edition of 37
8.5”h x 4.75” w

 From the mound of emerald, heart-shaped leaves

Spring forth the modest, delicate blooms
Reminding us of the roots of Love
From which we each sprout and grow into this world

Could we but remember the fertile ground of Love
In which we each are planted – nurtured – grown
We might effortlessly open our radiant blooms
And joyfully – radiantly dance amidst our garden of love

Many of the blooms nod their little heads in gracious modesty
Reminding us of the beauty in the quiet gift of humility
Reminding us that each of us brings a vital bloom
Each of us entwined with the other

Her petals gently open
Two above, two aside
And one below, generously inviting
the beloved bees with its guided landing strip

We too are graced with blooms Above
Brothers and sisters beside

And an ever broad, invisible opening
Inviting our unexpected guests of nourishment

The cleistogamous flowers
Insure its early blooming not to harm
Often-later seasons of the field of pollinators
Appearing premature, they are timely, potent friends

This natural, seemingly immature, bloom
Napping low or beneath the surface
Reminds us of our yet hidden blooms
Assuring us our season is always ripe – perfectly on time

Those generous, hidden helpers appear again
The tiny ants propagating the seeds beneath our view
Nudging us to remember, with deepest gratitude,
our countless invisible helpers hidden from view

Guidance – flexibility – modesty – love
All bestowed in a ballet of willowy dancers
Rising from a warm, emerald blanket of love
Whispering Her timeless message – Love Blooms

Inspiration

Drawn to the rich, emerald mound of heart-shaped foliage I knew early on this was to be a vessel abundant in the deepest essence of love. How could it not be? While studying this beloved wild flower I noticed not only the obvious slight tilt of head many of the blooms displayed, but even more so their delicate, collective dance above the foliage. Their nearly frail stems, flexibly bend this way and that – inviting us to perhaps notice the graceful beauty of flexibility as we grow too. Arms intertwined, they rise from their ground of Love – flexibly and modestly – and dance a quiet, lovely ballet for us.

The blooms are very small, yet they are filled with a powerfully beautiful essence as they rise above their garden of fertile emerald hearts and open their delicate petals. Each bloom displays five petals – two upper, two laterals and one lower. I reflected upon how we too bloom under the protection of the “upper realm” – are always surrounded and supported with brothers and sisters aside – and always, always have an open “landing strip” of invitation for all that might nurture us. Mother Nature placed the subtle stripes upon the lowest of the petals on the violet to be used as a guided “landing strip” for the bees to find their nourishment. The ultra-violet sensing eyes of the bee can see these much better than we can. How sweet is that?

The violets produce what are called cleistogamous flowers, which sprout low or underground on the plants, appearing as immature blooms, buds or pods. These flowers contain all the critical elements to produce fertile seeds. This is particularly helpful as the plants sometimes bloom earlier than many pollinators are highly active; and these cleistogamous flowers insure it will reproduce. We might look upon these flowers as “defective” while in effect they are (while visually not as attractive as the other blooms) equally potent. This is a great lesson for us in not assuming one’s potency by appearance alone – in its (and our) perfect timing we will produce all we are intended to bloom and contribute. Several clusters of cleistogamous flowers appear on the vessel.

And then the beloved, quiet ants appear again (three are etched, hidden, on the very bottom of the vessel). Ants literally farm the seeds underground, a process called myrmecochory. They are drawn to the oils in the seeds yet the shell is too hard for them to eat and this propagates them, as the seeds are scattered and hence protected from birds and rodents – allowing them a far greater chance to germinate. I pondered again, how often do we neglect to be grateful for the many “invisible helpers” in our lives? They are ever present working on the behalf of us in both large and small ways – yet often invisible to us in the present moment.

Offered in a limited edition of 37 (the number of blooms on the vessel); Love Blooms is hoped to
remind us of the blanket of Love from which we each sprout and dance; while inviting us to notice, with gratitude, our own invisible helpers, the rich gifts of modesty, flexibility and the absolute perfect timing of Love blooming in our lives.

This vessel makes a lovely, quality cremation urn. The top opening is 2″ and many simply use a flexible plastic pouch to insert the ashes or a commercial tube or canister. The circular form is symbolic of infinity.

© C. Alleman 2015