I’ve always been into art. When I was a kid I used to use everything to create something magnificent. Nothing was good enough until I got my hands on it. Macaroni, crayons, paint, string, everything was my medium. I was a little Picasso, or at least that what my grandma called me when I handed her a water paint splatter masterpiece or a ramen noodle doodle. Well flash forward about a decade, and I’m still in love with art. While my artistic abilities haven’t really upgraded from my childhood, I have grown to have a more mature understanding of art.

Due to the heat, I spent most of my time in my backyard. Surrounded by what seemed like the typical, I was finally able to take a moment and look longer and stare a little harder to notice all the art my backyard encompassed.

My dad is a man of many interests and hobbies, but one of the most interesting things about him is his love for plants. My dad purchases a lot of different flowers and plants from around the country (even the world sometimes) and plants them in the backyard. While he doesn’t really have a green thumb (and they usually die), the plants are cool and this flower really stood out to me. I never noticed it before (I recently found out its new one he just got), and I spent a lot of my time this week observing and sketching it in my journal. Its colors are so vibrant and a beautiful mix of purple, pinks, yellows, and green. Art at its finest. Staring at it was honestly a pleasure and helped me ignore the heat and bugs. At that moment, I felt like a little rambunctious kid making art in my room. 

The colors of the flower were so developed and defined. It is as if someone hand-painted each petal, and paid close attention to detail and texture. I tried to draw the flower in my journal, but I honestly don’t feel like I gave it justice (maybe I’ll get the courage to share at a later moment). Because of this flower, I can already start feeling a stronger connection to nature (even in my own backyard). I guess I usually just ignore things when I walk by because we live in such a fast-paced society. But staring at this flower for probably at least an hour (it took a really long time to draw), really put things in perspective. I’m excited to see more things that come out of reflection and time outside. I hope now that I feel this way I can be more cautious and observant as I explore more even if it’s just a walk to the mailbox. I hope this new insight is a step in the right direction to finding an independent project topic.