Finding Inspiration In Nature
I’ve always been one to love being outside. Feeling the warm sunshine on my skin, the wind through my hair, and the ground on my bare feet. It seems nature pulls a sense of peace out of a hiding place within me and quiets my soul. Whether it be the big beautiful blue ocean or snowflakes frozen in trees, the wonder and awe of nature provides me with inspiration for my art and for my life.
About two years ago I committed to doing a mental strength challenge with my family, called 75 Hard. For 75 days you needed to complete the following: drink 1 gallon of water, read 10 pages of a non-fiction book, complete a 45 min workout inside, complete a 45 min workout outside, follow a diet, have no alcohol, and take a progress picture. Each of these tasks needed to be completed each day for 75 consecutive days. If you could not complete any task in a day, you went back to day 1 and had to restart.
This challenge increased my mental toughness and called me to be accountable to myself. The more value I allowed my voice to have, the more confident I began to be. As an individual I began to grow, some friendships ended because we were now at different levels, but what remained strong was my willpower to keep going.
During the 45 min workout outside, I chose to go for walks. Now, I began this challenge on January 1st, and if you know anything about northeast Ohio, you know that the remaining 74 days to follow would include some extremely cold temperatures and unideal weather changes. These walks outside became my favorite part of each day.
Yes, there were times I left complaining, but by the end of the walk, my mind was proud of myself for doing it because it was SO beneficial to me.
Being outside gave me opportunities to view a world so much bigger than just myself.
I became intrigued with this world that was always seconds away from me, but with so many distractions I often overlooked it. What fascinated me the most was watching birds fly above me, the changing reflection/colors of the water, the way wind can only be seen by its effects, and the transformation of the sky in a minute’s glance. Here’s why.
Watching birds fly inspires me. I love how they open their wings and just fearlessly let go, knowing that they will arrive where the wind takes them. Hearing their songs in the morning, brings me joy. I love how no words are needed but while listening you can hear a song of praise. In my art, I use elements of nature as metaphors for my emotions. A way to connect the viewer to something unexplainable by using something familiar. In my work birds are symbolic of a few different things: letting go of everything that weighs you down so you can rise up, moving towards a dream, or an angel guiding me. There are moments in life when I doubt that my wings can carry me to where I want to go, perhaps where I want to go is simply too far out of reach. This is when I need to let go of my doubts, and other’s approval that can feel like a weight pulling me down. Because as soon as I drop that weight, I can allow the wind to support my wings and take me farther than I could have ever imagined. In my world, the wind is my God. I often view birds as messengers or angels as well. With repeated sightings in odd places, I find certain birds to hold spiritual meanings in my life. I feel affirmed seeing a cardinal watching me in a tree or a blue heron fly above me.
The changing colors and reflections on top of the water captivate my full attention. As I carefully observe the way light bounces off the edge of the ripples, and how shadow reveals the depth to the water I find comfort in the complexity. In my art, I love using color to transform a flat surface into one with dimension and life. The reason I find comfort in the complexity of water is because I relate it to myself. I am a complex individual. There is so much more than light reflecting off my surface. There are scars and stories where I was broken that now allow light to pour through. It comforts me to see waves and stillness in the same body of water. My view on it does not change based on what the water is going through. It never appears weak; it always seems like a powerful force to me. This inspires my work because of the similarities water has to humanity. We must learn a lesson from the water and not view ourselves as weak when we are going through storms, but remember the power within us that keeps us going. The complexity of our stories is what makes us beautiful and powerful.
Wind. So mysterious to me. Though never seen, you can see its effects on the world. You can see trees sway, blades of grass move, water ripple, feel your hair blow, etc. While wind is simply part of everyday life there is so much inspiration it can hold. I love showing movement in my artwork, this is often inspired by how I have observed the wind moving things around me. Sometimes I use expressive brushstrokes to show this movement or a color change. Either way, it is representative of a greater force. Having faith requires believing without seeing. While God is not so easily observed, the way He works in this world can be viewed in a similar way to the wind. We can see His effects on the world. Understanding this concept was made easier by looking at nature. I find inspiration in nature because it often holds the answers.
Lastly, the sky, a unique ever-changing masterpiece. While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I truly believe the sky is the most beautiful. I love that it is never the same. As mentioned, before I find parallels between nature and emotion. As a highly sensitive individual, my emotions are constantly changing. There have been times in my life I felt cursed by my ability to feel things so strongly, but the sky has shown me change is wonderful. That it is okay to be a different version of myself than I was the day before and to have grace on my past self because I didn’t know what I know now. The sky has inspired my work and teaches me acceptance. Acceptance in the various parts of me as an individual and acceptance in the everchanging journey I am on.
We have been given a beautiful, complex, wonder-filled world. It surrounds us, yet everyday distractions surround us more. It took a mental toughness challenge to force me to get outside every day. What began as a punishment turned into a gift. I get into cycles where I forget about this free gift that is right on the other side of my door, but when I reflect, the most transformative times in my life were met with nature encompassing me. It is in my favorite pieces of art where symbols of nature can be found.
I find many similarities between nature and emotion, and the best way to communicate that to my viewer is to meet them with something they know and take them somewhere unfamiliar.
