A Happier State of Mind

“To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.”
~ George Santayana

I am more like hopefully in love with all the seasons.

In early October I was surprised to see snow that did not stop all day long. Welcome to Wisconsin, where winter comes early. Luckily, it didn’t stay. Okay, not that much anyway.

This year I have been watching the changing of the seasons more closely than I ever have before. Is that an artists’ eye or do I just have more time on my hands? I like to think that I am taking time to notice things more fully, and everything I notice becomes the idea for the next project.

The colors have been so very vibrant, so alive, and so inspiring this Fall. Maybe it is because the time is so short-lived to enjoy the color that I love it so. Nature is one of the greatest inspirations. Everywhere I look there is another inspiration and I can’t help translating that vision into a piece of jewelry in my mind. There will never be enough time for me to honor the changing of the seasons appropriately. But maybe that is just how my mind works.

I was looking back through my summer photos and came across a day at the Farmer’s Market.

I loved seeing all the rows of red onions and carrots and rhubarb.

Not to mention the amazing bouquets of flowers (and just look at that bumblebee, will you? Stunning!)

The colors were so very fresh and alive at that time, it is hard to believe that this was only a few weeks ago. Today the trees have shaken off their cloak of many colors in the cold and the rain and the snow and the wind of this past week. We will be left with black sticks real soon. And can frosty windowpanes be far behind? I have tucked these hot-house images away to be revisited in the dead of winter, when I tire of the cold and the bleak gray of days. These pictures will certainly inspire me to create some fun-loving summertime jewelry.

Despite the sadness that comes with a change I am not ready for, I am reveling in the possibilities. My life is experiencing a bit of upheaval right now and I have been absent from my studio. I miss that space. I am hoping that there will be a calm coming so I can look forward to the cozy warmth of my studio, a cup of tea, some soft music and the uninterrupted time to create. And inspiration to interpret the changing of the seasons into jewelry.

How about you? Do you have changing seasons where you are? If so, what is your favorite and why? How does the changing weather affect your creative process?

If you like what Erin Prais-Hintz has to say, and would like to read more, please stop by her blog http://treasures-found.blogspot.com and tell her what you think or check out a gallery of her work at her website www.tesoritrovati.com.