Simple Beauty & Possibility Series

This altar is titled Simple Beauty and was created in Ashland last summer.  It features a zinnia bloom, surrounded by alstroemeria petals and hops! 

The flowers were part of a bouquet gifted to me by my friend Marga Laube.  The flowers were grown and arranged by Fry Family Farms. The hops are from a tree in my neighborhood. I love their shape and color and didn't know they were hops until I snapped a photo and looked it up online. I am loving learning the names of things that draw my eye - and it's extra fun when I discover that I know a name like "hops" but have no idea what hops looks like growing on a tree! 

Typically, when I create an Earth Altar outdoors, I leave it there so that nature can take its course. If I'm in a public place, I also love knowing that it could delight passers-by with a little dose of unexpected beauty. Also, I'm usually in a meditative space - not listening to a podcast or talking with anybody. Simply being present with the earth and the precious bits of her bounty that I'm placing on the ground. 

With this design, however, I was in fact talking on the phone with a friend who was feeling stuck around a difficult situation. I was offering reflection and encouragement for seeing many possibilities - multiple ways to get unstuck. Spontaneously, without really thinking about it, I began placing the flowers in a variety of patterns. I would take a photo and then re-arrange the pieces again in a new design. After we got off the phone, I sent her a collage of 9 different designs created with the same few flowers. I love the simplicity of Simple Beauty - thus the name. And I love the kaleidoscope nature of the "Possibility Series."

Possibility Series 
Same few flowers, arranged in multiple designs.

The Simple Beauty Earth Altar is available as a 12x12 square canvas print, a 16x20 canvas print, and greetings cards through my online shop. Through April 15th, all Simple Beauty items are 25% off! ​

---