Picking Up Inspiration

Pastel Painting of Apalachicola Bay, Florida

Nature study can easily become a lifelong interest, and needn’t diminish over time. Identifying plants or birds may seem overwhelming to the beginning birder or botanist, but even experts in these fields face challenges.

My knowledge of flowers, trees and birds is at a level somewhere past beginner, but a long way from expert. At first, learning to I.D. each new species was exciting, but I’ve become complacent about botany and given up learning new bird songs. Why does it feel like an effort now, when once it was a much-anticipated challenge?

I blame my new interest in needleweaving. The more I became involved with fiber jewelry, the less time I spent on previous passions. Fortunately, my older interests are compatible with the new, and my enjoyment of them continues—if passively. In Act II of My Life, nature and music have become the backdrop, albeit a beautiful and inspiring one.

A recent change of scenery brought a renewed interest in all three. I picked up lots of ideas (and treasures) to use in future needleweaving projects. Apalachicola Bay was awash in beauty and its waters had offered up these finds.

Observation brings depth to the enjoyment of nature and music. And so it is with art. A field guide was useless for the broken bits of shells I collected, which left me free to see and appreciate their shapes, colors and textures. Though less-than-perfect, the shells will weave perfectly into a sea-inspired necklace—I can’t wait to begin.