Leaves of Change

The day I decided that bottle leaves were needed for the flower basket, I dove into making the most perfect uniform curved leaves possible.  The idealistic ones that I had envisioned in my head.  As with most of my creative pursuits, I found very quickly that this was going to be practically impossible with the materials and methods I was using. Then came the pivot.  Instead of traditional glass scoring and breaking methods I got curious about what other ways I might get the curved blanks I desired.  What followed were some tedious trials, without the results I wanted.  Then came the hammer, which if I’m being honest, mostly out of frustration.

I tend to get some pretty big ideas about what things should look like. The more I learn to take a step back and go with the flow, instead of my grandiose expectations….often the magic happens.  I had plenty of bottles.  The hammer didn’t need to produce everything I needed right away.  So, I broke a few extra bottles to get to the desired destination and that was okay. With every swing, there was a sense of freedom, as I released the expectations of how I thought things should go.  Freedom to just be curious and discover regardless of the outcome.  It did not disappoint, in fact it felt revolutionary. Plus, smashing stuff with a hammer is quite cathartic. 

What resulted was better than anything I could have planned.  The bottles broke in so many different ways. Each shard a different shape and feel.  The randomness of it all was beautiful to me.  As I let go of my original notions of perfection, I found that these were better and more unique than what I had planned for. The really neat part was realizing that I could still shape these shards to a desired outcome. I couldn’t control everything but I could take what was in front of me and make it into something I loved. Actually, I loved this more than my original idea.

The leaves came to symbolize chapters as I attached them to the project.  We can have so many expectations and hopes for what should be in life.  Sometimes we have to slow down, learn to pivot with what life actually dishes out, and mold what is into something that resonates with us.  The more I learn to accept things that I cannot control and to spend my energy choosing those that I can influence, the more peaceful and fulfilled my life becomes.  These leaves were a great exercise in creative flexibility, discovery, and curiosity. That is why I love art so much.  Creating is truly a journey; an exploration of the heart, mind, and soul.