Nature As Inspiration

While on a walk through a local outdoor mall my husband pointed out this tree.  He was looking at where the tree had been trimmed.  To him it was an "eye" looking at him.  I had to agree....those cuts on the tree created eyes that made it seem as if the tree came to life and could look at us as we passed by.  Maybe it was a trick of the evening darkness and street lights or it really was and eye?

My husband was taking photos and I could not resist snapping a few shots of my own with my phone camera.  Later, as he was processing his photos, we enjoyed a lively discussion about what we each saw and how we interpreted it differently.

So here are my photos.

 

I put them together in a collage and copied each one and flipped it so I had pairs of eyes.  Who knows when and where it may pop up again in one of my fiber designs.

Before I left the tree, I pointed my camera up and took a picture of the leaves overhead.  I have always had a fascination with trees and often try to personify them.  This was another opportunity to take a moment, observe, fantasize, dream and wonder about the little miracles that surround us.

Knowing Yourself

Living in a big city, some days I wake up feeling crowded.  While there are a lot of benefits to living here, their are times I long for the quiet and space of the country.  Today was one of those days.   I needed to organize my studio which has become crowded with unfinished projects.  After several attempts to rearrange furniture, pick up and declutter, I realized all I was accomplishing was feeling frustrated and more crowded.

 I finally decided to get in my car and go for a short drive.  The beauty of the Phoenix Valley is that in any direction you can drive a few minutes from the various downtowns and be out in what feels like the middle of nowhere.  I love that our state has so many open spaces and beautiful vistas.  So off I went....knowing that 5 minutes up the road I would encounter the following fields and mountains.  I pulled off the road for a bit and just took it all in.  Then it occurred to me that others might enjoy the view as well.

As with most problems, when you allow a little space or a short distraction between what isn't working and what you are trying to accomplish, it looks different when you return.  I see this all the time when I am teaching someone a new knitting skill and they can't seem to get it.  If they just allow themselves a few moments to get up, walk around the store and then return to the classroom, it somehow relaxes them enough that they can master the task they are wanting to learn.

For me, I returned to the studio and the rearranging and clean up looked so much easier than it had before I left.  I have to remember that a visual of open space relaxes me and then my brain can sort out the problem before me.  (Where is the holodeck when you need one?)

New Ideas-New Direction

Lately I have been spending a lot of my knitting design time learning about Social Media.  I have managed to figure out Instagram and some of the blogging features.  I even found a way to link Ravelry patterns to the blog.  For a lot of you, the idea of all the media is nothing new.  For me, even though I use my computer and phone a lot, the media and connecting everything is quite new.  I get the concepts and big picture, it's those pesky details that hang me up.

There are many reasons besides "its good business" to blog.  Probably the reason I hear most often, is it that it becomes kind of a journal of your day to day life.  With the photo apps and photo dependent social media, we can document a lot of the same things with photos and videos.  I like a nice mix of words and photos, with occasional videos.  That's my preference when I am doing the posting.  However, I have to admit though, I really enjoy the browsing aspects of the photos on Instagram.  There is so much talent and beauty in our world and Instagram is a great way for people to share.