When I think back through the years of my creative life there is one artist that stands far and above all my other inspirations. My beloved Vincent Van Gogh. Like most high school students in art class I was introduced to his Starry Night painting. I was intrigued.
Many would say Van Gogh is their favorite artist but more than the beauty of his paintings or the tragedy of his story, I would say Van Gogh was the first artist that pulled me through time to that sacred space where artists become more than themselves.
There was a moment in my life when I knew I was connected to something bigger and that vast idea had a name. I was an artist and Van Gogh was my first kindred spirit.
Van Gogh's hand stretched through the years with each stroke of the brush as I stood in awe in front of his paintings. I wasn't just a witness to his amazing work, he was part of my story. That kindred spirit inspired me to create during those formative years in art school. 
As my life became filled with beads, young children and a need to make a living, my dreams of painting took a backseat. But my connection to finding inspiration in Van Gogh's paintings soon crept into my mind and hands as I worked his colors and images into polymer clay and interpreted them into beads.
If Van Gogh was my only inspiration for the rest of my beadmaking career I would have more than enough lessons to learn from his paintings. Although many other artists and sources are part of my visual vocabulary I will always return to Van Gogh.
There will never be a moment when I'm not breathless when standing in front of his work. When I need to be reminded of sublime experiences I know a few moments studying his work will transform me to that place where art stirs the soul and lifts me above the busyness of life.
Who inspires you? What artist makes you feel like a time traveler, transported to another time and place?
(Time traveler, Van Gogh - who are my fellow Whovians?)