Nature's Inspirations

"If you were coming in the fall I'd brush the summer by with half a smile and half a spurn as housewives do a fly." Emily knew. She knew that nature taught us patience and she knew that eventually if she were patient enough a sparrow would carry in love on it's back.

I was out in the garden last week brushing my hair and having morning coffee watching the rabbits (our little neighborhood is full of rabbits). I cleaned out the hair from my brush and in a few seconds a robin came to visit and took the hair up to a nest. I was so thrilled I ran around and filled up all the bird feeders. One of the reasons I wanted to live here was all the trees and the little birds singing in the morning. Nature provides us such inspiration. I started putting together little collage images of children and birds and butterfly wings. I took the weekend and created and created and created even more. It energizes me and what one calls work suddenly is joy.

A few weeks ago I ran into a woman who had lost her puppy due to illness and was looking to make a little piece of jewelry to honor the fact he was her constant companion for a number of years. I was so touched by her sadness. Sadness can be perfect full of love and melancholly and honor. I don't think you can have sadness without honor. She's fascinating and after hours of conversation that seemed to pass in the blink of an eye I found we had so much in common. We both love art and photography and the little animals. We both have children dear to us and we've both been through life changing surgery. I carry around a piece of her through that conversation and have tried to look at my jewelry and my art through the eye of a photographer. I am making a few pieces with her work. She travels and has some remarkable photos of Venice at Carnival and neon signs down route 66. I think of her as a little sparrow landing on my shoulder with a bag full of inspiration.

If you are an artist who would like to see your paintings or photographs on a piece of wearable art, feel free to contact me at Summerpoet@msn.com and I will be glad to work with you on that sort of special art. It's a neat way to advertise what you do.

I hope inspiration lands on your shoulder today and I hope that you take a few minutes out to notice all that nature gives us. There's a lesson in every leaf and flower petal.

"I will arise and go now, go to Innisfree and a cabin build there of clay and waddles made. I will have 9 bean rows and a hive for the honey bee and live alone in the bee loud glade." - Yeats.

Carrie