Crossroads – perspective on the divergent path

December 26, 2012 by camryn forrest

…

… Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

~ Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken”

When I thought of this poem, and the choices we make in life, I often thought of it literally: did I take the road less traveled when I move to a new city, or applied for a job, or learned a new skill? How about when I met new people and tried to understand their point of view? Should I make selections that others likely would not make? Does one see more or experience more on the backroads of life and not the highways? Does one need to make hard decisions to march away from the crowds to be true to one’s self? to reach new levels of understanding?

And then, with age, came a simple wisdom. As light and fresh as the first snowflake brushing against my face. I realized that the road less traveled by is a matter of perception, not location. If you are in a packed room, but your mind is not trapped there … you are on the divergent path as surely as if you were hacking your way through the overgrown jungle, discovering what only you could see and touch firsthand.

The perception of where you are, and where you want to be, is its own unique path. Or as a mentor once told me, “no matter what, the only thing you always have control over is your attitude.” So the same staircase can be a “path less traveled” for one person and less so for another — if what they each think and feel is perceived differently. One staircase may take you away from pain, or toward love, or into the arms of adventure. It can be sure steps toward your goals, or a place to hide from your deepest thoughts. The same steps may represent bravery and risk, or may be the safe choice. It is not the stairway that creates the path less traveled, it is the attitude and perception of the person walking up, or down, or sideways. It is whether you see yourself moving forward, backward, or pausing before the first big step.

And so we have,
“Crossroads”
– a snow globe with a nod to M.C. Escher,

and a knowing smile to Robert Frost.

It’s all a matter of perception.

I survived the apocalypse

December 21, 2012 by camryn forrest

And all I have to show for it …

A fragile glass heart, encompassing red foil details, rises above the fray of broken fences, chains, the gentle swirl of soft gold dust and industrial refuse.

Another day.

READY — green heart snow globe

December 19, 2012 by camryn forrest

I think of the times in my life I was truly ready, and in contrast, those times I thought I was NOT ready, but I went for it anyway. Have you ever climbed to the top of a high diving board, looked down and thought: I’m not ready, I’ll never be ready! But somehow you manage to jump anyway? And the best part is, it turned out better than you thought possible.

In sports, there’s a saying for those guys who are waiting on the bench, “always be ready when your number is called.”

Because, of course, we never know precisely when it’s our turn to shine.

For friends I know who are teetering on their personal high board, debating if they
are ready
to jump into something new
… and for those who are as ready as they can be,
just waiting for an opportunity to prove it …
… those with a fresh diploma, embarking into a new world full of dreams …
and especially those not sure they would love again.

This globe’s for you. READY when you are.

Listen … (Heart of Gold) snow globe

December 5, 2012 by camryn forrest

Listen …

Such a simple idea and yet so hard to focus on just one voice,
especially when it’s your own.

This piece took shape under its own power …
I wanted to combine the gramophone horn and the fragile glass heart.
Originally I had the idea of this piece whispering,
“My Heart Calls to You … Listen.”

But as I put the pieces together and looked at it from various angles, it seemed less and less about one person calling to another. I thought, I waited and I listened, and I quietly edited “My Heart Calls To You.”

Finally, there was little was left from the original phrase, just one word: Listen.

Sometimes it’s the quietest voice that is most important.

Tesla’s Workshop, Snow Globe Style

November 29, 2012 by camryn forrest

I was looking for a particular photo to explain how this snow globe, “Tesla’s Workshop,” came to be. When I was introduced to Mr. Tesla, far too late in my life for any reasonable explanation, I was fascinated with the Tesla coil and alternating current and how Tesla generated energy. Or managed it, directed it, whatever it is he did.

And I found this blog that summed up a lot of stuff:

Nikola Tesla is Better Than You
Here’s Why

If you’ve never heard of Tesla, that will give you a taste. Not the deep down scientific awesomeness that is so significant my head hurts just trying to grasp his genius, but enough to make you think: how come I don’t know more about this guy? I mean, he was BFFs with Mark Twain and all that.

I am hoping this blogger comes forward (unless I’m totally dense, I could not find his/her name on the piece), but you never know. The last entry was in fall of 2011. Makes me wonder. Will someone find THIS blog someday and be saying: Why did she quit writing? But for now, I write when it strikes me and the rest of the time I am either making snow globes — or making money to buy supplies. It’s a life.

But when I discovered Tesla, this image below intrigued me. I loved that at the turn of the century (the last one, in the early 1900’s) this man built these outrageous machines, spewing sparks and currents and man-made lightening, and pretty much cooking the bacon on your BLT before you could say How d’ ya do? People must have been mystified and shocked to see such a thing, when they were still using candles and oil lamps half the time. But Tesla, he’s not impressed. He’s the honey-badger of science, just sitting in his workshop, reading the funny papers and not even noticing that the ceiling is a glittering outpost of electicity over his head. This is one calm dude.

While I usually just make tiny “curious inventions” in my snow globes, I was struck by his focus and calmness (under fire), and I thought a fitting tribute was to add a tiny Tesla to my snow globe for perspective. Shake this globe and watch the sparks fly!

Celebrating Snow Globes – on Display

November 27, 2012 by camryn forrest

It’s a big honor to have our snow globes displayed in a museum!

Five unique snow globes created by Camryn Forrest Designs are on display for the rest of November and all of December as part of the “Celebrating Snow Globes” exhibit at the Sandwich Glass Museum in Sandwich, Mass. This is about an hour’s drive from Boston, or an hour’s drive from Providence. If you go there, you’ll see an entire collection of snow globes, both antique and modern.

Here’s what is on display from Camryn Forrest Designs:

Airship Voyager, Uncharted Skies, Sacramento Steampunk Society snow globe (courtesy Collection of Doug Hack), Ray Gun One, and Circular Logic snow globes.