The other day when we were out of town I was in a good sized mall. As I walked around I spotted a toy store. I couldn’t resist! I strolled the isles looking for the perfect to. Then I spotted it! The toy I discovered was not large or expensive - quite the opposite. But I had been on the lookout for it fir quite some time. I made my way to the checkout and waited my turn. I put my new found treasure on the counter and happily took out my wallet to pay.
As the cashier handed me my change she commented how it would be great if we could keep these toys for ourselves. I smiled back and said that is exactly what I planned to do. I think my answer took her by surprise.
I have a fairly large collection of toys in my studio... along with many figurines, small sculptures and models. They are a business expense, entered into the research and development column of our books. Now I’m not about to copy these ideas to create Wallys or other copyrighted material any time soon. These toys instead act as inspiration, sparking an endless stream of new ideas. I like to surround myself with brilliant ideas of others in hopes of putting out more of the same!
Quite simply, to have creative output we must have creative input - and the more the better!
I’m still learning in Yarrow...
-grampa dan