A Delightful Announcement Morphs into Future Pieces

When I came across Ms. Muse this morning, she was lying idly on the knoll, gnawing on a piece of grass watching the white cloud from the airplane exhaust dissipate into the brilliant blue sky. I plopped down beside her.

“Remember when we played Tag last month,” I asked her.

“Yup,” she replied without breaking her concentration on the exhaust.

“Remember the Cowboy that became Lady Liberty and the cookies shaped like an elephant and donkey that became white chocolate,” I asked again.

“Mm hmm,” she nodded still not looking at me, while the grass blade bounced up and down in the air.

“Remember how we turned the sculpture into a brick wall with graffiti?” I asked again. “Well,” I continued, not letting her reply to my last question, “We won Best in Category — Sculpture in the International Juried Art Show — America,” I exclaimed in absolute delight.

Over 15 years chasing the creative bug in photography with nothing to show for it at all and during the last year and a half learning how to create in sugar I’ve been in three art shows, received an arts grant and now this honor along with being in the show! I couldn’t be more pleased with myself, I thought.

Completely indifferent, Ms. Muse sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees and took the piece of grass out of her mouth. She looked directly into my eyes and said, “That’s nice; now shouldn’t you get busy and finish your tulip sculpture?”

Stunned with her reaction and sucking in my breath, I got up from the ground and started to walk away shattered. A ship with the wind taken out of my sails, I thought.

She called after me, “Getting the honor is not the end you know, but the beginning.” “You were trained well and you had the talent all along,” She acknowledged. “But you were using the wrong medium. You have a lot to say, now get busy creating your new pieces.” She stated matter-of-factly lying back down on the grass.

I agreed and continued to walk away and began to think about the tulips.