This new artwork with it's old book pages, handmade polymer embellishments, and neutral color palette has a touch of vintage style. So many of us find joy when we reminisce on things of the past. I know it makes my heart happy. Right now outside my studio window, the hollyhocks I planted last year are blooming. I couldn't wait to see what color was going to burst forth when they opened. I remember loving the hollyhocks in my Grandmother's yard. I also remember one day when we were watering, and her telling me that it takes two years for hollyhocks to bloom. What a strange thing for me to remember, but sure enough, forty years later, it still takes two years to enjoy those beautiful tissue paper thin blooms.I also loved the little ring of black seeds. Now I'm patently waiting for the pods to dry and the seeds to mature. I'm looking forward to sharing the experience with my kids. They'll probably grow up and say, "do you remember how freaky Mom was about her hollyhocks?" As I think back to the day I planted those flowers, and the disappointment when I realized I wouldn't be seeing those blooms anytime soon. It makes me think of the time I've invested into my art, and the time I've spent wondering when I would see the harvest. It's so easy to want to break open that seedpod to early and find the immature green seeds inside. It's much harder to wait for God's perfect timing and reaping the right harvest at the appropriate time. That's when faith, and hope, and works, and dreams, come together and in the end you are looking at your harvest with a smile on your face. What harvest are you waiting for?
