A little wisdom from a handful of strawberries.

Joy to You!

I recently painted a handful of strawberries, and while I was setting up the still life, I found myself endlessly rearranging them — trying to get them just right to my eye. All the while, I was eagerly waiting to eat them once the painting was done (every one in the family knows strawberries and clementines are first art supplies, then snacks).

Out of nowhere, a phrase popped into my head:

“Roll of the dice.”

I wasn’t trying to think of anything profound, but the phrase just came to me, unconjured. So instead of carefully placing each strawberry so that their little green paper hats were catching the light just right, I scooped them up in my hand like dice and rolled them onto the table - with flare, of course.

Wherever they landed, that’s where I painted them.

It made the whole process fun-ner! (When you have rolled strawberries you can make up words like 'fun-ner.')

And strangely enough, it was also the wisdom I needed at exactly the right time — a reminder to stop over-arranging, over-controlling, over-perfecting. To let some things fall where they may and trust and find the beauty there.

I’m glad the thought came to me, and even more glad I listened.

What do you think of the painting "Roll of the Strawberries" above?

Warmly,
Sarah Elizabeth