A Happy Half Hour - Creativity and Inspiration

If anyone's expecting a politcal rant or intelligent discussion after my last post - Ha!

No, I just wanted to talk about a really fun half hour or so I had the other morning before the kids were up.

I'd set up my blog (yes, this one) the day before but couldn't find a picture I liked, so I got up early to have a look for arty and interesting things on Google Image Search. I wanted something that would represent
a) my habit of wandering away into off-topic areas when in the middle of a sensible discussion
b) a devotion to one of my favourite Goddesses - Ariadne the Bold and the Beautiful who dumped/got dumped by Theseus on Naxos (the stories are a bit vague on what exactly happened between them there) and ended up becoming the consort of Dionysos (who I also rather like). I am working on an article/story but I want to get it straight in my head first before I go publishing anything.

I tried different keywords and looked through page after page but couldn't find a picture I liked. I searched under thread, wool, twine, Ariadne, labyrinth, skein, yarn but nothing jumped out and said "this the one!"

Then I got some Divine inspiration. Heck, why mess about trying to find a picture someone else created and then worry about getting sued for copyright violation when I can make it at home for free. All I need is my camera, a ball of string, a black sheet for a backdrop, some simple image manipulation software - oh and a small aubergine (kidding).

I had a brilliant time messing about with different lighting, angles, depth of field etc and then playing with my favourite images on the pooter changing hues, contrast, and brightness till I'd got some images I really liked. You can see the rest of the ones I was most pleased with on Flickr (just follow the link to my photos). The one I liked best of all (well, duh!) is the one at the top of this page.

I really enjoyed the creative process and all the work that went into it.
It's amazing what you can do with half an hour to yourself to concentrate, and a bit of inspiration - thanks!