I’ve been visiting the Chicago Flower and Garden Show annually for several years now and one of the reasons I love it is because it makes me hopeful that winter is on the way out and spring is around the corner. In this case, spring arrived (at least on the calendar) on Wednesday, March 20. We still need to wait a couple of months before we can plant any vegetables but I’m hoping to get started with growing my herbs indoors next month before I bring them outside. Baby steps, friends!
Pink tulips are my favorite spring flower. Seeing them annually at the Chicago Flower & Garden Show makes me smile.
Women’s Journeys in Fiber usually has an exhibit at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show and I love to walk through it and take in the art. This one by Natasha Lehrer Lewis made me pause. It’s not big but it caught my attention. The theme of this year’s exhibit had to do with time and her piece, entitled Time, asks the viewer to try and recall the last time we took the time to stop and smell the roses. The piece has a little girl clutching flowers, inhaling their aroma and appreciating the sunny day and the innocence of childhood. “In time, storm clouds of life gathered in the distance, and the rumblings of adulthood could be heard,” the artist writes in her description of the piece. “Before long, these clouds hung over us, dark with the cares that now preoccupy our once creative minds.”
She goes on to write, “I am learning more with each passing day, to make choices and find balance for my soul. Never let the child-like innocence be clouded out by your storm clouds. Life is just too short.”
The art piece by Natasha Lehrer Lewis made me pause. Perhaps not to smell the roses, but to consider how I’m trying to balance the storm clouds and life’s demands with more opportunities to feed my creative soul.
It was another great week of seeing friends and meeting new ones. I’m really enjoying these artist dates as well as getting out to see people. This winter has been brutal for me so it’s nice to feel more alive and happy. Thank goodness the sun has been making more appearances, too!