Blessings and Inner Wisdom

I am so incredibly fortunate to live in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. I love looking at the mountains and seeing how they change. Being located near the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park, we have an exceptional landscape.

While I always appreciate the view, and express my joy and gratitude at this blessing, I had a new experience today. I thought about how painters and photographers can capture this beauty and rather than being discouraged that I can't capture it in stone, it got me thinking about how can I capture that feeling in my media?

That thought brought back a vivid memory of my childhood. When I was a kid, living in Japan, we learned Bonkei. This is an art of building small landscapes in trays. They are designed to be temporary. I recall making mountains, valleys, rivers and lakes. This has me thinking that I might have a different theme coming up--just because I have chosen to work in stone doesn't mean that I have to work exclusively in stone. And even if I do, I can be creative in how I work with stone. One of the great things about art is that there really aren't any rules. Sure you start with rules, but then you also figure out how to break them.

I'm excited about the idea that I can broaden my work. Interesting to note that thinking about painting may help me to evolve my sculpture! And that I got this inspiration right "around the corner" from my own home! Not at a show, not at a museum, not through a "teacher"...through my own communion with my inner wisdom and the universe this inspiration came through!