My Logo

Many years ago I attended a class where the instructor had us paint a watercolor of a flower while she was talking to us.  We were supposed to paint a flower that represented ourselves, just letting it flow without putting a lot of conscious thought into it as we painted.  I’ve always been amazed at the talents of artists and painters, but have never had that talent flowing from me.  But I was excited for this challenge, and I knew it was something just for me; not something I was going to have on display so I didn’t need to worry about how it would turn out.

However, as I was putting together this blog and pondering about what my logo would look like, I kept thinking about the flower I had painted years ago. I felt that I should use this flower as part of my logo, not for its artistic essence of course, but for the meaning that lies beneath it.  I envisioned my logo with a background, and asked my nephew’s talented wife (https://iviefloralco.com) to paint a watercolor background and hand write the title.  Thanks to her patience and amazing talent as I had her try several designs to get it just as I had pictured it in my mind, my logo was created.

I wanted to share the deeper meaning of my flower with you.  This is very personal and I don’t usually take risks with strangers by sharing this side of me.  But my whole purpose in creating this blog is to share my thoughts and feelings about things, in hopes that something I share will help someone else along their path.  I hope that something in this site will do that for you, and that you will find hope and encouragement to continue forward on your challenging journey.

So, here’s the deep meaning to the flower in the logo, which represents me:

The yellow center is the core- it’s who I really am, the deepest part of me.  It’s my faith and trust in God and Jesus Christ, my relationship with them, and it’s about loving and serving others. It’s who I was before I came to the earth, who I am now, and who I have the potential to become. Those that know me well know this side of me on a deeper level, and I hope that those who don’t know me so well can still have a glimpse of my true inner core; that it’s bright enough to shine through. So the yellow inner core is the most important thing to me above all else.

The colored petals represent the various aspects of my life. There isn’t a certain petal for a specific thing, but each one represents the various parts or roles of my life: wife, mother, extended family, community service, church service, Kindermusik classes that I teach, etc. These petals are all blended together and cross into each other because they are what my daily life and activities consist of.  Sometimes they are fairly smooth, and sometimes pretty chaotic.

The solid lines around the edges of the petals represent my perfectionism. They show how I desire to have all those things run smoothly and to be just right. But sometimes that doesn’t happen, and just like the paint, sometimes things go out of the lines. That’s when I’m hard on myself and feel guilty and wonder why I’m not capable of doing it all. But over the years and as my body has struggled more and more, I’ve had to learn how to be okay with the paint that goes outside the lines. I’m still working on it, but I have made big improvements in this area.

Finally, there’s the green ring around the yellow core. It represents the knowledge that I am gaining through all my experiences, pondering, connections with others, and spiritual insights.

It has been several years since I first painted the flower. Someone has suggested that I do this again and paint another flower, seeing how it would change at this point. I think I will try that sometime. This was a great excercise, and one that I would recommend for you to try, whether or not you have artistic ability. Gather some supplies, turn on inspirational music if you choose, and think about who you really are, deep down, and just let the paintbrush flow.  You may be surprised at the insights you gain about yourself, or that special part of you that you have buried away.  If you desire, I would love to have you share your flower and your experience with me, share it with those you love, or keep it as a personal treasure for yourself.

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