the dimness an old stump of a pen which I remembered
to have used the day before. I scrawled the verses almost without
looking at the paper."

So, always listen to your muse. And keep a pen and paper handy.

83 comments:

  1. Whoa - that is totally a female silhouette. Very cool. And, yes, jumping up & writing down is important. I've lost things by not writing them down right away...

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  2. Burns's The Civil War is so good, isn't it? I saw it when it first came out and we had it on tape for ages, but it would be wonderful to see it again.

    By the way, I get much of my inspiration from the shower, so we're even! Mind you, I can't do the muse in the candle thing (obviously).

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  3. Willow

    I'm getting back into the habit of keeping pen and pad close by. And, increasingly, I'm getting ideas coming through in the small hours. The key is to get into good habits to accommodate bad timings.

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  4. Strangely enough, many of my ideas come to me in the shower.

    I've not had a proper bath in ages. I need to change that, I think.

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  5. Great silhouette. I'd be inspired by that too

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  6. Loved this...when I'm working on a project my best ideas come right when I'm about to fall asleep. I always have pen and paper handly.

    love your post.

    much love

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  7. The candle silhouette is quite clearly visible and so wonderful!

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  8. Plainly visible she is. I also am in the habit of scribbling down thoughts and phrases. I had to gather up four scraps of paper, thoughts from the past several days, to finally write out today's post.

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  9. OMG...that is Whoopi....

    and I LOVE that Ken Burns Civil War

    more later, friend

    kary
    xxx

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  10. She does look like a Cherokee grandmother! Great post. I've been meaning to put paper and pen next to my bed. Now I'll do it.

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  11. Willow,

    I like Whoopi. She is a clever gal. I think she is trying to tell us something.

    Marjorie

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  12. i'm definitely going with cherokee grandmother! beautiful!!! long ago i began keeping paper/pen by my bedside, in my car, in my purse - everywhere - actually, one of my recent poems came about when i was glancing through an allure magazine after lunch out one day - and an article caught my eye about a female journalist in italy who discovered the secret to how italian women always look so, well, - so italian - anyway, there were three little words that caught my eye - and i sat there and jotted a poem around those three little words - yes, i learned my lesson a long time ago!!! very fun/neat post!

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  13. My first impression was Nina Simone. Which only goes to point out my age, I guess. Once you say Whoopi I can see it, but at first glance I was hearing "Pirate Jenny" and watching Nina slink across the stage whisper/singing: "What you smilin' at? What you got to smile about?"

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  14. i see her! lovely willow.. really lovely. :)

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  15. Keeping pen and paper close by is something I must start to do. Sometimes full visions of paintings pop into my head while in the shower. So maybe a sketchpad too.

    Fascinating post, Willow. Loved seeing the silhouette.

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  16. Oh, yes, Roy! I think Nina Simone, even more than Whoopi. Now, when I take a bath, she's going to be asking me, "What you smilin' at?"

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  17. I concur with Roy, although "Sinnerman" by Nina seems to be going through my brain lately, having heard an excellent 16 minute version on a soundtrack with Philip Glass music, Les Regrets.

    Hurry, sell it on Ebay ; )

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  18. I definitely see the Cherokee woman in the candle. How cool!

    Neurologists would say that when the brain relaxes, insights come more readily. That's so unromantic, though. I like the Cherokee spirit guide muse in the candle better. A much better explanation!

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  19. I see her!
    Sage advice, about keeping pen/paper to hand.

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  20. How funny ... I just wrote a post about seeing faces. I see them everywhere! And I also keep notepads handy at all times, there's one in my car, one on my bedside table, one in my purse, and yes, one in my bathroom!

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  21. I was seeing pink whale shapes in the clouds yesterday! Love your Cherokee candle muse! May she inspire you every time you have a bath. Although she also looks like a Navajo woman R C Gorman would have liked to paint.

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  22. Yes, Reya, but you know I always like to take the romantic point of view!

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  23. I often get thoughts when I'm driving in my car...verses for my poems, etc, important things I need to do. I had one of those tiny, handheld voice recorders and I would just push the button and chat away. Then, when I'd get home or, at the very latest, each night, I'd jot all the information down. I don't know what happened to that little thing but I need another..it probably got knocked out of the car or something.

