After getting the lady's slipper finished (or what I thought as finished) I decided to make some trilliums for the bottom of the piece. There was a lot of negative space at the bottom. To me, it just felt like it needed more.
While making the trilliums I realized the lady's slipper was still not quite right, so I made the leaves a more muted green to make them blend in a little better.
Before:
After:
Better?
Onto the the trilliums...
When I was in college studying horticulture was the first time I had the pleasure of seeing a trillium. They are small and inconspicuous and as with all flowers that I truly love - one has to be paying close attention to see them. For some reason, the simple almost hidden flowers are my favorite, but I've told you all this before.
The trillium in the woods, much like the maypops and blood root or wood sorrel remind me of a world of life we can't imagine going on in the woods, or the floor of the earth. I think of fairies and magic, pixie dust and glitter. I have stories upon stories built around the life of these sweet little plants.
Trillium were the first "woods" flowers I came to know and they will always have a special place in my heart for opening my eyes to the world of flowers that bloom only a few inches above the soil.
Some trilliums can be rather large, but you have to get to slightly cooler climates than ours to enjoy them. When we were at Joyce Kilmer I saw some of the biggest trilliums I have ever seen. They were fantastic like all the life around them they grew big. Maybe that's the land of the gentle giants... much like the sequoahs - that's the story I made up for myself anyhow.
I recently read in The Maiden King something along the lines of the reason we connect to fairy tales is because the story is full of all this fantasy that excites us and we can't imagine it, but the feelings behind the action speak to our very core. Fairy tales are ageless and we hear them over and over and we experience the same feelings each time we hear them as though we have never heard them before. We relearn the lessons until they stick with us, then we need a new story with new lessons to hold onto.
I believe this and think it is why I am as drawn to archetypes, folk lores, and mythology as much as I am. There is much to be learned from those who have come before us and how they related to their world through story - something we have gotten away from.
The trilliums have added the last element of the fantasy of the moment these two beings are sharing. It has become unimaginable to me, yet the lesson of the beauty of transformation is one I will continue to learn.
They are now between the worlds of the red poppies and the simple trilliums sharing a moment in time. Looking at them I find myself asking what brought them to this moment? Why are they bowing to one another or are they bowing to the lady slipper? I start making up a story of characters and magic and laughter. The story deepens in my imagination and I find joy in telling this story whatever it is.
Until tomorrow!
I'm off to quilt!
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