Thoughts: we say them, we think them, we action them and for one reason or another, so often we do nothing with them. They can come and go like an autumn leaf in the wind or stay with us like the blanket we’ll never throw away.
They can comfort and hurt, inspire and destroy, bring love and stir hate. They don’t even need to be spoken. Sometimes the things left unsaid punch the hardest.
When my dad died, I had things I wanted to say. We lit a fire, wrote notes and burned them, thinking the smoke would take our messages to wherever he was. When I started painting, I used handmade cards to share messages with all those I love. I still do.
I don’t want people to question my support, my appreciation, my intentions and hopes. Life is busy, we race around in every direction not always taking the time to stop and share those thoughts which should be shared.
As I stood in my studio this month, I knew I wanted to create something with meaning. Not just for me, but for those who have thoughts but feel crippled to share them. Message in Bottle is the result of much contemplation.
Glass bottles have been vessels for secret thoughts for centuries, churning through waves to be washed up miles from where they began. I grew up on a windswept coastline and can’t walk along a shore without looking for worn colored glass. A jar of treasured shards sits among my paints.
In Victorian times flowers were used to share secrets. They communicated parental love, illicit notions, hope, sympathy, and friendship. Florals are so often my subject of choice, bringing incredible moments of joy to my time in the studio.
Every creation from Message in a Bottle is intended to share a notion between two people, and I start my own message with one of thanks, for you and all those who are on this journey with me.