Cross Medium Inspiration

We had intended to visit the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto last Thursday. The goal was to view the current Pompeii exhibit.
Truth be told, even mid morning on a weekday, there was a line up at admissions that looked a good 1/2 to 3/4 long.
Instead, we crossed the street and went to the Gardner Museum (of Ceramics) instead.

As it turned out - a wise decision.

Inspiration for an artisan can come from many places. At the Gardner, both the contemporary work and the artifacts from Central America sparked some ideas:

I'm not going to comment on what exactly I saw in each of these pieces that triggered some concept that I think I can apply to my own work (forged metals). Part of the creative process is also imagining how some source out there can be interpreted into  your own primary material or working methods.