Since declaring myself an Artist I have been able to learn many new skills. One common theme is to do anything greater than taking care of our basic human needs, is we need inspiration. From making a smoothie, to climbing a mountain, something triggers us to act.

Common sources of inspiration are Nature, our big and small screens, and our friends and family. But I’m here to tell you, you never know when or where your next inspiration will come from, so be open to it!

Last month I went to Federal Way Laser Dentistry for my 6 month cleaning and check-up. Should be normal- I thought. “Two small cavities and at this point we recommend to place a cap/crown on one of your Molars”. Yea – not. They make it all very obvious showing me pictures and x-rays of my tooth. As I looked I saw the form of the tooth shape, and was thinking that kinda looks like an octopus with 4 tentacles! I had plenty of time to think as they prepared a temporary crown, and knew I was heading to the metal welding studio after the appointment.

As I drove to the studio, I was getting more and more inspired to see if I could use the parts I had cleaned last week to start sculpting a “Tooth”. With the grungy music playing, I googled an image of a molar. My son has told me to always consider cartoon images as they exaggerate features. I started making the roots. They looked good, then came the 3D form of the “Tooth shape”. I laughed as the gears I was using made the tooth appear to have 50+ cavities. Two days of trial and error, I had what looked like a pretty symmetrical form. I brought it home, polished it, and tried some different lighting.

It was looking good, and I was excited to show my dentist as my appointment was coming up in a week. I had given my dentist my Metal Art business card and he had told me he would like to see some of my art. So with my appointment booked, I asked if I could come in early to show him and his wife (the receptionist) what I had been creating.

I showed them an octopus, and a starfish, and they were really intrigued. Then when he asked what else I had, and I pulled out the tooth. It was really fun to see their eyes light up as they realized it was a Molar tooth! They asked if they could purchase it, and I said of course – this office was my inspiration!