two hundred and eighty

I’ve learned over the years that when inspiration strikes there’s not much I can do other than wait it out.

Today, the leaves that had fallen outside the Post Office caught Catherine’s eye. She carefully collected up red, green and brown leaves into a neat pile. Her plan was to take them home and use them to make a “picture of a rose. You know, the red leaves will be the rose, the green will be the stem and the brown can be the dirt.”

These bursts of inspiration often lead us to having several collections gathering dust in the back of the car, but don’t always lead to a finished art project. I was thinking of those times as I tapped my foot waiting for these leaves to get collected. How many dry, crumbly leaves would I be cleaning out of the car later on?!?

In the end, I am always glad that I wait it out. Today we did see the rose picture finished. Usually, though, we don’t end up with a final product.

With all of this collecting and art (or non art) I am forced to consider which part of the process is the most important, after all? The inspiration? Experimenting with raw materials? The end result? And who should be the one to make that decision?