VIDA, HSN & Me
What do VIDA, HSN and me have in common? Ummmm… this:
VIDA
One of my long-held dreams has been to SOMEhow, some way blend my art and fashion.
Some of you may know that I’ve found a way to do that with VIDA. Click here to see my collection. It’s luscious! I not only love the quality of what VIDA creates… I love their story and what they stand for as well. I’ve been with them since their infancy – and it’s a match made in heaven on so many levels.
Recently, I’ve been on kind of an inner journey; deepening, seeking ways to simplify, to listen to my own inner guidance better, make better choices. One of my desires: discover new ways to work with VIDA more – and differently than I have in the past.
HSN
Enter HSN: Home Shopping Network. The largest shopping outlet in the world.
Within a week of putting this “I’d like to work with VIDA more and differently somehow” thought out there at the end of summer, I get a call from Umaimah Mendhro, founder and CEO of VIDA. I knew she had a new deal with HSN – and did a spring show there. But now the fall event was coming up – and one of my pieces had been chosen for it!
It’s this one:
It’s long been a favorite of mine, because of what it means to me. Umaimah felt the same way when I explained it to her and created this silk scarf from it earlier this year:
When Umaimah presented it to HSN, they fell in love with it – along with the story behind it…
COURAGE OVER TIME
On my website it reads this way:
“It takes courage to survive.
The kind of courage that surpasses time.
The kind that leaves its mark, like graceful swirls of character, upon your soul”.
In the mountains where I live, Bristlecone Pine trees are plentiful. They’re known for their gnarled, twisted forms and tenaciousness. I’ve seen them appear to be growing right out of solid granite. Where their roots get nourishment is a mystery to me! They’re like the Honey Badger of trees… only infinitely more beautiful and inspiring.
In nature, Bristlecones survive the harshest winters clear at the top of the world; squaring off against 120mph winds in the worst winter blizzards, standing tall against the blazing summer sun. They seem to thumb their treebeard-like noses at the elements, at time, at limitation and the cruelty of nature.
Their answer to it all; grow strong and powerful, live to be thousands of years old (the oldest known living one is 5000+!) and do it against all odds. To me, they’re the epitome of grace and beauty. By the time they die, they have become the most stunning natural sculpture you’ve ever seen. Though battered by the elements each year – for more years than you or I will ever live – their response is to become Strength and Beauty itself.
If trees have courage – then Bristlecone Pines possess it to a degree that brings tears to my eyes. I want to be like that when I grow up!
Even writing this, I could weep. Please God, let some small part of me leave even the tiniest imprint like that!
That is why this image means so much to me. It’s like an icon – a flashcard if you will – for living in the strength and beauty Grace against all odds.
If anything I do in this lifetime inspires someone to feel better, to remember the best part of themselves, to look up, say YES to life/love/strength/beauty… then maybe I’ve channeled a bit of the mighty Bristlecone.
EXCITEMENT… AND A HOPE
So yeah. I’m excited about my tote and HSN and ALL of it. CRAZY excited! But on a deeper level, I’m so moved by the fact that THIS piece, above all others, was chosen. Millions of people tune in to these shows.
I most definitely hope my tote sells out in record time, that enough enthusiasm and sales result in my being a repeat guest (yep, that’s on the table too) – you bet!
But my biggest hope is that the stories will inspire even one person to fan their “spark of divine fire” into a brilliant, beautiful, eternal flame that burns throughout centuries – and leaves its beauty mark upon lands, people and souls.
Is that asking so much?
I think not. 😀