Don't Mope, Make Something

 I woke up on Sunday morning feeling decidedly blue. It was gray and snowy outside and there didn't seem to be any good reason to jump out of bed. The list of things to feel blue about is long and I won't go into them here. It is the dead of winter after all. There are health challenges aplenty amongst people in my life and my own health feels more fragile than it should. This pandemic has certainly created enormous mood swings for many. But is it possible to go from 0-60 in under an hour? I'm happy to report that it is. Back to my story. 

I stumbled downstairs for coffee and the Sunday paper and then decided to take matters into my own hands, to send my gloom packing. I put on my coat, summoned my trusty companion, Smooch, and headed for the woods. I brought with me some clippers, normally used in the summer and fall, and began to look for interesting bits of flora and fauna. I had a project in mind and was ready to tackle it.

Of course the woods are full of beautiful collectibles, if one only looks for them. I found some of those lovely red branches that people use to decorate their homes for the holidays. I found some pine cones and some different kinds of pine branches. On my way back into the house, I spotted our Christmas wreath still hanging by the door and harvested some bright red berries from it.  

I laid out all of my treasures on the kitchen counter and began to compose a wintry picture. I must give credit at this point to a wonderful company, Tinkergarten, whose mission is helping get children outdoors with fun, educational activities. I had spotted this idea on their website and filed it away for a day when I would be inspired to do it. 

I found two large horizontal trays in my lower oven drawer, each with about a one inch lip. I made my design on each tray and then filled them with water. The trays were then delivered to the table on my screen porch where the temperature was around 10 degrees.  In this kind of weather, it didn't take long for the trays to freeze solid. I must also confess at this point that I don't think of myself as a visual artist. I am a theatre artist and my medium is people, gloriously complex, flawed people who are brave enough to bring themselves to the stage and share who they are. Having a visual eye is certainly essential in the theatre, but I never really studied visual design. I have been lucky to work with wonderful designers who bring their craft to the stage. But here's the point, we can all make things. Am I an artist? Hmm. Maybe not. Maybe I'm a maker. I'm someone who decided to take an idea and do it. Nobody was going to give me a grade. I wasn't going to sell this creation. In fact, one of the things about this project that is kind of special is that it is impermanent. When the temperature goes above freezing, my creation will begin to melt away. Perhaps that's one reason why I am immortalizing it here on this blog. 

Once I had taken the frozen sheets out of the pan, it was time to set them up outside. I have a plant stand that turned out to the perfect vessel for my artic windows. I wired them to it and hung my bird feeders all around the windows. Voila! Joy! Suddenly I was energized and happy! YAASSS! 

There was a lesson in this experience. I went from feeling very glum to feeling extraordinarily happy in a short amount of time. It only took a short walk in the woods and some natural materials. I was thrilled with my creation. I shared pictures of it online and was delighted when people asked how I did it. Even a day later when we got almost a foot of snow, my arctic windows still look fabulous and the birds are loving it as well. 

So my new pro tip to combat the pandemic and the ineveitable shades of blue that winter can bring, is to just simply make something. Maybe it will be an artistic creation. Maybe a loaf of banana bread. Maybe a phone call. But whatever it is, it will make me feel better. I suggest everyone give it a try.