52 WEEKS::Fireweed - SOLD

Already a month in and I'm not so terrified this time as I was when I created the first 52 WEEKS project with the totem animals.  I wonder if it's because I've fulfilled a commitment like this once before or because I am much more comfortable painting flowers?  I've come to really look forward to working on these pieces.  As a young girl in the north I was part of 4-H which, because it wasn't in farmland, included things like beading and weaving and photography.  It was there that I learned to enjoy the process, not just the outcome and maybe it is because of this experience that I have never been as terrified to begin a project either.  The outcome is what it is, and will get better over time with practice.

Anyway, fireweed (aka willow herb) always looks stunning to me, particularly in a burned out forest when we can see the beauty of life, of transformation from a wasted shell of land to a beautiful field of flowers.  A sign of hope.  It is the floral emblem of Yukon Territory, its young leaves can be used in salads, the plant can be brewed into a mild tea, and the inner pith can be used to thicken soups and stews.