Sometimes it’s hard to remember why we settled ourselves and our work at the top of this hill. Our location brings plenty of challenges our way. But the truth is that we love it. And lately, our art has been sending us a not-so-subtle reminder.
This year, an airing of our grievances might include some remark about our need to tractor crates down our driveway. As I’ve mentioned (perhaps way too many times), we live about a half mile off the “hard road” up through forest and fields. So Ben uses the tractor to take freight shipments down to get picked up by a tractor trailer. This system is great on an occasional basis, but as a regular thing, it leaves us wondering why (oh why) we settled ourselves in such an obscure location.
And on top of being obscure…it’s also wild! Ben woke up one morning recently, in the pre-dawn blackness (as he does), expecting to complete his usual livestock care routine…only to discover that a bear had visited earlier in the night.
Ben found feed bins turned over, and many things scattered about. But Ben wasn’t about to be deterred by a big, black, furry creature. He secured everything before evening fell, and strung up some large Christmas lights – not for the bear’s holiday party, but to discourage prowling. So far, so good. Our fingers are crossed. And bear season is right around the corner, so perhaps a local hunter will take care of our pesky visitor.
As you can see, we do find difficulties with our location. But thankfully, any of our complaints are easily overshadowed by art of the heart.
We often go into creating a new collection without a clear vision in mind. I’ve talked before here about our creative process, and the meandering road it can take (much like our own driveway). We recently created a small collection of new pieces, in which hearts emerged as a design focus. In previous years, I may have deemed it too cheesy – but for whatever reason (perhaps our subconscious trying to remind us how much we love our work and our home) we felt it entirely appropriate!
We created a console table with the suggestion of a heart in the center, a heart ornament, and a heart tree topper. But, funny enough, my favorite piece is our new wall sculpture that features a cozy little home in the midst of a big heart (I’m surprised we didn’t add a long driveway and a few bears!).
The truth of the matter is that home is definitely where my heart is. No matter how much trouble it may be at times, I love our home tucked in the woods, with lots of space to roam…ah!
So don’t take our word for it. Take our art for it – we’re exactly where we want to be!
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