A confession. I love putting my hands in dirt. No gloves. Just earth and soil in my fingers as I plant seeds. And planting barefoot makes me even happier.
And I have been doing lots of planting. And not just flowers and vegetables.
This past week, I put my beloved green bean seeds into my raised garden boxes. Magically, just a few days later, they were peeking out of the soil and growing towards the sun. Towards me.
At the end of last summer, I wrote about my love of green beans and how I search each day among the green leaves for the green beans. I love this game.
This year, I doubled the fun and also planted peas.
These pea pods make me smile. Everyday I go out and look for them and eat them right off the vine. And the vines are inspiring too. I want to add these into my art...all the twists, circles and loops.
I have two raised garden beds right on the side of my house where the sun shines so brightly. My sweetie and son built these for me on Mother's day a few years ago.
What a gift!
This year, I am more in the mindset of less is more in the garden.
It is only filled with everything I love. With more space in between for growth.
Raspberries. Swiss chard. Green beans. Peas. Lettuce (almost on its way out). Basil. Cilantro. Parsley. And one little Mexican cherry tomato plant that bravely made its' way back from last year. This plant is amazing. It grows so big it almost needs a garden box of its' own. Now it has tons of space to be magical.
And I planted flowers. Lots of flowers right beside the vegetables.
I bought a bunch of flowers to plant weeks ago. And I just left them sitting between the two raised beds.
They survived weeks of sitting there but they didn't thrive. Then I put them into the soil.
And the rains came...so much rain.
And within a day they bloomed. What a good reminder for me. Sometimes you just have to put the seeds in the soil and step back. Just planting them is enough.
Ideas are seeds too. And many ideas that I have had are blooming too. But I had to put them into the soil.
I was just awarded a grant through Jump Street to create and install a three dimensional, recycled art installation in the Hershey Medical Center Cancer Institute in-patient area. I cannot wait to be a part of someone's healing process. So honored. So ready.
This is the second grant I have received this year. Seeds planted. Flowers blooming. I had no prior experience applying for grants. This has so much to do with listening and then taking action. People who support my art and want to work with me point me in the right direction. I listen and look. Put a seed in an inch or two deep and step back.
This week, I handed in all my paperwork to have my art in UncommonGoods. I know it will be online. I would love it in the catalog. I am so happy to be working with this group of creative people.
Little seeds put in the soil. Then phones calls, emails and following up. Very much like fertilizer, water and sunshine.
I presented my art and ideas to them last year in Brooklyn. That was a magical day. A game changer. I wrote about that here. Tara Gentile was on the guest panel. I was able to see my potential through her eyes for a moment. Brilliant eyes indeed. Her words and vision pointed me in the direction of my first grant. So grateful.
One more flower to tell you about. I wrote my third post for Oh My Handmade Goodness as a contributor. Doing a happy dance! This post is about notes, tiny details and all the little pieces we can add to letters and packaging. Letters from camp.
I am just honored to be a part of this group. I read this blog every day for years. And then I started showing up. Every day. Commenting on posts. Re-tweeting. Supporting. And mostly learning how to be a part of a community for creatives and of creatives. A community that raises each other up.
And magic has happened. My circle of friends is global. When I need support, I just add the hastag #OMHG. And they all show up. To read. To spread the word. Sometimes they show up in person! Over lunch. In my studio! If you are a creative, get involved. This is one of the most beautiful seeds I have planted.
What are you planting? Ideas? Roses? Squash? I hope you are planting it all. And then standing back and watching it all come up.