Huffing and puffing....I forgot to look up!

The moment I saw this boardwalk at the beginning of Sunday's mountain bike ride at Duthie Hill, I thought....Jean Wells and her book,Intuitive Color and Design. And that was where the thought stayed, in the middle of a plank floating on the boggy waters......beyond this pathway, all guts and a lot of huffing and puffing!

"Noah and Sean, let me go ahead so that I can photograph you as you come down the boardwalk...." I love comparing the top boardwalk that I met at the beginning of our virgin ride to this mountain and then this photo of Noah leaving the park on the boardwalk. Initially, there was only the unknown and nature at its naked raw..... and leaving, memories and real stories of my family's mayhem. If you were to ask me a regret I have from my younger years.....that I did not train and go to the Olympics in mountain biking. It is a passion of my mine that so many people know little about......

Do you see what I see with the theme of this blog post in mind? I bought this fabric last week imagining it to become a part of a quilt with a bird theme....birds of a feather....but instead, tread of bike tires in the mud of Duthie.....and how fun that the bike tread is skewed hearts hooked! Oh the metaphors when one chooses to look and see and play with ideas!

My boardwalk planks are cut from a fabric that was aspen trunks. Little too light in color I realize so I tried to darken with the tan quilting thread. Initially I was disappointed because the planks look like a spine to me. But then....gotta have a backbone to ride the mountains so it seemed to work out for me. I am one who does not like to unpick my quilts so a good spin is a relief for me.

Finished piece......and the story behind the title of this post. The theme of this art piece is, Along the journey don't forget to look up, there are treetops if you take a moment to enjoy them. There are not any tree tops in this piece because I was so focused on breathing and picking my line since it was technical and my first time to this park that I never looked up, just at the trail or my surroundings eye level. While quilting last night on the porch, a friend of mine who has had quite a journey with drugs and alcohol and is now sober and completing college, texted me and I realized this piece was meant for him. He commented at one moment in the conversation that he could not wait to finish school and get on with his goals. I asked him to remember to look up during this final year and see the tree tops!.... Love, Em