Case in point, a couple of weeks ago I took J to a dear old family friend's house for a little photo shoot. Charles is a very talented artist, who lives a little unconventionally - like most artists. He lives alone in his studio. It is a beautiful clearing at the base of Tally Mountain. He has meadows of daffodils around his studio - dozens of varieties. (But that will be a special story for another day...)
The other thing that Charles has is "bottle trees". I'm sure most of my readers do not have a clue what I am talking about, so I will show you.
(That sheepish figure trying to hide behind the base is Charles. I consider him part of my family because he's been around as long as most of the blood members. I really need to find out how he ended up in our family, but it really wouldn't change where we are now - lol).
Yes, this is petrified pine logs with bottles lining the trunk and branches - exactly what it looks like. But if you look deeper, you will see where someone took such painstaking measures to make sure every bottle was placed in it's on spot. And look a little closer, and you will see where some bottles were placed where they could radiate their own color in the sunlight....
Sadly, photos do not do justice to what these things looked like with the sun rays dancing over the colors - it really is a sight. I was mesmerized. Charles told me that a census worker had came by earlier in the week - how she found him up the little pig trial that leads to the studio, I do not know! He said she walked right by the trees and stood emotionless at the door. She never even looked up from her clipboard. He said it was odd for someone not to have any reaction to his creations - he usually gets some feedback whether it be a skeptical "Interesting...", or a "man, I wish I had a BB gun", or "That's alot of bottles!" This lady....nothing.
He turned to me, and asked me what I thought. I immediately said "Joy!" He asked me was it because of the pretty colors. I shook my head and said "No, I say that because it obviously brings you joy. There is no way that you would put forth the time and energy if you didn't enjoy it. I don't have to understand it or 'get it' - it's your joy." He smiled and nodded, and I knew for once I had gotten it right.
And on the way home, I thought about it, and realized we all probably have our own type of "bottle trees". Our friends and family don't really understand it. They try to humor us and nod and smile when they see it, but they really don't "get it". But that's okay.....it's not really for them to "get". It's about doing something that brings us joy.
My "bottle tree" is scrapbooking - I do love it. The whole process of reliving the memories behind the photos in my mind, picking out pretty paper, trying to put a new twist on things with each new page. It's okay, you don't have to "get it" - it doesn't lessen the joy I get out of it just because it brings no value to you.
So what's your "bottle tree"? If you don't have one, you really should find one - it will enrich your life more than you could imagine.
~MM
2 comments:
Wow, those are really great!! Who would have ever thought they were junky. They are beautiful!
My joy is quilting as well as writing. I have seen bottle trees before and it never ceases to amaze me at how lovely they are.
Wonderful post.
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