I’ve been staring at an old tomato cage for a few months. It looked like a tree, it was asking me to make something from it. I had to think, though. I’m a rabid recycler but my weakness is that I ALWAYS think I can re-use something – even when it’s broken beyond repair. But this tomato cage wouldn’t let me send it to the curb. I finally figured out what it wanted to be – a beaded garden sculpture! I’ve been keeping those pretty beads that weren’t saleable in a bowl in the studio. No one is allowed to take them – well, ok, maybe I’ve let a few kids take them – but they’re just not up to the standards I have for saleable items. They’re little pieces of art, though, and I just couldn’t bear to put them into the glass garbage.
I think the beads whispered to the tomato cage – “let’s work together.” I know, I know, the beads don’t talk and neither does the tomato cage, but sometimes art does have a way of speaking to us. Does it speak to you?
