I love to explore new creative pathways, to find new ways to express myself. Last year, that new creative pathway was learning woodcarving, aka whittling.
And that starts messy, because even if you would like to, you can't just paint the most beautiful artwork, or write the most successful book.
You start with one word, one brushstroke, one lesson that resonates within.
You plant a seed, you experiment, you take the time to grow, to expand.
But you start with the seed, the stumbling moment when you first take a leap.
I couldn't carve a smooth surface in wood. Now, I can.
Because I took a first step. I planted the seed.
I've planted many creative seeds in my life.
As a child, I knitted the doll hat with all the uneven stitches, I wrote the tentative first poems. I wrote the short story idea that I had.
And, more recently, I made the uneven, wobbly carving of an elephant.
That wobbly elephant was my creative seed.
I can only dream of what creative endeavours it will sprout into.