    At home, I just keep a micro tape recorder by my bed since my writer is never that great when I wake up in the middle of the night.

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  24. nice. my journal stays with me always in my bag, except at night it moves to my bedside. i have woken up several times to scribble down a few words or a line that comes to me. rarely will i get everything at once, but that snippet will keep my thoughts going for days.

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  25. Love the image in the candle wax. I often see images in my children's drawings, in clouds, in a puddle of rainwater at my feet. Each image found feels like a gift, as is this one on your blog today.

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  26. She's definitely there! (I used to have Abe Lincoln's face on the green melamine table we had growing up. I looked at him daily for twenty years!)

    Like several others here, I often compose poetry in the shower. One day I jumped out of the shower and wrote a few lines with eyebrow pencil on the sink basin. That's when I learned to keep a notepad and pencil everywhere.

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  27. I believe your muse is African --

    And oh, yes, to the pen and paper by the bed. I've saved quite a few good ideas that way. Others may have been good but I couldn't read them in the morning light.

    One said, enigmatically enough, "I believe in Delaware."

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  28. Vicki, "I believe in Delaware" is a great first line. Love it. LOVE it!

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  29. Good advice--I do love the silhouette in that candle--she does look a bit like Whoopi!

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  30. Well, it's true -- though I've never been there, I do believe in it.

    You're right, of course -- a wonderful opening for something pr other.

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  31. Karen, now I don't think I'll ever forget the green Abraham Lincoln! Sounds like he was good company.

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  32. I agree! :-)

    Your muse is blowing kisses, or am I dreaming?

    I usually stay up late for I know that the later the hour, the better the chance for inspiration to hit. Pencil at the ready. ;-)

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  33. Your muse reminds me of works by the artist, Kara Walker. Are you familiar with her art? She creates cut-paper pieces (in large scale).

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  34. Okay, what are you smoking in the bath tub? LOL!

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  35. wonderful story and very good advise :)

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  36. willow- i've painted and written for crushes. i've thought great thoughts for mindmates. i've been more than myself for love. but i've not yet experienced a muse. it's on my wishlist!! lucky you willow. have a lovely evening at the manor. steven

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  37. I guess. That's lucky for us she had something to write with.

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  38. I like her profile so much.
    I was told by a loving source that we have thirty-three guides: runners, helpers, healers, teachers, joy guides, angels and master teachers. I know muses are included in that mix!

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  39. Interesting... I'll have to look at my candles closer. I didn't read all the comments, but I totally agree with the one that thinks in the shower. that's usually where my inspiration hits. Or when I'm driving. Either way, it's not very conducive to writing it down...

    check out my post today if you get time (I'm kind of happy with it :) )

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  40. Why sure, always listen to your muse. I call mine "Younger, prettier, sexier QMM."

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  41. I see her!!! I love finding 'people' or 'animals' in shadows, clouds, etc. I think it frees the mind to do so. What a neat muse, though!

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  42. How true--one never knows! Hahaaa! Good one. (OR you could "put a ring out!")

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  43. She does look like Whoopie. How cool is that? I love what you notice. What you pay attention to.

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  44. The best kind of muse...focused all aglow for you and your imagination!

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  45. True. There's no knowing when a muse might decide to pay a visit. While it takes a prepared mind to recognise a muse, the muse will seldom knock again.

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  46. Wise words, wise Willow. I like it when my muse sends me away into the wilderness for a week. Oh, muse....

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  47. back in the sixties, we fancied we had profound thoughts as we smoked the pipe. I wrote one down one night. This thought I was sure was the answer to life the universe, everything. And no, it was not "42".

    The next day I found the scrap and on it I had written "There is a funny smell in the room"....

    Ron

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  48. I saw 2 faces and an animal in your candle. Laura Nyro's muse was Emily. Mine has forsaken me for a while now.

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  49. I've written many pages with my eyes still closed, leaning over the side of the bed to write on the pad that's on a stack of books. If my husband wakes up and says something - it's gone.
    Love your candle. Definitely a face. I saw one just like it in a sunset once.
    Catherine

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  50. I do! My muses are on different time table than I and often wake me up at ungodly hours, the pesky things. So I have a pencil and note book nearby and I often scribble in darkness, hoping I might be able to read my handwriting again i the morning.

