Running away to the Circus

I love to read. It is absolutely one of my favorite things to do. And as I read, I normally find something that inspires me. No matter if its a line, word, idea or even the cover.This weeks inspiring read is the Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Look how lovely this cover is! How can you not want to create something, ANYTHING, from this

At first, I checked the book out from the library. I actually got half way through it before I had to go out and buy my very own.

Why did i have to buy my own? Why couldn't i just read the borrowed one and save myself fifteen dollars? Because I have gotten into the delightful and yet destructive habit of marking up my books. It started with highlighting my favorite parts in "The sky is everywhere". Now, Ive crossed over to  doodling in the margins, and even drawing a picture on half a page. I'm sure there are librarians somewhere who feel chills running down their spines with every mark i make.  I doodle ideas for painting, things that i imagine. Things that make me smile and that, to me, make perfect sense.

Ideas, descriptions, feelings, impressions. They are all in my doodling file to refer to at a later date.

So what was it about this book that got my creative juices flowing? It started off with a book and a tree. That's normally all it takes for me to be hooked. But the story is about these two people who become bonded before they even know each other. When, they are just children. And he knows who she is before she knows who he is. Am I making sense? Probably not.

One of my favorite parts where Marco is holding a design that Celia has made. All he knows is that she has done it. He can feel her on the pages and is a bit irritated and in awe that he could never capture the tree as beautifully as she did. That's the part when I bought the book. That's the part where I fell in love with the Night Circus.

The feelings of need and desire that come off of the pages are intoxicating. Even though these two people spend very little time together through out the book, its simple things that make their need for each other so mesmerizing. And you wish for more pages of them together. But then the book wouldn't have that feel to it.

Another one of these lovely tid bits of awesomeness is when Marco walks across a crowded party, grabs Celia and kisses her. The whole party stops and looks. He walks away and makes everyone forget except for her. It makes you want to be Celia. It makes you want the kind of love that you can feel in your toes. The kind of love that is fueled by destiny and passion and honestly a little bit of insanity. And don't we all want someone to love us insanely?

So, of course now I'm inspired. Not just inspired to paint something in the color scheme of the book, but inspired to find my own Night Circus. To run away and wear amazing gowns in black and white. To wonder through rooms that are made of clouds, ice and sand. To be bound to someone who can feel me in the things I create. Insert deep sigh here.

Here's to insanity, love and a circus that is only open at night. Create something beautiful today