I stepped out my front door one day, going somewhere I now don’t remember. These two brightly coloured leaves on the startled me with their sunlit dazzle! I got my camera as close to them as possible without getting a blurry photo. I love how it turned out; the colourful leaves are juxtaposed against the hard, pebbly, and dull-coloured cement of the steps. I love how the sense of late afternoon sun reflects off them. The colours remind me of the linen towels I made earlier this year. This photo and the others that follow are results of my efforts to notice beauty in unexpected places of the everyday.
On a more recent autumn evening, I had my mind buried in a project I’d been working on for weeks (to learn about this exciting new direction, sign up for my newsletter with the form below!). I had hardly had time to do anything else, let alone lift my head to look around for beauty. However, this was very difficult to miss – I looked out the window that evening after tutoring, and the clouds were ablaze with reflections of sunlight! I forced myself to take five minutes to go outside and take a few photos and to simply look. I dreamed of splashing watercolour paints onto paper, in shades of yellow, orange, purple, blue, and gray. Watching this scene brought me out of my head for a few blessed minutes.
In October, I attended a local Mawio’mi; a gathering for Mi’kmaq and other Indigenous people in this region. I completely loved watching all the dancing going on, with women in beautiful ribbon skirts, jingle dresses, and other brightly coloured clothing; and men and children wearing similarly colourful and adorned clothing. I also enjoyed visiting many vendor booths where people were selling their beautiful artwork, crafts, and food. I wanted to purchase a pair of earrings or a painting from nearly everyone who was selling their handmade items! Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to browse as deeply as I had wanted to. However, I did choose two ornaments for a Christmas tree, as you can see below. The woman who made them told me that the handpainted felt turtle represents Turtle Island, which many people also refer to as North America. The circular ornament with a painting of a woman wearing a red dress is meant to be a reminder about all the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. The circle itself is made from the animal skin that drums are made from.
Speaking of vendors, I have had no time this autumn to participate in craft shows. I’ve had no time to sit down to work on new creations. It’s a good thing I have multiple creative interests, because at least I can work on small creative tasks here and there!
However, I do have handmade items for sale in my shop! Please stop by and have a look; perhaps something catches your eye for yourself or for a gift during the upcoming holiday season. Personally, I love the deep reds for this time of year, such as this pair of earrings, this cushion cover, and this pair of cashmere mittens.
What natural beauty are you noticing this autumn, leading into December? Please let me know in the comments!
