Fatherhood Friday: Musings on my Muses... or what inspires me

My kids are my muses, and I find a great deal of wonder and fun in their daily lives. As an artist, and as a parent, I document our lives by taking photos, creating a trail of images and memories from birth right on up to yesterday. While some of the photos I take are staged, many of the images in our collections are spontaneous and a reaction to the current situation and environment. How my kids respond is what makes these images so much fun to view. My daughter is a genuine ham and knows how to make the most of her time in front of the camera; she makes my job as the photographer easy. My son, upon seeing the camera will smile and say “cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese” until his photo is snapped.


The ancient muses were believed to inspire all artists, especially poets, philosophers, and musicians, I wonder if my kids can also un-inspire me and become a hindrance. While they physically are the body of most of my work, they can also work very quickly to suck any innovation and energy out of my projects. It’s tough to balance being a parent, working full time, and trying to develop my secondary career as a working artist. As much as I love em, they can bring me to a state of total artistic chaos with one dinner or outing paired with their toddler/preschool antics.

I need to work on that balance, finding inspiration in the mundane and the moments that I want to pull my hair out as well. So dear readers, what inspires you?