As I sit in the studio this morning, there’s a thick, silvery fog hanging low in the redwood grove outside. Crisp, cool air perfumed with subtle undertones of ocean and wildfire smoke drifts curiously in the open window. An ancient, craggy apple tree in the back yard occasionally drops its heavy fruit on the roof, bringing me back from my thoughts. All signs point to the incoming arrival of fall, and I sigh a long exhale, pleasantly reassured that the cycle is shifting once again. My gaze wanders around the studio, falling on projects in all different states of completion. On this quiet morning, I am contemplating how to articulate the thread that weaves together all this work and my creative journey through life.
In their own way, each bowl, wall piece, and sculpture gestures toward the wonder I find in Nature; the everyday magic that surrounds and connects all that is.
The more I come to know this magic, the more I realize it can never really be reproduced in its fullness, only suggested or related to. Sometimes I nod to Nature in literal forms, shapes, and textures gathered outdoors. Other times, the energy of, and my responses to, connecting with the natural world are distilled into more abstract representations. Nature is my muse, and the inspiration and drops of wisdom I find through our life-long companionship are infinite and ever blooming.
In a culture bursting with stimulating distractions, we are often encouraged to pack life to the brim, to be always on the go, always seeking more. For all that is offered by this call to busyness, rush, and progress, time and time again I remember that my deepest fulfillment and peace emerge when space for slowness, emptiness, and time spent in Nature’s patient, cyclical simplicity are prioritized. There’s a constant coming home to this truth that flows through the days and chapters of my life, and I am gratefully renewed every time it finds me. From this place, engaging with this awareness, I am able to find more clarity, compassion, hope, and appreciation for my own life, and for the world around me.
You are invited to dance with me through the Blooming Lily Studio, into joy, twirling with beauty, off the path and up various mountains, and perhaps back into the arms of your own true Nature.
Along the way I promise to sprinkle reminders of the magic (heaven knows, we all need reminders) and to repeatedly encourage us all to relinquish a little control, step into wonder, and relax into the flow.
Today is a beautiful day
to stoke the spark of aliveness
that lives in you and in me,
Darling;
wouldn’t you agree?
Bloomfully,