How do you keep an idea fresh?

I miss seeing the horse at the Danada Stable.  I miss hearing about the drama of the pasture life.   Who's getting along with who and which one acted up and was pushed a side for awhile till things go calm again...

That would be an artist date to the horse stable and how can that keep an idea fresh for a piece art?

First off accepting that there our other parts to life that need my attention, family, paperwork/computer work, classes/ workshops and then studio time...I'm not always able to take an idea and act on it right away.  Oh I want to but accepting that in the creative process there is this incubator time...


All that stuff that we might have or now are hearing about the process...as of get a folder where you can store photo, magazine images...etc in.  I have both a physical one and a computer folder of just that images.

Then there's another part of the process...sketching,  

 Getting to know you subject matter or understand it's nature...I not worked lot with really subject matter lately, I get a lot of satisfaction from graphic design work but every once in a while a spirit of an animal will grow strong and I seem to have to look into it, I usually find a message and  learning process for myself...

Here's some photo work of the horse at the pasture.  

So how do I keep the idea going?    Right now I'm long to go visit but my next couple of days schedule isn't going to allow it...I'm doing the next best thing...revisiting my references...  Which now is stimulating my hunger to create this next big piece....after working small I seem to need to expand...so this canvas waiting in preparation with two coats of Polymer is 36 x 48 and I've just coated some old book pages the last two days to go with the other palette of papers I've prepared.  

So many thoughts are racing around now....As of seeing the collage sketch and then a pencil sketch and the photo....I know that when it comes time to bring it to the surface of the canvas...it will now look any thing like I've shown here....Oh I could get a collage do look just like that but that would be controlling a creative spirit that as quickly gets blocked and shuts down....Taking time with it as I'm doing is all part of my Word this year..."Acceptance"....In stead of hounding myself about not doing it NOW....getting this all done...Heck the papers are ready I've done good study about it...Why not?  

Many to bring myself back to the what started this idea...and really understand what I want to express.  Though i do work that I "Slap Jack and Jane together and truly enjoy doing, there's another deeper side to creativity....I need both...I need the playful part and I need the parts that really reach down in to my core...so as long as I can keep creating the playful ones that come out quick I can keep honing and trusting my judgement for the other ones like this...

Keeping near and dear to my heart as I'm really feeling it all around me helps keep it fresh....No one need to understand but me in the grand theme of this all...In the mean time I gather...more and add more images and thoughts and create a bit more paper....and I share and talk about it what I want to do and how I want to create the papers...my artistic drama....and part of living the dream... ramble I know but when you can't make to the place to create an idea as this....I've got to keep it alive till I can put it down on a surface. Make sense?