When I look at this piece, I remember summer as a child. I can feel the dirt under my nails and hear the sound of the crackling thin plastic pots as my mom and I pop out the marigolds and pansies. The hot sun on our backs. Every spring after the last frost, we would visit the nursery and fill our cart with six packs of floral blooms. My mom used to call me her sunshine. She bought me a cotton white tank top with a yellow sun sewn into the strap. I wore that tank top almost every day that summer.
This is where it always begins - a photo, some words, and a memory. Drawing something because it is pretty, is not as intriguing as when it begins with a story. I can create a collection of art based on the flowers in my neighbor’s yard. Or I can pick all the flowers that bloomed around my home as a child. The ones I helped my mom root in the dirt.
The funny thing about it is, the art I make from the stories that live inside me, are the ones that people most respond to. Versions of this print have received multiple licensing deals - journals, postcards, bookmarks, and a calendar. It’s as though the heart of my story is somehow told through its linework.
I do believe that when we create something of deep meaning to ourselves, it has a spirit about it that others can feel. It is born of this place deep within us. It is our own voice, so unique to us. That can’t be copied or emulated in the same way. Only told through our own eyes. That is where our best work begins.
While visiting Florida this summer, we went on the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive. You drive 11 miles slowly on a dirt road to view alligators and over 300 species of birds in their natural habitat. As we crept along the dirt road, light rain fell over the still waters as our eyes tried to spot the gators like in one of those hidden pictures games for children. The sound of giant dragonflies buzzed by our windows. Crimson streaks of red and blue. Then suddenly as we turned a bend in the road, there he stood on the landscape. Like a cross planted in the ground. His beautiful feathered wings open wide. So still. So vulnerable. The heads of gators floating by. Doing what he must, drying his wings so he could fly again.
I felt hope when I saw him sitting there. Just last summer, we had to cancel our travel plans due to my daughter’s health. Her heart was acting up. And now, here we were. She can once again move in the world like the rest of us. We were on one of four trips we planned this summer. Making up for lost time. Sitting in the back of the car watching alligators sunbathing and feeling the rain on our skin. Those beautiful wings, their arms wide open. That is how I always want to exist. Arms wide open, heart full.
I join a lot of art challenges on Instagram. I created “You are my sunshine” during one. There is something about joining challenges that unearth new work in me. It is like a writing prompt that offers a question I must dig deep to answer. I always end up with something I never would have made.
This September a group of amazing artists and I are hosting a Wild Wonders Mini Collection Challenge. You are officially invited to join if this is your jam! Or if you want to follow the challenge and see what people make, that will also be delightful. #wildwonderschallenge is the hashtag. And Instagram is the place. Hope to see you there!
This time, it is literally a found gem. : ) Is it called Flower Agate. I love little things. I collect tiny leaves and love all things miniature. I delight in looking at all the gems in their little dishes at mystic stores. I look over them to see what color and shape calls me. This one caught my eye recently and became part of my collection.
Flower Agate inspires you to bloom where you are planted. It is a stone for personal growth. It it is meant to encourage you to lean into your strengths and allow yourself to discover your path. It will guide and encourage you to live up to your potential. It is a stone that reminds you to lean into your passions, for it allows you to evolve from a seed to a flower.
I like to keep a dish of stones on my desk and pick one to keep in my pocket. On occasion, I forget they are in my pocket and they fly across the room when I change or do yoga. My husband is forever finding my gems. Even my neighbor returned one to me recently. They are little reminders I pass through my fingers.
Until next time. ✨ Kim
That was a fantastic find! I too love rocks! Been collecting all my life. I even have a few fossils I found when I was a kid! One time a long while ago - friends mailed me rocks! LoL. The Postmaster was not too happy! He said - what’s in this! Someone mail you a rock! And it was! 😊. Every time I camp or go somewhere interesting a rock or two follows me home… as well as tree moss, cool pieces of dried bark, leaves to press and dry, etc… my house is a bit full of natural wonders. 😊. And you found a gorgeous piece! Wow! 😍
Kim. I love your writings! You have a way of expressing connections through words and illustration. Thanks for the inspiration 💕 I feel you enjoy life immensely. And see/feel deeply, the precious moments that make up life.