Memory Keeper: Inspiration by Guest Artist Amy Willcut
We are thrilled to welcome guest artist, Amy Willcut, to Somerset Place today! She is a talented artist whose work has been featured in several Stampington & Company publications, including our upcoming Somerset Studio available May 1st. Thank you, Amy for sharing this beautiful piece of wisdom on preserving memories through art…
To the memory makers and collectors, and to all those who have thanklessly gone before us planting good seeds and leaving footsteps for us to follow.
Like many women, I am a memory collector: I take an inordinate amount of photos. I save my children’s artwork, sentimental gifts, cards, letters, etc. I adorn my home with family heirlooms. I preserve flowers gifted to me from beloveds and only about a million other things. I imagine many of you can relate. Now as I’ve settled comfortably into middle age, I’m feeling particularly grateful for all the time and care that went into this endeavor. My family’s documented collection of beautiful moments, evidenced in my studio and home, provide me with daily comfort and inspiration, particularly on days when the journey is more challenging.
Today I not only create art from tangible objects I’ve collected from my own personal travels and memories but also those belonging to other “memory keepers.” In this process and handling these cherished tangible objects, I acknowledge what an honor and a sacred privilege it is to do so. This past year I was generously gifted some dried flowers from a friend’s mom’s extensive collection. These pieces I created embody her extraordinary heartfelt legacy. I’m grateful for her and the footprints she left behind that I could follow. I only wish I had been gifted the opportunity to meet my friend’s mom and that she would have been able to see the artwork that the fruits of her labor and love made possible.
Creating these botanicals made me wonder what better function of art is there than preserving memories. It also made me personally question the seeds that I am planting and the legacy that I will one day leave behind. I read a quote once outside a garden store, “All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.” And while I no longer prepare the soil and plant seeds in the garden anymore, I can still more importantly prepare my heart. I can make personal decisions today that will allow my future self to fully blossom and more importantly the lives of others. I can, as they say, “plant seeds of love and kindness.” We all can.
With that said, blessings on your spring and planting. I hope you surround yourselves with others who wish to see you grow in the same way flowers are attracted to the light. And may this be a season rich in rebirth and transformation both literally and figuratively.
Much love and light from Missouri,
Amy Willcut
To see more of Amy’s lovely floral art and discover more inspiration, order the next issue of Somerset Studio at: https://stampington.com/Somerset-Studio-Summer-2019
Amy Willcut lives in Kirkwood, Missouri. Her art, like life, is always evolving. She is frequently a contributor to Stampington & Company publications and her artwork has been featured on several different covers. She currently has artwork available at The Green Door Gallery in Webster Groves, Missouri. Follow her on Facebook and Pinterest. She welcomes email at willcut@earthlink.net
Posted: Friday, April 19th, 2019 @ 11:04 am
Categories: Uncategorized.
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The blog was heartfelt and so inspirational! Very well written! I was compelled to read until the very end!
How truly beautiful. It makes archiving into art, the past into a gift of renewal for the present. It reminds me of the saying “love trickles down hill”. The soul of art must surely reside here in the perpetual reseeding of all those beautiful memories. Thanks for this.
An inspirational article. I always collect things from my travels but never actually get round to doing anything with them. Perhaps this will inspire me to use some of them, at least.