Well into the latter half of the month, I still had an undecorated area in my house, post Christmas. The vintage wooden sieve was still empty, in the middle of my little dining room table. The last couple of years, I’ve slowly redecorated the house after putting Christmas décor away, allowing inspiration to guide me. But I was beginning to wonder if a) I should go ahead and create a vignette, even though I didn’t have a clue about what to put there…or b) the sieve was going to remain empty.
What I discovered today was that inspiration always shows up, exactly when it is supposed to.
I was working in the bedroom, clearing space and creating a “place for everything and everything in its place”, when I came across two brown and yellow striped placemats. Pausing to touch the fabric, I immediately felt the tap of inspiration. In moments I was receiving a visual download, an image of the wooden sieve, with a fresh vignette. These placemats were the foundational pieces, literally lining the interior of the sieve, and inspiring the colors for the vignette.
The project came together quickly after that. An old crocheted doily joined the placemats.The simple arrangement within the sieve included a white ceramic pitcher filled with rusty jingle bells and dark red and golden yellow picks, and the vintage china doll with her rustic dress.
The sieve arrangement rests atop a dark red, brown and gold table runner. At either end of the runner, my favorite wire cloches cover fat white pillar candles and red and gold wreaths, centered on white and yellow plates.
I love the way this vignette came together. The nature inspired colors remind me of winter’s more somber attire. The bright yellow plates hint that spring, with its abundant sunshine, is not far away.
My favorite piece in this vignette is the old time piece, displayed in a small cloche. It is a simple gold pocket watch. And its inclusion in the vignette amuses me. Every time I look at it, I will be reminded that I wondered when inspiration was going to show up to guide me in creating this vignette.
The great artist Picasso said, “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”
I get that. Rather than sitting around, waiting for this particular inspiration to arrive, I have been creating other art and having creative fun. I’ve wondered when it would be time to create in the wooden sieve. But I didn’t postpone other creations. I was working on creating space, when the tap came today.
Inspiration arrives, every time, exactly on time. I am learning deeper trust.
