To Labor Is To Pray

I've been asked more and more lately to make one-of-a-kind custom pieces and I have to say I absolutely love this part of my job. The inspiration I get from these requests is priceless and it fuels my creative fires like nothing else. Sometimes it's a new bird that I haven't made yet or a beaded piece with symbolic meaning for my customer and often it is both. Sometimes what I make serves as a happy reminder for someone. I recently had a request for a baby quail because this customer has moved to a new home and misses the quail that used to run around in her backyard. Sometimes the requests are very personal, very emotional and the stories I hear behind the piece they want often bring me to tears. I have had requests for a particular bird because that person's family member loved that bird and they recently passed away. Or a request for a sunflower bowl because the sunflower holds a special meaning for them personally. I am so honored that I am allowed to hear these stories and that I am asked to make something that brings a bit of happiness or comfort to that person. They think they are purchasing a gift for themselves or someone they love, but they are really giving me the gift. I know am not going to make the beaded bird that changes the world, but these pieces remind me that what I am doing is important even if it's on a very small level. While I'm working I often think of the saying "To labor is to pray". I hope these pieces I am putting out there into the world hold my prayers and that the energy and love I put into everything I make gets passed on in some way.