Sun over the creek.

So tightly wound are the details of our lives. Energetic fibers are running through each cell and every moment. Not often do we recognize the similarities of our favorite things. People and places can be poles apart and wildly contradictory, yet tied and bonded together in the psyche with an ability to extract indistinguishable  emotion and pleasure.

I live in Europe. I thought everything I experienced in this new home was going to be far more glorious than anything at home in America. It is the first-born, its people have unified cultures and traditions, its structures have been built with passion and creativity. Every brick, every tree, every person in Europe has a tale to tell.

I’ve been back to America frequently during my time living in Europe. Each trip gives me a renewed appreciation for what I left two years ago. When I look around at my old neighborhood, my mother’s house, and the nature of New Jersey I luxuriate in the merging of memories from both America and Europe. I find the same attractive and alluring qualities in two, seemingly different, settings. It reaffirms that I don’t have to be anywhere special to cause me to be any happier than I already am.

Gravel with garnish.

Parade at Notre Dame

Scraps of tile and shards of mosaic glass lay at the foot of the studio steps, looking exactly like sprinkles on a cupcake… or confetti I once saw strewn on the steps of the Notre Dame after a celebration.

Madonna

Prague

Sunlight radiating from the back of any landscape inspires spiritual devotion, wether its my mother’s miniature Madonna made from a mosaic of recycled bottles or a scene from a square in Prague.

This is the front porch of my mother’s studio. I found the handmade, teapot wind chime for her when I lived in Alabama.

Using her front porch for inspiration, my mom made a new mosaic for me for my birthday.

The Universe works in mysterious ways. Creativity, beauty, and inspiration are everywhere. You just have to look with your heart.