Thought for The Day - The Root

Where it All Begins...

The process of creating stems from a place and a source deeper than tree roots.

I live in an sub-urban area, but not the idyllic type with large yards, manicured lawns and cookie-cutter homes. It's an older area with large older trees and yards where a child's imagination grows. Some of the older trees have roots that reach deep and spread wide. When we moved into our house 25 years ago (wow, seems like yesterday!) there were remnants of an apple tree that produced a crab apple or two per year. I would say a year or two after we moved in, we had the tree cut down and removed. Have you ever looked at the roots of a tree that's been removed? Let me give you an idea what I'm talking about: that tree has been gone for approximately 20 years and I use the location to plant a vegetable garden. Whether I turn the soil with a shovel or till it with a tiller, I still find roots, old and supposedly dead. Now that tree didn't produce enough fruit to keep around and the few branches growing from it's trunk didn't give me hope for it. Sure, everyone wants a tree in their yard, especially a fruit tree to grab fresh produce, but when it looks bare and sickly, it's got to go!

My mom gave me the impetus to be creative; her simple doodling while on the phone opened a channel for me that 46 years later, still produces 'stuff.' I thought it had died, I thought when I faced the dilemma of 'making money' and 'being an artist' at 21, I would never produce another image again (not really; it was the melodramatic side of me having it's moment). And though, for all practical purposes nothing visual came from me, images and concepts lay beneath the surface, waiting for an outlet. Good as well as bad times stirred the outlets, the cracks and crevices to allow the flow to emerge. And years later, I'm at it again. The source is no more depleted than breathable air. It is nurtured from a source that never runs dry and each day is an opportunity to produce words and images. I am forever grateful for the ability to express!