WIP: Creating on the Road Again

This weekend we (my family) took a very long drive. We tripped over to visit my in-law's, and it's about a 7 hour drive from home. We did it on Friday and then back again on Sunday. I have learned through the years of these trips to use the time well. My husband and I chat about whatever we're thinking of for a while, and then fall silent, then chat again when something else comes to mind. It surprises me how many little things I think to tell him when we're together which don't normally get said throughout the day's busy-ness. I also brought along some fabric and stitching supplies and worked a bit as we traveled. The little quilt at left was something I began on our way home- just for the fun of playing. It feels now when I look at it that it has a message for me but I can't tell what. The look of it is similar to the other little quilts I've done several of this last year. It's not new, but there's something new about it and I can't tell what.

But maybe the message of it is something like this: Like the road we took on our trip, our art can seem well traveled sometimes. We don't always experience that thrill of excitement that comes with discovering something new. But if we continue to travel that road we'll make discoveries and it will be rewarding in a new way. As if we're finding out something new about an old friend- it delights us. I've been doing the wire and fabric art for over two years now. The longest trip artistically I've ever been on. Usually I flit all over the place from one medium to another. At times I miss the excitement of the doing something completely new all the time. But at other times, like this last trip, when I was able to sit and chat with my husband, and play at this new little quilt, I appreciate I'm able to just sit back and indulge in those small moments of discovery and connection. We're trained to fall in love with the brand new in our culture, but when we discover something new in the familiar there's a joy there too. By continuing on the path we're on, instead of trying everything and anything all the time, we make discoveries we would never have had the experience to reach if we had not continued on the road we were on.

Creating on the road again. What road are you currently on? What new paths have you discovered because you're continuing on a familiar path? What new discoveries? Just something to think about.....