A cat named bell pepper

Well, that probably isn’t his name, but it seemed like an attention grabbing title. Better than the less unique Finding Hope.

This summer, I have been volunteering to take care of a small plot at a community garden. The garden is located in a farmstead community for people with developmental differences, mainly adults with Autism.

It is only recently that I have become involved with Benjamin’s Hope, but I have been aware of this unique place since its inception.

In my last post I wrote that it has been a while since I have found inspiration in the brick and mortar building with the white steeple, but I have found plenty of it here.

For the past couple of years our family has been attending Sunday night services on a fairly regular basis, COVID changed perspective on a lot of things, this perfectly imperfect place became more of a home than anywhere else.

This summer, in an effort to connect residents with those of us who live off the farm, Ben’s Hope has been offering some low key, low stress ways to engage. One of those ways is the Adopt A Garden Bed project.

My daughter and I both signed up. She, in charge of the beets and radishes. I got the lettuce and Tomatillos. Her radishes got picked early, so all she had left was the beets. Lettuce was easy enough, but I have no idea what to do with Tomatillos. Growing up, we grew tomatoes. My dad still grows tomatoes.

The weeding hasn’t been too challenging. I got some good photos, made a furry friend, and had some low-key conversations with a few of the residents. But most of all I have learned that you can’t just come because you are needed, you have to come because there is a deep need inside of you.

Deeper not wider

It has been a while since I have found inspiration inside the brick and mortar building with the white steeple.

It is not what was said from the stage that inspired me, but instead I took what was said and looked at it from a different angle. The sermon by a guest pastor, was on one of the Beatitudes - Blessed are the Merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. But all I could think during the endless sermon, was please show us mercy and end this thing. Just as there would be a glimmer of hope that it was ending, he would launch down another divergent path.

My husband said in the car on the way home, “He had some good points, even if they were scattered everywhere.” I agreed. I said, “If he had just taken three of those and gone deeper it would have been so much better.”

Monday morning, I was writing in my Morning Pages journal about the sermon on Sunday and the phrase - Deeper not Wider - came back to me. I realized this is exactly what I need to do as well. Stop following so many rabbit trails, pick three things and explore them deeply.

In May, I joined Alice Sheridan’s Connected Artist group. It is finally time to fully commit to this artist journey, and Alice provides excellent tools to guide the way. Since joining I have built and published my website, set up a newsletter subscription and sent out my first newsletter. These are things that I have always intended to do someday. Someday has come.

Currently, I am working on my Artist Manifesto. What are my core values and beliefs? What is my work about? What do I want my work to say? I made a list of many ideas, and then began to weed, deadhead, and prune until only the three fullest blooms were left standing.

Motivation

EXPLORING - Exploring has been part of my photography and writing since the journey began in 2012. And the whole point of exploring is to find curious and unique things right? A bit like a treasure hunt. The things I love to find are decaying, and/or abandoned buildings, gravel country roads, and flowers or the remains of flowers.

subject

FLOWERS - Flowers are alive and what I feel most attracted to in my art, it was easy to settle on them as my main subject. I love to draw them with thin, loose lines, finger paint in their silhouettes, and their organic shapes delight me. I love flowers in any season: just emerging, full bloom, or as they slip away into decay, and even in the waiting season of winter. Those abandoned buildings and gravel roads can be some of the places where you can find my flowers.

Mediums

This is where I give myself a little freedom.

Mediums will be:

• Photography - it provides inspiration for my paintings and the comfort of being good at it.

• Writing - I have always used writing as a discovery tool. I didn’t realize how much I need it until I started doing it again.

• Mixed Media with Collage and Acrylics - This is what I have spent my time on for the last year, I have come to find my place with it. I will continue to explore deeper.

No more divergent paths for me, it is time to stick to the three point structure, and craft it into a simple and clear Manifesto:

I explore with my camera, and create with mixed media art. I am drawn to portray the solitude, beauty and uniqueness found in the natural world.

Farmers market Bouquets

Buying bouquets from the local Farmers Market is not something new to me. What is new is the weekly consistency.

Past years I would buy them when the weather was cool because then they would last for most of the week. But as soon as the weather got hot, I quit. When the flowers only lasted a couple days, ten dollars seemed like a lot to spend.

This year though, I am seeking out the flowers that will die gracefully. Flowers with beauty in their demise. In the last few years I have learned to embrace the beauty of decay and to document the process.

When I buy my bouquets now I look for the most unusual. Unique shapes, strong organic lines, ones that stand out. Different is my motto. There is already enough sameness in the world. What we need is more different.

I am developing my own process to include these flowers into my art. First I photograph, looking for light, line and composition. This is my form of a sketchbook.

Then I do simple loose line sketches of my favorites. I pay close attention to how the lines make me feel, this feeling will later influence my mixed media pieces.

My favorite blooms are the ones that follow their own path, often dropping over side of the vase, simply elegant in their uniqueness and their decay.