Artistic License

A few years ago my friend Sam and I drove to Wisconsin to do some shopping at Turtle Island Beads. It was the tail end of fall, nature's last breath of color before snow sprinkled the world with white. This particular morning was overcast and for most of the drive the scenery was wrapped in a blanket of gray. I was a little disappointed by the lack of visual stimulation along the way, as I had high hopes for my first glimpse of the turning leaves in that part of the country. I was consoled by the images of brilliant white windmills that eventually lined up along the highway ~ a stark contradiction to the muted sky.

We reached the top of the next random hill and it was suddenly as if the sun had been saving its light all morning waiting for that moment to explode. The view before us was blazing~ the colors melting into each other so that one tree was indistinguishable from the next. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, a spiritual experience shared with the original artist. I didn't have my camera then and I don't have the words now, but the first thing I did once we reached our destination was select beads to make this bracelet...an homage to God's beauty.


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The trees here in southern Alabama are mostly pine. There are no blazes of color to punctuate the change of season, and some years even the gentle temperature drop isn't much of a harbinger. Fall is easy to miss.

I found myself inspired* to create a new Autumn, unfettered by tradition and expectation. One that exists not to capture the season, but to imagine it~

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* This book fuels my hopeful imagination~ "A Travel Guide to Heaven" by Anthony DeStefano ~ a must read for every Christian artist.