Turn Left For Inspiration
As many of you know, creating women in glass has a special place in my heart. Recently, I was working on a series of goddesses and had the idea to make a Goddess of the Desert. I have to attribute the original spark for this one to my son, who is an avid succulent and cacti gardener. Every time he comes to visit, we search for new sources of these quite amazing and beautiful plants and add them to my burgeoning garden. (Given the severe drought we are in right now, I could not be happier to have plants that don't need much water!)
So I had the vision to create her hair from Prickly Pear Cactus Blossoms and then position her so she'd be watching over a desert landscape replete with blooming cacti and succulents. I used a torch to bend strings of glass to make her head and shoulders and saw my vision start to come to life. Here is the progression.
And that's where I got stuck. So I grabbed my dogs and, with a fellow glass artist and her dog, headed to the mountains for vacation. As we drove, I told her about how my son had taught me to "turn left," to follow the road where it leads, turn and explore when something catches my interest, or just meander. So we decided to adopt that approach for the ride home.
Our journey took us through the high desert in spring, and the blooms were vibrant and amazing. We "turned left" often and saw not only the lovely flowers and plants but discovered other amazing sights, both natural and manmade.
And low and behold, I found the inspiration I needed to finish the Goddess of the Desert.
