This is an exciting continuation of a question from an interior designer and lover of nature and energy medicine: IS THERE A LINK BETWEEN BEAUTIFUL SPACES AND A SENSE OF INNER PEACE AND INSPIRATION?
Today I am sharing Part 1 of an interview with Emily Reid whose art that is so full of life it jumps off the canvas to greet you! Her animal inspired art is vibrant and animated in the most surprising ways that it makes you and certainly your inner child smile. She lives on a farm with “cast away” animals that are a rich narrative of her art and lifestyle. Today we look at her style at home and her collection of organic objects that infuse nature into her life at every corner.
Joyful living, I have found often is accompanied by living in harmony with nature and animals. Have you ever been in a treehouse? I was delighted to learn about a custom treehouse builder, yes! A family who have designed and built high end tree houses all over the world at Treehouse Masters. Their work is highly skilled and yet fulfills a dream so many children would love to do, grow up to build treehouses. Pete the owner says “we awaken the inner child that lives among the trees”. What a wonderful way to wake up, in a luxury suspended room in a tree canopy with bird song!
Emily certainly speaks animal language and it was no surprise that on a day I held a sound healing workshop at my studio that she attended, there was a Falcon that watched our session from a tree branch outside. What an honor! It makes me of this poem from a favorite poet, Jane Hirshfield:
Falcon
Incapable of betray: a tree
Incapable of holding a secret: a stone
Without contempt for self or other: an ant, a bee
Today I and the unhooded bird
That sits on my head
Are looking in different directions,
I into the blurring past, he into the blurring future.
How many other pasts and future,
Between and all around us, we miss…
Each day the falcon’s view a little clearer.
Tubbs, Emily’s rescue pigeon that lives in her home is quite the entertainer. It is no surprise Emily finds honeycombs, bird nests, feathers and stones as precious objects.
Do you feel beautiful things in your home/office are beneficial? If so in what way?
Yes! I think I am very sensitive to the environments I am in… I notice it more when I am in spaces that are too plastic or cold or cut off from nature… artificial! I once took my daughter into a waiting room at a medical office- it was TERRIBLE! It made our entire experience there feel like we were products in a factory.
SO, at home, I like being around things that “feel “good, are personal, and are connected to nature.
I have objects given to me by loved ones, I have rocks and things I have collected from nature- like honey combs, bird nests, feathers, and photos of loved ones, art and furniture I have found or collected.
Over time we may not really see our beautiful things in daily life, what is in your experience keeps a space fresh and a place of peace and presence.
I move stuff around- usually when the seasons change. I don’t know why I move things exactly- it’s kind of intuitive. Not just decorations for the season like fresh flowers or gourds or something, but different rocks and crystals, candles, I change little displays that I have set up around the house.
It always feels fresh and new when I do this- a little recharge.
There is such a sense of surprise, whimsy and life in Emily’s paintings, I think it takes a steady does of inspiration to keep creating new fresh images. The connection of all things nature seems to be seed joy into her life as well as the animal muses. You can find Emily's work at emilyreidart.com.
Be sure to keep an eye out for a deep dive into the creative process with Emily in a short interview video.
Action item: keep your eye out for nature inspired notes from the universe and eat the cake!
