Inspiring Trees — Pamela Loewen

Looking back on the last 18 months, life has been very full. Significant, meaningful events kept me from my studio, and now I am working to get back into a consistent creative workflow. This is easier said than done. Honestly, it feels a bit like getting back into the gym. You don’t just start out that first day back running a marathon! You have to remember (yes, I like to be in my studio), reconnect (now, this is what I was doing) and rebuild (this is how I do it) the creative muscles that have not been used for a while and slowly increase your endurance.

January was the first month in the past 18 months that I did not get on a plane. I did not even leave town. Being home was deeply therapeutic. My goal for the month was to create a new routine that got me in my new studio space at least 10 hours a week — a small, but attainable goal. I also set a goal of machine quilting 5 hours a week. Each week I met my goals. These wins create momentum that I can build on, hopefully increasing my working hours each month. Between my two studios in the month of January I logged 73.5 hours. This is the best month I have had since March of 2021. All of last year I only had 264.75 hours for the whole year — the lowest I have had since I started keeping track of my studio hours in 2011. It takes great effort to create new rhythms and routines of working, but I can do it.

Cottonwood December 2023 Meade State Park, Kansas © Pamela Loewen 2023

So how does this connect to trees? Trees endure. Slowly, quietly trees keep growing through all kinds of weather. During each season, slowly tree trunks and branches get thicker, longer and taller. Over the years they keep growing bigger and stronger. I want to be like a tree. I want to keep growing throughout all the seasons of my life no matter what comes my way.

Here is the first of my new trees series. I began this series in 2019. I was especially interested in the main tree trunk and its branches. The strength is in the trunk. This is what supports and feeds the whole tree. Trunks are not often admired, but without them you do not get the buds, flowers, fruits, leaves and branches. This series celebrates quiet enduring strength that creates beauty.