Rays of Hope

Biden's speech was wonderful as was Amanda Gorman's poem.  They both presented a world of hope, of promise, of potential.  Joy!  I took this blip yesterday knowing I wanted to project a positive image today.

Prophet's Wheel by Martha Tabor (made with curly willow, hickory and poplar)
Extra:  The special place it has in/outside our home.  
Though this is the Nation's day, I can't help but include a little history of my own because this, too, provides a feeling of hope.  Martha showed her first of five Prophet's Wheels on our property in Highland, Maryland.  We used to host Open Studio every summer where artists from the Baltimore and Washington, DC area would hang, set, install or perform their art outside among the trees in the forest that was our property. The entire neighborhood was invited in to see and to buy if they chose.

When I saw her magical piece my heart cried out to have it for my own home, but the musician and I could not afford the asking price. I didn't know Martha at the time, but we became fast friends, and like Michael Gessner (who was our original connection), she would come out to our property to gather wood for her sculptures and to let her two dogs run free.  

Sadly, Martha passed away far before she should have.  All of her unsold art she willed to The Friends (Quakers) community to which she belonged.  This piece, however, had been damaged, one ray had broken off and therefore deemed somehow of little value.  Michael was offered the piece but he declined, suggesting instead it go to us, knowing how much I loved Martha's work.  A gift, from a friend, from The Friends.

The lesson: keep hope alive, project your dreams into the future, believe in them...you never know how or when they will materialize.