Dermis Forum Inspiration

Here's a short story about today's topic:

I was at a friend's house, and he and I were sitting by a fire that had been built in the fireplace. Observing the flames led me to an observation.

"One of the most inspiring things about fire for me is that, no matter closely you watch, you can never quite tell the exact point where the flames attach to the log. They float enigmatically just above. The strangest thing is, flames are really parts of the log reacting with parts of the air. Somehow they manage to be parts of both and still wholly separate."

It occured to me that inspiration works in a similar way. At some point, a sort of quantum leap happens where an object, concept, previous work, SOME THING becomes the art as envisioned in the mind, even before work on it begins. There is an in-between point, a flame of idea that bridges the gap between observed reality and intentional product.

What does that flame feel like to you? What kind of imagery or analogy do you use to qualify it to yourself?

-Brandon.