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  51. I love to take a bath-- long hot sudsy bubbly baths almost every night-- I mostly read-- but can't count how many times I wish I had a paper and pen-- have got to remember that next time.

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  52. Wow, that candle image is spooky, in a good way!

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  53. Hi! Willow,
    Nice post...What an interesting image of your muse.

    Willow said,"I keep a tablet and pencil on my
    nightstand for any sleepy inspirations I might need to scribble down in the dark."


    Willow, I agree with you, because I always keep a pen and a small note book pad handy.

    Happy Theme Thursday!

    DeeDee ;-D

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  54. I'm going with High Chieftan, don't see it as strictly female but it sure is interesting.

    Always listen to your muse, no matter who.

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  55. I definitely see her--she looks like she's humming to us with her head tilted back. Charming muse: I think she bodes well for future posts.

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  56. most excellent advice.

    the candle image is striking. don't be surprised if you find the local news banging on your door.

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  57. BTW, if you return to my blog you can use the link there to find the videos on YouTube.

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  58. Hello Willow,

    Take a little more water with your nightcap, W!

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  59. When an insight comes to me in the middle of the night, I always know it is true. I woke once and realized I had blown a job interview that I thought I had nailed. Alas, it turned out my night time revelation was true.

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  60. Wow! I love this...Her profile is wonderful..

    We need to listen to our muses more. Afterall, they know us better than anyone:)

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  61. What an interesting silhouette...she has great hair...like some of the other Manor dwellers : ) I see faces in the grains of wood, especially wooden doors. That just sounded like the boy in Sixth Sense..."I see dead people". Which by the way, was just mentioned last night : )

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  62. oh, yes, i see her so clearly! that is very cool -- even better than studying clouds for formations!

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  63. Wherever and whenever I have my A5 size Moleskine with me. All my poems start there and even if I complete them on the laptop, I copy them back into the notebook. If any fragments pop into mind while I'm driving, as soon as I can I'll scribble them into the Moleskine on the seat beside me. So I'm with you and Julia Ward Howe on this, willow!

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  64. Definitely some American Indian in that muse!

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  65. He he he. Maybe the candle muse is the same ghost that was in your son's room.

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  66. Clever Pup, you know, I think you might be onto something here. Maybe it's Cleo, the black maid who used to work here at the manor!

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  67. Willow, I emailed the poem to you - gmail address? Might be the wrong one. If you don't get it and really really really want to read it, email and I'll send it to the right address.

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  68. Darn, I didn't get it, Reya. Send it here:

    willow.willowmanor@gmail.com

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  69. Lots of wacky places to summons The Muse. Does the earth mother summon all things green and Abe Lincoln? Mine eyes have seen the glory looking through her wispy flickering. Now this is contagious! May I borrow her?

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  70. I need to take a closer look at my candles!

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  71. ...not Whoopie...but the Cherokee grandmother for certain...I also see trees...maybe a willow tree..

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  72. Just the glow and shadows from candles is magical, let alone mulling over a muse there too.
    Lucky you.

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  73. Yes, well if I listen to my muse I will bore you all to bits with stories of my James Bond like adventures but my useless gadgets to ward off bad people! LOL.

    I have to say that does look like a silhouette but der oh dear, I do not want Whoopi showing up anywhere near me ans certainly not by my bath! LOL.

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  74. What a great idea, Willow! God knows I've got tons of pens and tablets around.

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  75. When I wrote songs, I got my best ideas in the tub however lots got lost down the drain! :)

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  76. I love the book on the right about pantries. They have always been like a kitchen cabinet of curiosities to me.

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  77. Cowboys in clouds. Whoopi in Candles.
    Is 29 Black Street rubbing off on you?

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  78. MLou, 29 Blackstreet and I are kindred spirits! :^)

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  80. Have the hordes been showing up at your house to view the candle muse? :D

    She is very cool!

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  81. I need to listen to my muse more often. How wonderful to see yours in a candle. She brings light to your dark places. Excellent.

    Jen

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)