"MOMMY, LOOK WHAT I MADE TODAY!"
Everyday my kids come home from school and start unloading their backpacks and I get a flood of “Mommy, look what I made today!”(s) They pull papers out left and right and all at once the counter is full of their creations. They’re so proud. And so am I. It’s hard to decide what to hang on the wall, what to keep for later…and yes, even what to toss. I’m not so good at the toss part. My basement is proof of that. Bins and bins full of their art and stories. But here’s what’s on my walls right now.
Self Portraits from the twins. Remarkable how well they captured their own features.
And this one from Anni. Hearing her tell the story of what is going on with all these fishies is a hoot.
The longer Plume has been open…the less time I find to create anything of my own. My creative outlet has become the bigger picture. The curating, the styling, the arranging…and re-arranging. the building of relationships with artists and customers. the writing. the planning. It’s how it has to be for now. I’m laying the foundation for something bigger to come. I’m nurturing this baby of mine and making sure she can stand on her own someday.
Don’t get me wrong, business Kelly, loves every second of this. Customers ask all the time….”Do you make all this stuff?” Most days, I proudly say “No, there are about 100 local artists responsible for all this amazing stuff.” But sometimes, Creative Kelly has days where I feel dry…unable to see the progress in the big picture..and craving to see something of my very own hands in the shop.
Last summer, I met a sweet customer in the shop and she ordered some unstained, unpainted pallet canvases. I learned she was pregnant with a son who would require some pretty serious, life saving, heart surgeries as soon as he was born. She wanted to paint some scripture on them that would encourage their family. Jeremy built the canvases and she picked them up and in passing, knowing what a stressful time they were about to endure, I offered to paint them for her, at no cost, if she couldn’t get them done. Several months later the unpainted pallets still sat in her garage and she decided to take me up on my offer.
Unfortunately, the same unpainted pallets sat in my garage for another several months. Staring at me every time I pulled into the driveway. I really did want to help this sweet family but there was a part of me that kept asking myself what on earth I was thinking offering to paint…because I just simply don’t really have that creative luxury right now.
About a month ago it was a warm day and I did finally stain them, but then they sat…again.
This is stained with dark walnut minwax stain.
And then Sunday…it happened. The skies opened up and the rains came and the schedule was filled with absolutely nothing to do and I got to spend the day creating. So very thankful for that.
Brandi had chosen Romans 12:10 for her bedroom…and 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 for above their fireplace in the great room.
I spent some time spacing things out on paper and playing with the design.
And here they are finished.
…and all at once I’m reminded why Plume exists. To make pretty things for sweet moms who can’t or don’t have time to make them for themselves. To encourage artists. To share God’s creative Glory. And whether I’m looking at a single finished piece of pallet art that I painted or standing behind my counter taking in all that is encompassed within Plume…to always embrace the childlike joy that comes from being able to stand back and say “Look what I did today!”