This is Week #3 of my Power Builders creative links. If you’d like to see last week’s, you can find it here.
I call this series “Power Builders” because that’s what these little items do for me. They make me more powerful in my art and in my life. I hope they do the same for you. Some of the links will be about how other creative people use their time, structure their work, find inspiration. Some may be videos, music, or podcasts to inspire you. Some of it will be directly quilt-related but much of it will not. What you see in Power Builders will depend on what I find. Feel free to link great things in comments, too.
1) Have you heard Jake Shimabukuro on ukulele? This young phenomenon is just as charming and talented in person as he is on YouTube. Linked for you, both the short clip that brought him world attention, and a 77-minute concert.
2) A walk through an exhibit of Matisse cut-outs.
3) This is just cool: thermal imaging of a robotic quilting machine.
4) Many of you have heard Ira Glass speak on persistence in developing your skills. It’s worth hearing again: do a lot of work; fight your way through that.
5) All of those are pretty absorbing and time-consuming, so I’ll finish here with a picture inspiration of the week. These beautiful women are in Taos, NM.
Get inspired by the world around you! What has inspired you this week?
Catbird Quilt Studio 
Jake single-handedly made the ukulele cool! I love that state of the women–they actually make me think a little of Matisse’s blue nudes.
Yes, I thought the ladies were quite familiar, too, but hadn’t thought of the Matisse nudes until I put these in the same post. Great minds… 🙂
I had the joy of hearing Jake in concert a few years ago, just after his son was born. My companion said she was waiting for his uke to go up in flames, he was playing so fast. And yes, there’s a reason to replace your sewing machine needle frequently. As for Matisse, well, I carry a mental image of those blue women with me when I try improvisational stuff. I could, and should, study his lines frequently.
I think we could all learn a lot from spending more time with Matisse. Glad you had the chance to hear Jake in person. We did last year and thought it was a tremendous treat.