Calling all Muses:Where do you find your inspiration?

According to Greek mythology there are these ladies... nine to be exact. Goddesses who inspire artists, musicians, writers and poets. Nine. For the whole world. I'm not sure how I feel having to share my muse with the likes of James Cameron, Heather Ross, and Shinedown. Are they getting the best of my Muse's inspiration, or am I honored to be in their company? Let’s go with honored for the sake of my neurotic tendencies.

I am sure that I am no different than any other form of artist seeking inspiration. I wake up in the morning with the sun is shining (or not) and at that point the day goes one way or the other. Sometimes I get really lucky and I get dealt an inspiration bender where for days and weeks everything is roses and sunshine. Then the yen yang of the universe hits ya right upside the head with days filled with dreary struggling to keep your momentum going to be productive. Forget inspired. I just need my project list smaller at the end of those days.

What's necessary to pull yourself up out of a funk when your Muse is on Vaca? Here's my go to list. It may not always take the funk out of total funkiness but it lightens the ick.

Indulge your inner adolescence. Embrace you. Find New.

Watch your favorite old TV. shows. Dharma & Greg, Sex and the City, Trading Places
Never underestimate the power of music. Load up the mp3 player. Throw the 8 tracks on. Do what you gotta do. I like a lot of new music, but my soul seems lighter when I listen to music from high school and college. Don't forget to dance. Ok, I don't really dance but I have been known to get busted nodding my head and on rare occasions.... singing to myself. Boy is that embarrassing. If you are dancing kind of person, dancing is required.
Dig for Oldie Movies. Dirty Dancing, Moulin Rouge, Meet Me in St. Louis
Your nose knows. Wear perfume even if you aren't going anywhere. Light candles. (If you haven’t been introduced to Scentsy yet~ FIND THEM!)
Buy yourself flowers. Buy a bud vase. Even just having one stem of a daisy makes everything more cheery. On your desk. In a window. On the bathroom counter. Just somewhere you see it.
Go somewhere new. New coffee shop. New grocery store. Walk down a new street.
Surround yourself with your favorite colors. If you find a picture frame that is "you" buy it and use it even if it doesn’t match anything. Comfy throw blanket that is just the right colors you love even though it matches nothing in your house? Buy it. It may not match your room, but it matches you.
Go see the experts. Go look at work by people you admire. What do you love about it? What is breathtaking? Take that with you and think of that when you sit down to work. Picasso wasn't the first person to pick up a paint brush. It's ok to be inspired by others. It's even ok to make your own version of your favorite (insert artsy whatever). Inspired by and copied from are two different things. As a bow maker, I know you can give 25 bow makers the same ribbon and every one of those bows will be different. It's called artistic license, or inspiration.
Let me introduce your new best friend, Google. Google something you like. Click on images. Browse. Get lost on the interwebs... just don't wander down those shady dark alleys. I have been known to Google kittens, puppies and rainbows. Lack the ability to Google? Try StumbleUpon, equally rockalicious.
Take a virtual vacation. Find a pretty place. Put it on the desktop of your computer. Download new music and play it all day. Make food from there or even better... takeout! I took two vacation last year: Key West and Hawaii. They were wonderful. I didn't even have to bikini shop.
Keep a tidbit book. A scrap of a design here. A color combo there. A happy sunset. Whatever. I like to include quotes that speak to me. I love that book. I have been known to gift these books for friends having a hard time. Buy a happy quote book, flip through it with a highlighter, some stickers, and a few doodles later... perfect.

What am I really suggesting you do when your Muse is MIA? Remember who you are, what makes you you, and find some new you.