"One touch of nature makes the whole world kin."
John Muir
It's spring: lime green fields just waiting to become freckled with wildflowers, trees already unfurling new leaves, ducklings splashing in mud puddles, and birds trilling their mating songs.As the pandemic drags on, many of us have felt our need to connect with nature intensify. With the weather getting warmer each day, I find it hard to drag myself indoors after a break outside. I have become intimate with my backyard residents, naming my squirrels and recognizing the various calls of the birds and the pattern of their days. All last summer, fall, and winter, I spent as much time as I could allow, trekking around parks and nature preserves.
Now, as I near the end of my time of extreme social distancing, having
just scheduled my second vaccine for Covid-19, I am very much aware that I won't continue to have the luxury of the more relaxed and flexible schedule I have become accustomed to. As I transition into working with and in the public again, I will most likely not be able to spend the time outdoors needed to feed the nature addiction I have aquired.
So what do I do? I decorate my home with little collections and paintings that bring nature to me and my home.
Original oil painting "The Hare" inspired by my backyard bunnies.
Check out my portfolio page under "More" in the menu for paintings I have for sale.
This dish of acorns and pinecones represent trips/hikes from many different wild spaces I've been. Each one holds a special memory that I can bring to mind every time I pass them. Besides that, they are beautiful little works of nature's art.
A beautiful conch shell from a painting trip to Tybee Island rests in a turquoise dish given to me by my son. I had broken it and repaired it using a faux version of Japanese Kintsugi method that I demonstrate how to do in my blogpost, "Beauty in the Broken" There are precious memories embedded in these things.
A few of my "Nature Collections" each object bringing forth a memory of time spent in nature. They help me to feel connected to the earth and priceless times spent with family and friends. I'm inspired by their presence.
"Every natural object is a conductor of divinity....." John Muir
"Attention is the beginning of devotion." Mary Oliver
The world seems to go too fast for us to slow down, but slowing down is just the thing that would help us find our footing. I know for sure that I need to find my footing after the past year.
I downsized drastically to a much smaller house when my children were grown. Then I started the "purging of possessions".
It was literally and figuratively freeing.
Anything I kept either needed to be useful or made precious by the memories attached to it. At the end of the purging, I found myself with a practically empty house! Gone were the matching bedroom suites, living room suites, and dining room suites. In fact, anything that could have the word "suite" attached to it.
I started buying an old piece here or there that spoke to me, refinishing or repurposing to suit my aesthetic.
Now, when I walk through my much smaller house, everything I see has meaning to me, memories attached (good memories!). My addition of objects of nature into my home (not house) suits me for now. Eclectic for sure, and I'm happy with that. My way may not be for everyone, but I can guarantee that whatever your style, if you love and crave a connection with nature, bringing some of it into your home will enrich your life and well being.
A trilogy of nature paintings I did on old reclaimed wood panels.
A planter with a rescued bamboo plant surrounded by stones collected on hikes.
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. The power of imagination makes us infinite. Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. Keep close to nature's heart........"
John Muir
In the photo below is my growing collection of feathers found on my forays into nature.
I'm always am reminded of a favorite book,
"Where The Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens as I collect a feather here or there.
Hang in there everyone, there is light at the end of the pandemic tunnel!
I continue to be mindful of the fact that my loved ones and I have been among the lucky ones who have not been tragically affected by this horrible virus. We have not escaped unscathed, but we are alive and together and I am eternally grateful for that.
Remembering and honoring all who have died or suffered great loss as well as the heros who have, and are still, fighting the battles for us every day!
Living my artful life,
Pam
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