Inspirations

September 14, 2014 Often the famous question “what inspires your designs?” If I could only live long enough to chart, develop and stitch all of my ideas, that would be amazing. I am quite certain most artists experience this thought often, as we are easily inspired each and every day of our life. A walk in my gardens, a drive into the market, a bike ride with my Sweet Stella to the park, and so many more occurrences each day send my creative juices to my drawing boards as I can hardly wait to get them to paper. At any given moment there are at least a dozen gorgeous flowers tumbling in my head. To re-create one of God’s true beauties is such a great experience, and to forward that image to you in my presentation is a wonderful experience of that full circle. Certainly my favorite of all is to design and stitch these amazing flowers in my gardens. You know He has created a beauty when there are not enough hues in the colour spectrum of the fibers color charts. Creativity. It’s entertaining.

So often a certain image of the sun filtered flower will catch my attention, and I will immediately begin to sketch its outline and shading. Often if I do not have a camera with me, I will take a photo in my mind as to how it appears at that moment.

I planted several Morning Glory seeds this early Spring. Soaked them for a day in water bath, and fertilized them well as they began to sprout. I planted nine different varieties, but of course my favorite Morning Glory was this pink edged one. We’ve had too much heavy rains this summer, and a good portion of my gardens suffered as a result. It actually “soaked n croaked” some of my favorite plantings.

There’s a wonderful residence on our walk to the nearby neighborhood park that boasts of the most gorgeous hydrangeas. I too have several, but somehow never this great clarity of hue

I drool as we near these bushes, and love to photograph them. I tell the gal what I do and I plan to stitch these someday. She just doesn’t know I have already done so (Leaflet #10) .

My all-time favorite Spring Show is my double Angelique Tulips. This year they were especially vibrant, and often the walkers in our neighborhood will stop by to admire. I am so proud of these. Some of the original bulbs are fifteen years old now. I have lost a few over the years, but I keep adding to them. Can never be caught without these soft pink beauties.

My inspirations often are generated from a soothing flower garden, sometimes my own. I will return to my studio with my colored pencils and drawing board, and begin my sketches. Today unfortunately so many of the designers have relied on the digital drawing programs. I just have a difficult time with this being true and talented art. My lifelong habits are hard for me to change, and my best results have always been generated from my drawings. In the 1970’s – late 1990’s I still charted all of my printed graphs by hand. Literally drawing all of those little color symbols on graph paper. In some respects, I am a dinosaur, but today I have adapted to a software that allows me to chart my final graphs once I have stitched my “model” from my hand-drawn etchings. Some old gals don’t like change.

My first chapter of “Inspirations” had to include some of my favorite flower moments before the Wisconsin Winter nips their beauty, and once again that good ole white blanket covers them til Spring arrives again. I love our change of Seasons, and look forward to these next crisp bright Autumn days ahead. Please join me again to catch up on my next inspirations. It happens daily, and I shall return to capture the next memorable moments with you soon. Thanks for visiting my inspiring thoughts here.

I leave you with one of the fondest sites in our yard. On May 28, 2009 my first grandchild was born. Stella Irene. I was then working at the local hospital where my daughter gave birth, and was blessed to be there to welcome this sweet little “curly girl” into our lives. After working my evening shift, I returned home and planted a Stellata or Star Magnolia tree beside our driveway. I have taken her photo every year in front of our tree on her birthday since the day she was brought home from the hospital. Both are blossoming quite well, and I am so tickled to share them with you.