The inspiration found me in the woods....

So You would think that if am going to have my own challenge, I would actually have a set idea in my mind of what exactly I want to make. Well, if only I was that simple. I had some jumbled ideas of course. Like copper. Lots of it. Maybe some washers , chains whatnot...
But the cohesive power,the unifying element, the meaning behind the crazy has managed to elude me never the less.

So, for the first time in weeks, I decided to set work aside for my days off, and instead have a grand time just being, just enjoying myself a bit.

And so it happened, that Paul and I, and of course my superhero Sammy, to whom I am but only a sidekick, decided to go on a hike. It was Sammy's idea of course.

We drove up to Eldora, which is a tiny mountain town with little log cabins, and hiked up to a place called Lost Lake. On the way there, we found an abandoned cabin in the middle of the woods. One day I will have my own, very much like this, but in better shape. The one on the picture suffered fire damage and is only a step away from returning it's humble wooden skeleton to good mother earth... I wanted to sneak in, but the whole house was warped, sagged in the middle, seemed ready to collapse, and so even the Lovecraft loving part of me had the better sense of staying out. How serene life must have been here before the fire...

As the snow is melting away, the whole forest , which sits in a deep valley was alive with the sound of music. Well, water music. Humble little creaks turned into rushing rivers, and we have seen at least a dozen veritable waterfalls . Colorado has got to be the most beautiful state ever. Makes me so happy that life decided to drop me in the midst of it.

The one where Paul took our picture (Sammy and I) created such mist, that as the sun shone through it, it was as if little sprites were dancing in the glow of the golden summer afternoon sun.

Then we have a picture of Paul gazing at the faraway mountains and Sammy inspecting Lost Lake for fish. Thankfully we don't have any pictures of me in my underwear enjoying the coolness of the lake. The epiphany for the Hardware Store challenge came right after the dip, on the way down from the mountain.

The necklace will be called the Heartwood Hardware collar. Soon I will list pictures of the materials that will be used for it. And then I will start working on it....

Sometimes inspiration comes from not trying, from the Wind in the Willows (if you are somewhat of a toad), or the rustling leaves of Aspens....