Foundations

I've been thinking a lot about foundations lately. And, as my obsessions tend to manifest, I am finding references to foundations everywhere I turn. From the theme of beginnings in the inaugural issue of Mabel magazine to the letter from editor Amanda Blake Soule in the latest issue of Taproot:

And now, four years since we began, I am noticing a subtle shift, a refreshing change, and a bit of clearing in our days and minds as we move from a place of building and beginnings to a place of maintenance and tending.

She is specifically referring to her family's process of reviving a 200-year-old farm house and the surrounding neglected land. While that process reflects our own house and land projects, which are progressing, some even to the point of turning the corner from backbreaking to enjoyment, the foundation I am most focused on is this little ole Odd Bird Studio of mine. 

I'm attempting to temper, yet not eliminate, my efforts towards growth and instead channel that energy into shoring up the foundation to create a strong base of support. To date, my Odd Bird Studio efforts have been sporadic and a bit haphazard. I picture it like a precarious tower of off-kilter blocks, add one more or accidentally shift one, and the tower is in danger of tumbling. Which isn't to say this teetering tower is a mistake. Sometimes it is more important to build, to do something, to go through the process to have the thing reveal itself for what it is. And, for me, Odd Bird Studio has reached that point.

I have a visceral understanding of what Odd Bird Studio is and what I want it to become. It is now time to translate that understanding to language, define with words these notions and hopes and passions of mine. This definition will be the base of the foundation. This base will nurture, encourage, direct, and steward the path of Odd Bird Studio as well as break the falls that will inevitably occur with missteps and failures. I don't know how long this foundation building will take, longer than I can possibly imagine, I'm sure, but eventually it will be the basis for a renewed web design over at OddBirdStudio.com. I'm excited about this process. I hope you'll stay tuned to discover where we wind up.

(that sprouting avocado up there was first put in water June 11, here.)