A Far Cry From “The Carpet Showroom”

We had play date last weekend and had fun making gel prints. During the day I proposed a challenge to my friend Jennifer: I would give her one of my gel prints for her to letter on, and she would do the same for me. This is one of the prints she gave me. I saw the colors (which turned out dull in the first photo) and pondered what I would write. The next day I looked up a few quotes about flowers, and this is the text I chose:

The fairest thing in nature,
a flower,
still has its roots in
earth and manure.

– D. H. Lawrence 1930

When I asked my friend why she gave me this print, she said she didn’t like it. She probably wouldn’t use it, so she was anxious to see what I might do with it. I loved the color and the hints of flowers, so challenge accepted! I enjoyed taking what was a bland, unwanted print and turning it into something more. I used acrylic markers and ink to create the text and enhanced flower. I thought the quote from D.H. Lawrence, referencing the humble surroundings of a flower were appropriate for a print that started its life unwanted.

This process reminded me of the humble beginnings many of us have experienced along our life’s journey. We are given something, move somewhere, take a job, or join a group that has somehow landed in a hoe-hum kind of limbo. It’s not bad or even worthless. It has just been settled for, or grown tired, or simply is just bland. We arrive and are energetic, because to us it is new, and we somehow ignite the situation and make it all fresh and exciting. Sort of like my first place when I couldn’t even afford furniture. It was only a small studio apartment with beige carpet. My friends and I nicknamed it “The Carpet Showroom” because that is what it looked like. I lived like that for nearly a year until my dad and I made a sofa and tables. Ya’ do what ya’ gotta do! I have fond memories of that space, and still smile when I tell the stories.

My husband and I were talking about humble beginnings in our lives, together and before we met. We had silly stories to tell about what we ate to survive – soda crackers and Sprite, or a hot dog paired with a slice of American cheese. We remembered being skinny, a little hungry, yet enthused to be on our own and making our way. Somehow who we are and what we have today are made more sweet and feel a bit victorious, as we are surrounded by the fruits of our decades of labor. The struggle isn’t always fun while you are in it, yet those circumstances don’t last forever. Time gives us the gift of change. We emerge wiser, more appreciative and blessed to have become something better than we were. Like a flower growing out of manure. Our foundations are always with us, as they gave us the gift of discovering who we wanted to become. It is then our choice to shine and show our beauty no matter what path we traveled to get where we are today.

Let me encourage you to reflect with joy about your own humble beginnings. Think on the times you struggled and became better than you were before. Tough times don’t last, tough people do. Today may be a tough day for you. Take heart in knowing that we all have been there, and all have emerged victorious! I write this as I sit in a living room filled with furniture and snoring pets, a full stomach and interesting work. It is a far cry from “The Carpet Showroom”!