Little Emerald Bird and the Peacock Dress

People wonder how I come up with ideas for my designs.  That is an interesting wondering.  Sometimes a particular film or character in a novel begs to be dressed.  Sometimes I copy a design from someone very, very famous and dead.  A beautiful piece of lace presents itself as worthy of an entire dress.  An irresistable piece of silk, a fabulous shade of satin . . . a picture in a magazine, or an image or splashing of color from nature--a sunset or the way the light reflects off clouds or the sea.  Most of the time my best, very best ideas come from thinking about my granddaughter.  Not thinking in the usual way.  More like daydreaming.  I dream think about her and there it is . . .the peacock dress.  An unbelievable shade of peacock blue taffeta underneath a heaven-like gold with scrolled embroidery and a bodice of gilded roses.  Nothing is too much for my beloved granddaughter, and I believe she should wear silk everyday.  The rest of my very, very best ideas usually come from my uber talented daughter who not only inspires me every single moment with her heart stopping paintings, but also with book tips--great book tips like the Patti Smith book that inspired the Little Emerald Bird dress.  Read it and you will know why I had to immortalize part of Patti Smith's sweet poem.