spreading hope

   

In the late fall, the farmers up on our road in VT cut down the corn stalks, just about the time the first snows fly. The pattern that's formed is lovely...rows of evenly spaced stubs, just poking out of the snow, gently following the curves of the landscape.  I marvel at those farmers, out in the cold, sitting up on their tractors, closing up the growing season.  And I wonder at the hope they harbor in their hearts, year after year, as they consider the spring. 

That's where I got the inspiration for this "coffee cup challenge" (see January 29th for my first).  BE THE EXAMPLE, SPREAD HOPE, -Cat Corn.

These were my guidelines:

1. Use a bunch of stuff I grabbed on my way out the door on Friday.
2. No sewing machine...so hand sewing only.
3. Complete in an hour and a half.

So, I ended up taking about an hour and 45 minutes to finish it.  I worked with the idea of spreading hope/seeds/growth.  The beading reflects light/radiance/illumination...all part of hope as far as I'm concerned.

I think hope is about having faith, dreaming, wishing, aspiration, cherishing, cooperating and persisting and inspiration and working hard, too.

These challenges are fun.  They prevent me from over thinking a piece, perfection is not an option, so they relax my approach and free me up.  When there's a time limit it encourages me to integrate mistakes, rather than start over.

My photo quality still leaves a lot to be desired, but you can click on an image to open a new window, with better detail........