perseverance

Last July this volunteer hollyhock sprang up outside of my workshop studio door...
and bloomed with a bevy of beautiful purple flowers...

Protected under the eaves, it continued to grow, reaching upward...
spewing out new blooms along the stalk as old ones faded...

Now it is November...most everything else in the garden is withered...but this stalk has continued to inch along...at almost eight feet tall, the very top continues to send forth a flower or two...

With pelting rains over the weekend, I decided to snip off these top buds to enjoy inside of the house lest the rain beat down the blooms...

I have to admire this hollyhock's perseverance...against the odds, it managed to survive...and blossom...where others had given up...





It was this attribute of perseverance that I mimicked this past weekend...though I love indulging my creative spirit and I feel that it gives a completeness to my life, it can be tough as a artist to put your work out there...for all to see...and comment on...not always in a positive tone...








For the most part, I'm a self-taught artist...a couple of art classes in high school, workshops or seminars along the way...but pretty much I'm on my own creative vibe which doesn't fit neatly into the standard categories of painting/drawing/jewelry/ceramics/etc...and so sometimes people don't know how to react to my work since I refuse to be pigeon-holed...

But I have conviction in what I am doing...and wouldn't want to stop the creative life I am pursuing...though sometimes I do feel that I stand alone from the crowd...













But make no mistake...I will persevere...

Joining the group over at kim klassen's Texture Tuesday...a most supportive bunch of creatives...
using kim's friday2014 texture in editing today...

and if you want to read another take on artistic perseverance...
Sandy at Quill Cottage Studio has a fabulous post today on the topic...